Pupils achieve 3rd place with 43,150.5 kilometers on the bike
RheineIt is a clear sign of climate-friendly and independent transportation for the next generation: Marienschule Rheine-Hauenhorst has won the national “School Cycling” competition. Together with parents and teachers, they cycled 43,150.5 kilometers and thus achieved 3rd place in the nationwide comparison in the category “Most kilometers cycled” among elementary school.
Over 11.5 million kilometers were cycled in total in this year’s “School Cycling NRW” state competition. The best-placed teams received prizes and certificates, which were presented by Udo Sieverding, Head of the “Mobility of the Future, Cycling, Public Transport” Department at the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, in front of around 100 guests at the German Sport & Olympic Museum in Cologne on December 11: “Early mobility education makes a significant contribution to greater safety on the roads. The high number of participants shows the potential that cycling in particular offers children and young people as a significant contribution to the mobility transition in our cities and communities. But their enthusiasm also shows that cycling is a winning issue.”
NRW in first place in a nationwide comparisonA total of 87,542 pupils, parents and teachers from 1,493 schools took part in this year’s “School Cycling” state competition, 20 percent more than last year. During the three-week competition period, the participants saved a total of around 1,900 tons ofCO2 compared to the usual modes of transport in everyday life. This makes NRW the federal state with the most schools, cyclists and also the largest amount ofCO2 saved in a Germany-wide comparison.The invited team representatives only found out their actual ranking at the event.
Theo Jansen, Head of the Future Mobility Network NRW office at the Rhine-Sieg Transport Association: “If the aim of transport policy is to get more and more children cycling in our cities and communities, then it can’t just be about appeals and campaigns. We need many more safe and comfortable cycle routes that encourage cycling. This requires the political courage to prioritize walking and cycling rather than car traffic. We at Zukunftsnetz Mobilität NRW are very happy to support local authorities in this endeavor to create the necessary framework conditions.“Making meters for the climateThe principle of “school cycling” is simple: pupils, parents and teachers at a school collect kilometers cycled either individually or as a class group for the school team. All kilometers cycled count, regardless of whether it is on the way to school or during free time.This year, primary and secondary schools competed for prizes for the most kilometers cycled and the largest team. For secondary schools, there was also a creative competition for the best cycling project. The first-place winners received 1,000 euros, the second-place winners 750 euros and the third-place winners 500 euros.
Background“School cycling” is based on the Climate Alliance network’s annual “city cycling” and is an important component of the municipal mobility transition. Under the motto “Make meters for the climate!”, the aim is to promote mobility among children as well as cycling in general. Adults can play a role model role in the competition and are explicitly invited to take part. You can hear why cities, districts and municipalities also benefit from the competition and what last year’s winners have to say about cycling to school in the CITY CYCLING podcast.
Part of sustainable mobility promotion“School cycling” in NRW is coordinated by the office of Zukunftsnetz Mobilität NRW, the state-wide network for the development of municipal mobility management in cities, districts and municipalities. 318 local authorities in NRW are already members. The coordination offices are located at the state’s transport associations and special-purpose associations as follows:
– Westphalia-Lippe Coordination Office (Local Transport Westphalia-Lippe)
– Rhine-Ruhr Coordination Office (Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association)
– Coordination office Rhineland (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg)
The office for overarching tasks is also based at the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS) in Cologne. Its aim is to promote sustainable mobility options in the state.The “school cycling” campaign fits perfectly into the portfolio: With this campaign, local authorities can specifically promote sustainable transportation for young people and get them excited about climate protection. Zukunftsnetz Mobilität NRW is funded by the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Unfallkasse NRW.
The following schools won a prize in the “School Cycling NRW 2023” competition
Secondary schools
Category: Most kilometers cycled
1st place: Pascal-Gymnasium of the city of Grevenbroich (131,573.9 km)
2nd place: Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium of the city of Kleve(119,008.7 km)
3rd place: Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gymnasium of the city of Kleve (118,703.3 km)
Category: Most active cyclists
1st place: Mathilde-Anneke-Gesamtschule der Stadt Münster (1,073)2nd place: Pascal-Gymnasium der Stadt Grevenbroich (867)3rd place: Heinrich-Böll-Gymnasium der Stadt Troisdorf (780)
Category: Creative competition
1st place: Europaschule der Stadt Bornheim
2nd place: Gymnasium of the city of Frechen
3rd place: Ratsgymnasium of the city of Gladbeck
Elementary school
Category: Most kilometers cycled
1st place: Josefschule of the city of Ahaus (50,916.8 km)
2nd place: Astrid-Lindgren-Schule in the town of Borken (46,046.7 km)3rd place: Marienschule Hauenhorst in the town of Rheine (43,150.5 km)
Category: Most active cyclists
1st place: Josefschule of the city of Ahaus (1,130)
2nd place: Ostwallschule of the city of Lüdinghausen (505)
3rd place: Eilermarkschule in the town of Gronau (492)