Every Journey Matters

Contributors

Argentina

•Condela Bustos

•Maria Belein Gonzales

•Mariana Stengourt

•Marina Alvarez

•Rosario Godoy

Belgium

•Maja Vera Vraaten

Benin

•Hakim Ousmane

Tinacu

Brazil

•Eder Cavalcante

•Fernando Brodeschi

•Geisiane Coelho

Martins

•Mariana da Costa

Massaro

•Nina Best

•Viviane Guarise

Vosgerau

Burundi

•Jean Mwabantu

Canada

•Chad McDonald

•Josh Darrach

Colombia

•Catalina Carmona

•Diana Plazas

Ecuador

•Harold Troya

•José Antonio Cardoso

•Josué López

Estonia

•Niina Golikova

Finland

•Tanja Mannistó

France

•James Rue

•Julien Paquin

Germany

•Alice

•Sophie Burger

Ghana

•Bernard Agordzo

•James Tawer

India

•Amaidhi Devaraj

•Anika Khurana

•Pawan Alex

•Priyanka Khara

Japan

•Mio Yoshizawa

Kenya

•Hussan Wanini

Malawi

•Anthony Merrick

•Donald Chisoni

•Lufovicco Magola

•Smart Ng’oma

•Tendai Mg Chikiakiula

Nepal

•Asmita Mahato

•Sandeep Pyara

Shrestha

The Netherlands

•Najiba Abdellaoui

New Zealand

•Dayanitha Damodaran

•Elizabeth Lodge

Norway

•Elisabeth Jusnes

Palestine

•Nisrine

Peru

•Elizabeth Pilar

•Patricia Fullarton

The Philippines

•Maria Althea “Thea”

Ybañez

•Michaela Kaye M.

Salindong

•Pat Austria

Poland

•Kordian Kochanowicz

•Matgorzata Bovkosia

Romania

•Anca Ivan

•Ioana Nedelcu

Russia

•Ruslan Zaripov

Solomon Islands

•Alan S Agassi

•Delton Dimu

•Jasandra Sasadra Archi

•Ratu Seru

South Africa

•Lerumo Tonise

•Ziziphio Dyubeni

Sweden

•Maja Herstad

Tonga

•Camelia Handal

•Graham Ashford

•Ioane Fifita

•Krizia Steptoe

•Mercy Kafalava

•Minaria Fifita

•Ruha Fifita

•Stanley Tupou

Ukraine

•Roman Gardashuk

United Kingdom

•Adam Thompson

•Callum Douglas

•Ceilidh Barclay

•Claire Brenner

•Chloe Ettori

•Daniel Zamora

•Dorothy Joseph

•Ella Tyler

•Francesca Mcloughlin

•Frank

•Ginny Mills

•Holly Howe Watson

•Ikenna Udeaja

•Jane Pedersen

•Jordan

•Katie Emmerson

•Laura Jones

•Levi Poncet

•Matt Smith

•Omar Hussein

•Peju Obasa

•Rachel Wall

•Russell Parkinson

•Saffron Howells

•Sam Morris

•Sophie Schrey

•Suzi Barden

•Tobi Ramella

•Tom Jolly

United States of America

•Dan Roberts

•Julian Golfarini

•Rico Kauahi Bowman

•Taylor Jackson

•Thomas Locke Hobbs

Zambia

•Angela Malambo

•Costancia Banda

•Lenny Banda

•Lusa Luhana

We want to thank everybody who sent in contributions for this book. You are fantastic.

Foreword by Ken Livingstone

Around half of trips made in London between 08:00 and 09:00 on weekday mornings are journeys to school of which almost 40% are by car. Many of these journeys are under a mile and could easily be made in ways other than by car. This would help encourage children to develop independent travel skills, and stay fit and healthy. Furthermore, reducing car use improves safety and reduces the emissions of harmful pollutants and CO2.

I am pleased that TfL is working with schools and local communities to develop school travel plans. In doing so they are helping schools to encourage more young people and their families to walk, cycle or take the bus to school safely. Many of these initiatives are detailed in the London News section of Every Journey Matters.

In London, we are lucky to have a good public transport system in place and are constantly working on improvements to make this system

accessible to everyone. It has been a pleasure to work on this book with the charity, Peace Child International, and to hear how young people around the world make their journey to school, how long it takes them and what issues and obstacles they face.

Looking at this book you will see the real difficulties faced by many children in getting to school and how the lack of an effective transport system affects their everyday lives. The book also tells us about what other cities are doing to promote sustainable travel to school and in general.

Short regular journeys (like the one to school) are easiest to do on foot, by bike or by public transport. It is much better for our health and our environment to make sustainable transport choices.

So let’s start thinking – Every Journey Matters!

Foreword by young editors

Did you know that almost a quarter of the carbon gases polluting the air in London comes from transport? Did you know that one in three schoolchildren in London travels to school by car? Our book shows how the way we travel every day affects our planet. If we all make better choices about the way we get to school, together we can make a difference.

Walking, cycling, travelling by bus, tube or train are better options than travelling by car. Take a closer look at your journey to school and see if you can change it for the better. If you walk, congratulations! Not only

Julien Paquin

are you helping the environment, it’s also good for your health. Cycling is also great if you have the right bike and follow the rules of the road. Or why not use public transport to get yourself further, faster.

Children all around the world are making transport choices every minute of every day. See how children in different places make their school journeys. How do their journeys compare to yours?

Changing the way we travel will change our future. So next time you’re going to school; stop, think and travel smart!

How many buses can you spot in our book?

New York, USA

Karlsruhe, Germany

Curitiba, Brazil

Bogota, Colombia

Makati, Philippines

Cape Town, South Africa

New Delhi, India

This book has been written and edited by children from around the world especially for you. We hope that you enjoy it!

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Glossary

Let’s get started

It’s good to know...

The term ‘sustainability’ seems to be used a lot these days, but what does it actually mean?

To sustain something means to make it last forever, so when people talk about environmental sustainability, they mean we need to make sure that the planet’s resources will never run out. These resources include trees, water, oil, soil and the animals in our ecosystem. We must make sure we don’t overuse any of these resources, so they are still available for people in the future.

It can be remembered easily with four words. Some, for all, forever. Some of the Earth’s resources, for everyone, for ever and ever and ever.

So how does this link to transport?

Sustainable transport is transport that is friendly to the environment. Cars release gases such as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that help to keep the planet warm. However, increasing levels of carbon dioxide mean that the planet is warming

up rather than staying at a comfortable level. This is global warming. It is therefore important that we use cars as little as possible and find other ways to get around.

The most environmentally friendly way to travel is walking, because the only energy you use up is your own! Another great way to get around is by riding your bike. If it is too far to go by bike, take public transport – consider using the bus, train, tube or tram to get where you want to go. Public transport gives off fewer fumes per passenger and means you can do your part to care for our planet.

What is a carbon footprint? Do I have one?

A carbon footprint is a way of measuring how much carbon dioxide we put into the environment through our actions and lifestlyes. The more car journeys and flights we take the bigger our carbon footprint will be. It is our responsibility to make our carbon footprint as small as possible and using sustainable transport is an easy way to start.

Five ways to help save the world

1. Walk or cycle to school.

2. Take the train rather than a plane.

3. Buy your food produce locally and support local shops.

4. Walk short journeys.

5. Take a lift with a friend rather than travelling on your own.

In the UK, 1 in 5 cars at 8.45 on a weekday morning is on the school run.

The greenhouse effect

Some of the sun’s energy is absorbed by the Earth and some is reflected back to Space.

The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb some of the heat, preventing it from escaping and actually sending it back to Earth.

Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means more heat is sent back to Earth.

What is the problem with global warming?

Global warming causes climate change, but not the long hot summers that you might expect from the name. In many parts of the world it means extreme weather conditions, from stronger hurricanes to more frequent flooding and more severe droughts. The sea level is expected to rise, making flooding in lowlying countries likely. Climate change is a problem here and now.

This raises the temperature of the Earth’s surface, a process known as global warming. The Earth’s surface becomes warm and radiates heat back to Space.

Jane Pedersen, Callum Douglas

Welcome to London

Times past

During the 19th century the population of London grew quickly. The centre became crowded and many people moved to the suburbs. So how did the planners deal with the new demand for cheap and easy transport from the suburbs to the city centre?

Horses

Travelling by stage coach or river taxi was expensive so it was necessary to develop ways to allow large numbers of people to travel at a low cost. Early on the Omnibus was developed – it was a horse-drawn vehicle with space for over twenty passengers. The idea caught on and soon there were many competing companies sending buses in all directions across London. The omnibuses were expensive to run so extra seats were added to the roof and the double omnibus was invented.

Even 100 years ago horses were central to transport in London. There were about 50,000 in the city centre. Between them they produced 1000 tonnes of poo, so horse dung disposal was a major problem. Imagine you had the job of collecting it and dumping it outside the city – you would have needed a very big pooper scooper!

London Transport Museum © Transport For London

Electric trams

The coming of electricity to the city led to electric-powered trams. The new system was powered by overhead wires and the network of electric trams expanded as the older lines were changed to electric. By 1910 there were over 170 kilometres of electric tram lines, and with fares kept to a minimum, this modern fast transport was available to everyone.

Motor Bus

At the same time horse buses were being replaced by motorised vehicles. Early double-decker buses had an open top – not ideal for English wet winters!

In 1933 all the London bus companies joined together under the name London Transport, and this became the biggest bus fleet in the world.

The Routemaster is the double-decker bus introduced in 1956, which became a symbol of London.

London Transport Museum © Transport For London

London

Times past 2

The World Wars

The First and Second World Wars had a big impact on London’s transport. Many motor buses were recruited for the war effort, meaning a temporary return to horse-powered vehicles. Bombing damaged the railway lines, trams and buses, while underground stations were used as bomb shelters during air raids. Canteens and libraries were set up to make the wait more bearable – and it was strictly no pets allowed!

Evacuation

London Transport played a central role in the evacuation of children during the war, and by the end of the war the trains had relocated a total of 1.25 million people.

London Transport Museum

© Transport For London

London Transport Museum

© Transport For London

The Underground

While above the ground transport became more modern, exciting developments were happening below ground. The first underground railway in the world was opened in London in 1863. In the beginning the underground trains were steam-powered, but by 1890 electric trains were introduced. The carriages were made from wood and had no windows. During the 1920s and 1930s the underground transport system, known as the Tube, grew bigger and better, with lines extending to the suburbs and new streamlined steel carriages.

Tube Maps

Early attempts to map the underground system were complicated and confusing – by trying to follow the street maps many lines crowded around the city centre making them impossible to follow. In 1931 an Underground employee called Harry Beck made a map of colourcoded horizontal and vertical lines, which is the basis of the tube map we use today.

How did your grandparents travel to school? Perhaps they remember the war. How did the disruption to transport affect them?

London views

With almost eight million people, London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. A whistle-stop tour of the city would pass by the famous sites of London Bridge, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace, where the Queen lives. You would probably whiz by the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben too! The British capital is famous for its red buses and black cabs. The River Thames runs through the centre of the capital. It used to smell so much, from all the waste, that was dumped in it that it was nicknamed “The Great Stink”. Aren’t we lucky it doesn’t smell like that any more?

I am Tobi. I live in Leytonstone but go to school in Hackney by car. I enjoy my journey because I can just sit and relax. It would be really cool if in the future we could travel by super power flying houses.

Tobi Ramella

train

My name is Dorothy. I am 12 years old. I go to school on the train with my sister. It is OK on the train because I listen to my music and it only takes 10 minutes.

Dorothy Joseph

My name is Ceilidh. I live in London. I travel with my family on the bus half of the way and walk the other half. I like the walking part because of the fresh air and I don’t like being stuck in traffic on the bus.

Ceilidh Barclay

bus

green meter

green meter

car

green meter

underground

My name is Daniel, I’m eight years old and live in Kennington. I get the tube to school. It is just one stop, so it only takes five minutes. I go with my best friend so the journey is always funny.

Daniel Zamora

walk

My name is Ikenna and I am nine years old. I walk to school with my brother. I would rather go to school on a fire-powered flying bike.

Ikenna Udeaja

car share

My name is Matt. I travel to school in the car. I go with my brother, next door neighbour and the boy that lives at the end of the road, in the house with red door. We listen to the radio.

Matt Smith

tram

My name is Chloe. I go to school on the tram. My Mum comes with me, because she says it is too far for me to go on my own. When I go to secondary school I will go on my own.

Chloe Ettori

cycle

Hello! I am Ella and I am nine. I travel to school by bike and it takes about 15 minutes. I wish that you could imagine the place you want to go in your head and be transported there.

green meter

green meter

Ella Tyler

green meter

green meter

green meter

London news

The Mayor of London has great plans for improving transport in London and tackling climate change. These are supported by Transport for London (TfL).

Walking

TfL is working to make walking easier, safer and more pleasant for everyone through its ‘Why not Walk it’ campaign. This is part of the Mayor of London’s vision to make London one of the most walking friendly cities by 2015. TfL is spending lots of money on improving the pedestrian environment – including tailor-made walking routes. 109 journeys between Central London tube stations are quicker by foot (www.leigiblelondon.info). Half of London car journeys are less than two kilometres and could be walked in just 25 minutes.

School Journeys

All schools in London need a travel plan and you can help write one too! A travel plan means that a school can get funding for great schemes such as Walk to School weeks, WoW and other cycling reward schemes such as Go Bike, which are really popular with schools.

Cycling

Over the past year the number of cyclists in London has grown by 83 per cent. Money spent on cycling has included building and extending the cycling network and improving greenways. TfL are providing lots of cycle parking on the street, at railway and underground stations, in schools and in workplaces across London.

Low Emissions Zone

There will be a Low Emission Zone in London from 2008 where the most polluting vehicles such as older diesel-engined lorries, coaches, buses, large vans, minibuses will not be allowed into parts of London. This will make the air cleaner.

© Transport for London

© Transport for London

Congestion Charge

The congestion charge aims to reduce the number of cars clogging up the city centre. People using cars to travel in certain areas of London now have to pay a daily charge which makes it really expensive. So they are now finding different ways of getting about the city. Traffic in the congestion charge areas has dropped by one fifth making it safer and more pleasant to walk and cycle.

Buses

Buses are big news in the capital. The average Londoner makes 200 bus journeys per year, so finding ways to make buses cleaner and greener is very important. A hydrogen-powered bus produces nothing more than water vapour whilst a hybrid bus is powered by both a traditional diesel engine and a modern electric one. Both systems are quieter, more environmentallyfriendly options and while the technology may have gone green, the buses will remain red.

Car Clubs

Car clubs are a really good way of reducing the number of cars in London meaning less pollution and a cleaner city. The privately run car clubs own a whole number of cars as a group instead of each person having their own. Members can then rent a car when they need one.

Oyster Card

Armed with the smart card ‘Oyster’ system your days of fumbling for change for public transport fares are over. The card which stores money should be scanned at the beginning and end of every journey. The ‘smart’ technology then calculates the right amount to be taken off for each trip. With the Oyster Card your journey is cheaper and easier – so go explore London, the city’s your oyster!

© Transport for London © Transport for London

© Transport for London

© Transport for London

Cities around the world

New York

New York City is the most populated city in the United States of America with 8 million people living there. The ‘Big Apple’, as New York is nicknamed, is home to the Statue of Liberty, which was a gift of international friendship from the people of France. The statue’s hand measures an impressive 5 metres in length – that’s almost as tall as a giraffe.

Public transport is the most popular way to travel around New York City, which is quite unusual for the USA. Approximately 90 per cent of Americans living in other places drive cars rather than take the bus or train to get to work and school, so New York is an extra special transport city. It has the largest underground system in the world, with 468 stations, whereas London only has 287 tube stations.

Grand Central Station in New York City was used as villain Lex Luthor’s secret headquarters in the film Superman. Can you imagine Voldemort having his HQ at Kings Cross Station?

My name is Zac. I'm 9 years old. I walk to school every day with my Mom and brother. I live seven blocks away from school, so it only takes fifteen minutes to get there. I like the walk in the summer, but it is not fun in the winter when it is really cold and snowy. I NY.

There is also a free ferry connecting Staten Island to Manhattan carrying 65,000 passengers every day. Taking the ferry to school would be a really refreshing start to the day!

I go to my elementary school on a school bus, which is yellow and quite big. It is bus number 4. I really enjoy the journey because I sit next to my friend Hayley. We tell each other jokes all the way and sometimes do our homework. Sometimes there is lots of traffic in New York, but it is OK if we are in the bus because the time goes super quick. The bus is good for the environment because it means that all the kids go together instead of our Moms taking us in their cars. I think children everywhere should go by bus because buses are really cool.

Taylor Jackson, USA

By 2012, New York plans to have 75 per cent of the city’s taxis running as hybrid vehicles. This means they will run on a combination of normal fuel and electric power, which is much better for the environment than traditional taxis. I think this is a really important environmental development for my city because New York’s yellow taxis are such a famous feature of the city, and we are sending a message to the world that we are serious about protecting our environment.

Julian Golfarini, USA

When a school bus in the USA stops a ‘STOP’ sign comes out of the side of the bus and there are red flashing warning lights. It is against the law to drive past the buses when they are stopped and the children are getting out.

New York has bright yellow taxis because yellow is the easiest colour to see. You can even spot them from the top of the Empire State Building, another of New York’s famous landmarks.

Julian Golfarini

Julian Golfarini

Karlsruhe

The city of Karlsruhe is in southwest Germany, near the French-German border. The streets in the old part of the city fan out from the castle like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. The forests and parks around the castle make it a pretty place to live. These forests are over shadowed by the nearby Black Forest, which is very popular for walking, cycling holidays and outdoor activities.

The first bicycle was invented in Karlsruhe, by a man called Baron Von Drais, in the 19th century. Bikes and cycling are still very popular in Karlsruhe. There is also an excellent train and tram system in Karlsruhe that makes public transport the easiest way to travel around the city.

Karlsruhe is home to Germany’s oldest funicular railway, which takes passengers to the Turmberg Hill. A funicular railway runs up the side of a hill or mountain and has counterbalanced cars that run on parallel sets of rails that are pulled up and lowered by cables. On a clear day it’s possible to see all the way to France.

The first bike was made almost entirely of wood. It didn’t have any pedals, so the brave riders had to propel themselves along using their feet. It must have been a rickety ride.

Hi! My name is Alice and I’m 13 years old. Every morning I cycle over to my friend Tamara’s house and leave my bike there to walk with her to school. We talk about everything we did the day before and we enjoy the nature around us. I can’t imagine sitting in a car on my own, instead of walking with my friend - it’s so much more fun to walk together. To go to the centre I take the tram; it’s better than driving because you don’t have to look for a parking place, there are no traffic jams and it’s good for the environment. I like our trams!

Alice, Germany

My name is Matthias. I am 11 years old. I live in Karlsruhe. I ride my bike to school; it is really fun and only takes ten minutes. There are nice bike shelters in my school's playground, so my bike stays safe and dry all day.

Sophie Schrey

Karlsruhe has a great combined train and tram transport system, because the city trams are directly linked to the German train system. The trams from Karlsruhe go via train rails to other cities in the region of Baden-Wuerttemberg, and even to the French border. Passengers travelling from outside the city can directly enter the city centre without changing trains.

Outside the city this tram-train goes really fast and travels over long distances and then runs as a tram as soon as it enters the city, which

means that it has more stops and goes more slowly. Since this system has been developed many more people use the trams. The trams always have right of way and even traffic lights change if a tram is passing. Using a car in Karlsruhe means stopping for all the trams, and so taking the tram means you will arrive at your destination more quickly and with less stress.

In Karlsruhe we have student action days that are called ‘Schülertage’. We have fun workshops where we play games and tell young people about how they could live in a more environmentally-friendly way. Last year we painted a very old tram with bright colours and fun pictures to spread the message about how important it is to live in a sustainable way.

Sophie Burger, Germany

Sophie Burger Sophie Burger

Curitiba

Curitiba is in Brazil in South America, and people first moved there in the hope that they would find lots of gold. Although the gold mining wasn’t very successful, it grew to become one of southern Brazil’s most important cities, and now has a population of almost two million people. Curitiba is famous throughout the world for its public transport system.

During the 1960s, the city was growing bigger and bigger and car traffic was increasing. The government realised it needed to do something quickly and asked some young planners to help Curitiba. They came up with the ‘Master Plan’ that included reducing traffic in the city centre by providing cheap public transport and bringing more buses into the city. Now many places could be reached by bus.

In the1970s a main street in the heart of the city centre was made into a walking-only street. This was the first pedestrian street in Brazil.

Curitiba is a shining example of how buses can help a growing population move around a city in an environmentally-friendly way.

Curitiba wanted to clean its streets and so the mayor came up with a very clever plan. In Curitiba you can exchange rubbish, for bus tickets, school books or vegetables.

Hi, My name is Nina. I'm nine years old and I live in Curitiba. I go to school on the bus. In Curitiba there are special bus lanes and so it doesn't take long for me to get to school. I love going by bus, especially because I know it helps our environment.

My name is Mariana and I am 14 years old. I live in Curitiba, in Brazil. I walk to school but when it’s raining I usually catch the bus. I prefer walking, but the bus journey is also fun.

Mariana da Costa Massaro, Brazil

Vivian Guarise Vosgerau

Curitiba’s bus system is called the ‘metrô de superficie’ - instead of building an underground system we have created a bus system on the surface that works like an underground network.

The bus stops, or as we call them ‘estação tubo’, are in the shape of long tubes. We enter the tube and pay for a ticket straight away; this saves time when getting on the bus. When the bus arrives the tube doors open and then the

bus doors open and a little electric platform comes out of the bus. This joins the bus and the tube station together so there is no gap. It is great for people in wheelchairs. At the entrance to the tube stops there are also special platforms to raise wheelchairs into the tube, meaning that buses are a simple option for people with disabilities.

The buses travel quickly around the city. The roads are divided into three. There are car

lanes on the outside, one going each way, and then bus lanes in the centre. There are also pedestrian-only streets.

On Sundays bus tickets are half price. I think this is brilliant as families can explore the city together or relax in one of our 55 parks. I love Curitiba, it is a cool place to live and the brilliant transport system makes it easy to enjoy the city.

Fernando Brodeschi, Brazil

Thomas Locke Hobbs

Thomas Locke Hobbs

Bogota

Bogota is the capital of Colombia. It is the country’s largest city and home to 7 million people. It is 2650 metres above sea level in the Andes mountains and because it is so high the city has spring-like weather the whole year long.

Bogota has come up with some very clever ideas to tackle the city’s transport troubles. When Bogota’s mayor began modernising the city’s transportation system in 1998, he concentrated on the interests of people, not cars. In a city where 85 per cent of the population did not own cars, he believed it was wrong to prioritise car use. The changes made to the transport system were so popular that people have voted to ban car use during rush hour by 2015.

In an attempt to encourage people to use public transport, the TransMilenio bus system has been introduced. It is similar to the bus system in Curitiba and is helping Bogota’s population travel in a sustainable way.

Colombia claims to have more plant and animal species per square kilometre than any other country in the world.

Hey, my name is Carmela. I live in Bogota. I go to school by car but next year when I'm older I hope to be able to catch the bus with my friends. It will be quicker because the bus can drive in a special lane and I'll be able to wake up later.

Lots of people were travelling around the city by car so there were many traffic jams in the centre. Now a rule limits the number of cars that come into the city each day. The rule is called ‘Pico y Placa’ and means that you can only drive your car on certain days of the week depending on the letters/numbers on the number plate. The price of car parking has also increased to make people think carefully about bringing their cars into the city centre.

Kordian Kochanowicz

To make people aware of the pollution and problems of car use in the city, a car-free day was introduced in 2000. The car-free day is now held every year on the first Thursday of February, and it lasts 13 hours (from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm). No private vehicles are allowed to be on the streets, only taxis, buses, school buses, ambulances and a lot of bikes and motorcycles are seen in the city. Anyone who breaks the rule must pay a fine.

The main goal of this day is to make people aware about air pollution and show cleaner forms of transport. It’s a symbolic act to make people think about the environment.

Diana Plazas, Colombia

A couple of years ago Bogota had a very poor public transportation system: buses never arrived on time, traffic jams were unbearable and everyone was grumpy all the time. With the arrival of the new system this changed dramatically. To get to school it used to take about one hour, but with the TransMilenio it only takes about 20 minutes.

To start using the system, people go to a TransMilenio station or catch a feeder bus. The feeder buses operate outside TransMilenio lines and make the system available to people who live outside the city. They buy a ticket which is valid for an unlimited period of time as long as they remain within the stations or buses. The TransMilenio is working very well and is being expanded to cover the entire city. For now, we are pleased that one of the biggest cities in the world is helping the environment and its people.

Catalina Carmona, Colombia

Kordian Kochanowicz

Kordian Kochanowicz

Makati

Makati is in the Republic of the Philippines, an island state in South-East Asia. The Philippines is made up of 7,000 islands, but most Filipinos live on just 11 islands. Makati is one of the most modern cities in the Philippines, with many important businesses in the city centre.

The Jeepney is the most famous form of transport in the Philippines. When the USA army left the Philippines after the Second World War they sold or gave their military jeeps to the Filipino people. The jeeps were taken apart to maximise passenger seating, roofs were fitted and they were painted with colourful designs. The result was the Jeepney.

The Jeepneys are traditionally fuelled by diesel, but in July 2007 the first Jeepneys to be powered by electricity began operating on the streets of Makati.

When a passenger riding in a Jeepney wants to get off they shout “Lugar lang!” at the top of their voice. ‘Lugar’ means ‘place’, so they are telling the driver that they have arrived at their destination.

Hey, my name is Morse. I'm 14 years old and live in Makati. I walk to school with my friends and usually walk home with my brother. I live close to school so the walk takes a short time.

Sitting in a Jeepney is like sitting in a ‘moving mural’. You will find yourself in the company of many different people, each one with their own story.

Pat Austria, Philippines

Dan Roberts

My name is Michaela Kaye M. Salindong. I live in Metro Manila, Philippines. I am 18 years old. I ride a Jeepney to school and the journey takes around 15 to 20 minutes. In the future I think people will travel by E-Jeepneys. These Jeepneys have zero emissions, and they run on biodegradable waste instead of fossil fuels. That means less pollution, which is good for everyone and the environment.

Michaela Kaye M. Salindong, Philippines

Tricycles or trikes are another popular form of transport in Makati and the Philippines. Trikes are motor cycles with side cars attached so they can take extra passengers. An average trike is meant to carry two people, but you often see a trike filled with four, five, even eight people! Many children on their way to school do not have enough money to have the luxury of travelling on their own. So you often see

eight kids squeezing onto a small tricycle. They know the value of an education and refuse to let anything stop them, even if it means having to spend an HOUR in a trike with seven other kids. In fact those kids on the tricycles are lucky. Many children in the Philippines have to walk miles just to get to school.

Pat Austria, Philippines

The Electronic Jeepneys are an exciting addition to the public transport system in the Philippines. Biodegradable waste, for example food from the city’s markets, restaurants and houses, will be used to generate energy and the E-Jeeps will use this energy for recharging. This is very environmentally friendly because

no polluting gases are produced and the solid food waste that would otherwise be discarded is put to use. These Electronic Jeepneys show how the Filipino people are making transport more sustainable and helping to combat climate change.

This project means a lot to me and to the young people who are trying to save the environment. It is our responsibility to take care of the beautiful Earth and to support the E-Jeep project in order to make a difference!

Maria Althea “Thea” Ybañez, Philippines

Michaela Kaye M. Salindong

Cape Town

Cape Town is the third largest city in South Africa, with a population of just under 3 million people. This beautiful city, located on the southwestern coast, is overlooked by Table Mountain. The mountain is named for its long flat top. A thin layer of cloud often sits directly over the mountain and is nicknamed ‘The Tablecloth’.

Public transport is not always an easy option for travelling around Cape Town, but the city has big plans to improve public transport in time for 2010 Football World Cup. The system will be modernized with environmentally-friendly vehicles. Hopefully, this will reduce the number of cars and have a lasting impact on the way people travel.

The government is spending lots of money on public transport in South Africa, to ensure that spectators, and maybe even competitors, can travel to the football stadiums on sustainable and affordable public transport. Can you imagine Becks on the bus, or Ronaldinho running to catch the train?

South Africa has over 30,000 kilometresofrailwaytrack,whichamountstoa massive80percentofallrailwaytrackin the continent of Africa.

Rikkis are a popular transport choice in Cape Town. They are small, brightly coloured vans that operate like taxis. There are also metered taxis, but unlike London black cabs, you can’t hail them in the street. Instead they have to be ordered in advance. Metro trains travel all around the city and there is a commuter train that travels so close to the sea the passengers often get wet from the spray.

Hi. My name is Sipho. I am 10 years old. I walk to school with my Mum. I enjoy the journey as we talk all the way and usually end up laughing and joking.

Sophie Schrey

My name is Lerumo Tonise and I’m 16 years old. I have lived in Cape Town all my life. Cape Town faces many difficulties in terms of transport. I will share stories with you about the two different places that I’ve lived within the city. Khayelitsha, is near the industrial side of town. Although it’s a cool place to live, it’s a pain to travel to the inner city because it’s expensive. However, in Milnerton transport is reliable and there’s loads of it. When I am going to school I find it easier to walk.

Lerumo Tonise, South Africa

When I asked some South African teenagers about transport in Cape Town they had some suggestions about how the government can make it better. Mayoli suggested that there should be separate lanes for public transport, to make travelling by bus or Rikkis quicker. Many of them mentioned the problems of traffic and the need for the government to improve the situation quickly.

I do think Cape Town’s transport can improve but people need to pull together in true African spirit so we can make it happen. I think we will move forward positively and we will get far as a country. South Africa is beautiful - it just needs leaders to make the dream happen.

Zizipho Dyubeni, South Africa

Maja Herstad

Maja Herstad

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital of India and approximately 13 million people live there.

India celebrates many festivals. Diwali is the ‘Festival of Lights’ and is celebrated by lighting different coloured lamps and letting off lots and lots of fireworks.

There are different ways to travel around New Delhi, from rickshaw to buses and trains. The buses are the most popular means of transport and every part of the city is connected by the bus network. Many of these buses run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which is a ‘clean’ fuel. Delhi Transport Corporation owns the most CNG fuelled buses in the world.

New Delhi also has an underground train system that helps ease the traffic on the roads. The Indian railways are an important way into and out of the city.

In New Delhi there is the skull of anelephantthathurtledintothe sideofaposttrainanddied!

Perhaps the most enjoyable way to travel around New Delhi is by rickshaw. They come in two varieties: cycle rickshaws and automatic rickshaws. Cycle rickshaws have a bike at the front and a small carriage at the back and the driver cycles the bike pulling the carriage along. Automatic rickshaws are powered by a small engine and have space in the back for passengers.

Hello, my name is Nidhi. I am 12 years old and live in New Delhi. I walk to school and the journey is quick, fun and doesn't hurt the environment.

Anna Kitteringham

My name is Anika and I live in India. When people talk about travelling by carts or rickshaws in India, I used to get offended because I thought they were trying to imply how undeveloped India is. However, now I feel pride in having transport practices that are really environmentally friendly and sustainable. Unfortunately, lots of people here want to live like the western countries and don’t feel any pride in the environmentally-friendly transport practices that our ancestors started. We used to look down upon people who use these ‘primitive’ ways of transport, but with awareness of how sustainable these transport methods are, a young person should be inspired to take a cycle rickshaw instead of an automatic rickshaw.

My name is Pawan Alex. I live in India and I am 13 years old. I travel to school by bicycle and my journey takes 15 to 20 minutes. I like cycling because it is environmentally friendly.

Pawan Alex, India

Anika Khurana, India

Anika Khurana

Pawan Alex

If my bike could talk, it would tell you this...

I change tyres the way you change shoes

Losing them would mean very bad news

See without them the streets are hard to swallow

I face sharp glass and dirty pins

In alleys that are dark and narrow

Where bins have the tendency to spill their guts

Flatten my tyres and change my luck

I feel happy when my rider is skilled

My frame is polished and my tyres are filled

I love cruising the streets with my headlights on

Taking it easy, humming a road song

The best owners are the kids who take me as I am

Who give me names like Bike Mike or Cruising Sam

What I love second best is the bicycle parking

The conversation is always funny and sparkling

It’s here where I hear the latest bike news

Who got stolen and who got new ‘shoes’

I love my life

I love living in the Netherlands: a bicycle paradise

Although I hear the bikes in China are pretty awesome too I wouldn’t want to be in another place than here talking to you

Najiba Abdellaoui, The Netherlands

Journeys

to learning

Russell Parkinson

Boats, hooves and shoes

These children live in Nepal. There are no bridges for them to cross the river, so the children use this “Twine” crossing to get to school. This is a multi-strand steel cable and there is one pulley for each person to roll along the cord. The children worry about losing a finger, or even falling off the rope. Their journey to school is very scary.

Sandeep

Sometimes I ride a horse to school. We live in the countryside and it is easier to ride horses than drive vehicles. Riding a horse doesn’t damage the environment.

Hakim Ousmane Tinaou, Benin

We live in Argentina and walk to school. Our walk is quite unusual. We have to set off very early and it is bitterly cold first thing in the morning. We walk through vineyards. This is where the grapes grow to make wine. We like the walk and feel lucky to pass by such interesting scenery.

Pyara Shrestha, Nepal

Maria Belein Gonzales, Condela Bustos, Rosario Godoy, Argentina

Sandeep Pyara Shrestha

Hakim Ousmane Tinacu

Maria Belein Gonzales

My name is Costancia Banda. I am 13 years old. I go to school in an ox cart that is pulled by two bullocks. It is very slow, but I reach school on time because I start off at about 4:00 am. Sometimes the bullocks get hungry and we have some problems making them move.

Costancia Banda, Zambia

Lake Titicaca is high in the Andes and borders Bolivia and Peru. The lake is so big that you can’t see the other side of it from the bank. It is stunning because there are snow-covered mountains all around the lakeside. There is a special boat, called a ferry, that you can drive vehicles onto that then crosses the lake. This is much quicker than travelling around the lake and can also be quite fun.

Josué López, Ecuador

Adam Thompson

José “Teke” Antonio Cardoso

Postcards from around the world

My name is Elizabeth Lodge. I live in Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand. I am nine years old. I sometimes walk to school and

My name is Dayanitha Damodaran. I live in Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand. I am 10 years old. I go to school by car and it takes 10 minutes. I think the children of the future will have electronic hover cars because it won’t damage the ozone layer.

My name is Niina Golikova. I live in Estonia, in the Ida-Virumaa region. I am 17 years old. I always walk to school and it only takes four minutes. In the future I think children will walk, run or cycle to school. I think walking, running or cycling would be a good idea, because it is healthy and benefits the environment. Less carbon dioxide emissions, more fresh air!

My name is Rico Kauahi Bowman. I’m 10 years old. I live in Kapaau, Hawaii, USA. I go to school by bus and it takes five minutes. I think children in the future will travel by hover boards because these won’t use any gas or petrol, only air.

My name is Roman Gardashuk. I live in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is a big, ancient and very beautiful city. I am nine years old. I travel to school by a public bus. Normally it takes me about 20 minutes. Unfortunately quite often there are many traffic-jams in the streets. Recently, I have seen more and more cars in the streets of my city and less trees. I don’t like it.

In the future, people will go to work by public transport like tram, trolleybus, and underground. Children will travel to school in beautiful electric buses or even in solar powered buses. Solar powered buses are environmentally friendly because they use renewable solar energy and don’t pollute the environment.

Bonjour, my name is Hakim. I am Nigerian, but I live in the Republic of Benin. I am 12 and a half years old. I walk to school and it takes 10 minutes. In the future I think children will travel by bike to school. It is a good idea to go to school by bikes, because bikes don’t release fumes and gases and they need a small amount of space for cycle paths, so we don’t need to cut any trees down.

I’m Jordan. I am nine. I live in England with my Mum and Dad. I have three brothers and one sister. I go to two schools. When I travel to Forres School I go by car. Our car has been changed to make it easier for me to travel in, for example there’s a ramp in the back. When I go to Lonsdale School I travel by bus.

The Tongan Way

Most days of the week, We wake up at five My friends all agree, We’d rather not drive, We hop on our feet, Or ride our bikes with our bags.

‘Cause pollution from driving is such a drag, We set an example for others to follow ‘Cause greenhouse gases are hard to swallow….

Here, there, everywhere, We’ve found a few people who really care, Sharing a ride is the TONGAN way, Packed in a bus or a truck at all times of the day, If you’ve got no money and no car, Just stick out your thumb and you’ll go far. But...Tokanga!!..

Don’t forget to smile, It guarantees you a whole extra mile!!!!

Stanley Tupou, Mercy Kafalava, Minaria Fifita, Ioane Fifita, Camelia Handal, Krizia Steptoe

Ruha Fifita, Graham Ashford, Tonga

Outside the city

Jean Mwabantu

Rainforest

At least 3000 fruits are found in the rainforests. We only use about 200 of these fruits.

The rainforest is an awe-inspiring place that has developed over millions of years. It covers just six per cent of the Earth’s surface, but is home to over half the animal and plant species on the planet. There are rainforests in Central and South America, in South East Asia and along the equator in Africa. The Amazon in South America is the largest rainforest and is nicknamed the ‘lungs of the Earth’ as it produces a massive 20 per cent of the Earth’s oxygen.

Unsurprisingly, it rains a lot in rainforests and they are amongst the wettest places on Earth. This makes it very humid within the rainforest and there are no seasons.

How do people travel in the rainforest? Can you imagine travelling like these children?

My name is Geisiane. I am 13 years old. I live in the rainforest in Brazil. My Dad takes me to school in his boat. I enjoy the journey because we go past floating houses to reach my school. In the summer if it is dry enough I can walk to school.

Geisiane Coelho Martins, Brazil

Geisiane Coelho Martins

A Slovenian swimmer swam the entire length of the Amazon river in 2007 – a mammoth journey of over 5000 kilometres. Nicknamed ‘fish man’, Martin Strel swam about 80 kilometres a day in the company of piranhas, alligators, bull sharks and anaconda snakes to complete the epic event.

Nina Best, Brazil

Hello, my name is Eder. I live in the Amazon rainforest and walk to school. I like walking and feel lucky to live in such a beautiful place. When I go to visit my friends who live in villages further away I go by canoe. If I take my dog with me I have to be careful he doesn’t jump out because there are crocodiles in the river.

Eder Cavalcante, Brazil

Nina Best

Sophie Schrey

Cold places

Pull out your scarves, gloves and woolly hats and wrap up warm as we explore the types of transport that people use to get around in the cold. Snow and ice can make travelling conditions difficult and dangerous. When it snows in Britain travel can be disrupted, and if you’re lucky enough school may even be closed for the day.

In some places winters are extremely severe. For example, in northern Canada temperatures can drop as low as minus 50 degrees, brrrrr!

How do people travel around in the ice and snow? Do you think it is still possible to travel in a sustainable way in cold conditions?

I live in Finland. During the winter it gets very cold and snows a lot. When it snows I have to go to school on the bus because it is too cold to walk or cycle. A snow plough clears the snow from the roads before seven o’clock in the morning and makes it safe for us to travel by bus. Some pedestrian areas in my city have heated streets to make it easier for us to cope with the extreme cold.

Tanja Mannistó, Finland

Tanja Mannistó

In Ottawa, Canada, the city’s Rideal Canal freezes in the winter. When the ice is thick enough the city’s residents put on their ice skates and use the canal as a giant ice-skating rink. Not only do people skate on the canal for fun, but people use the canal to skate to school or work. The ice on the canal stays thick enough to skate on for over a monththe record is 46 happy skating days.

During the month of February the city holds a special festival called Winterlude. The focus of the festival is centred on the canal. You can hire skates from the edge of the canal and there are stalls selling hot drinks and snacks along the side.

Chad McDonald, Canada

My name is Elisabeth Jusnes. I live in Longyearbyen on the island of Svalbard in Norway. It is a little island north of mainland Norway, just inside the Artic Circle. I go to school on a snow mobile, which is great.

Elisabeth Jusnes, Norway

My name is Ruslan. I’m 10 and I live in Moscow, the capital city of Russia. In winter it becomes bitterly cold, falling to below -20ºC. For the walk to school I have to dress up in many layers. Just before I leave home I put on my coat, then pull on my valenki and place my ushanka on my head. ‘Valenki’ are heavy felt boots and the ‘ushanka’ is a fur hat with earflaps that keeps my head cosy. On my way to school there’s a small pond. In summer it takes me longer to get to school because I have to walk around the pond, but in winter it freezes over and I can go straight across. When I arrive at school I take off my warm outdoor clothes and change my shoes because my valenki are too hot to wear inside.

Ruslan Zaripov, Russia

The longest snowmobile journey was 11,604.6 kilometres and took over 60 days. Can you imagine being in a car for 60 days? Think how cold Toni Lenzini must have been on his snowmobile.

Sophie Schrey

Elisabeth Jusnes

Deserts

Deserts cover around one third of the Earth’s surface and most are located near the Tropic of Cancer, north of the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, which is to the south. The largest desert, the Sahara, is about the same size as the United States of America.

The climate is extremely hot with little rainfall. The camel, known as the ‘ship of the desert’, copes well with the hot and dry climate. As well as being able to go without water for long periods it has large feet to stop it sinking into the sand and a double row of eyelashes to keep out sand grains.

The heat and lack of water makes travelling in the desert challenging. How do the harsh desert conditions affect children and their journey to school?

There was no rainfall in the Atacama Desert in Chile for over 40 years.

Camels have been used for centuries to carry the most precious trade in goods - gold, ivory, ebony. In Kenya they carry something just as precious to nomad communities living in the eastern district of Garissa. A camel mobile library transports books provided by Book Aid International to readers far away from the towns. Once a fortnight the camel visits these travelling communities and a tent is set up to display the picture books, stories and textbooks that children need to learn to read and to do well at school. Kenya National Library Service runs the camel library in this region where a book costs around twice as much as the average weekly wage, making it beyond the reach of most families.

Book Aid International www.bookaid.org

Jaisalmer is a city within the Thar Desert in India. The city is based around a fort that looks like a giant sandcastle. Many people living in the desert have to go to the city to go to school, to work or to buy things.

They travel by bus, but because so many people want to get on to the bus it is usually a bit of a squash. In fact, many people climb on to the roof and hold on to the sides and back – it is the only way to make sure they can get to the city and home again.

Amaidhi Devaraj, India

Children that live in the desert often have to travel a long way to get to school. If they don’t walk to school they might ride a camel.

Just like humans, camels need water. Even in the extreme dryness of the desert there is water stored underground. In certain special places, called oases, water comes to the surface through springs. These make it possible for people to travel through the huge deserts and many communities have formed around an oasis.

Russell Parkinson

Priyanka Khare

Rocky roads

Some children can’t just jump in a car or hop on the bus to get to school. Their journeys are much tougher, but despite the challenges they face they really want to learn and so make an extra special effort to get to school. In most cases they still manage to travel in an environmentally-friendly way.

Reading their stories might make you think twice if you sometimes complain about walking to school!

In many countries you see more than cars, motorcycles and bicycles on the roads. In India it is not unusual to see cows, bullocks and camels walking along. Drivers must be careful not to collide with them.

Rosa and Carlitos live in Lima, Peru. When they want to get the bus to school they wait on the street because there are no bus stops. They stretch their arms out to signal for the bus to stop. Many buses stop as the drivers are eager for you to take their bus because it means more money. However, some don’t want to take school children because the children’s fare is too cheap. Often it is less trouble for Rosa and Carlitos to walk, even though they live quite far from school.

Patricia Fullarton and Elizabeth Pilar, Peru

Patricia Fullarton and Elizabeth Pilar

I always go to school by bus. There are lots of potholes in the road and some roads are not tarmaced, which makes it difficult for the bus to drive on. During the rainy season it is more difficult to get to school because the bus gets stuck in the holes. The mud on the roads and holes makes it difficult for them to move again.

Lusa Luhana, Zambia

Some children in Blantyre, Malawi, described the challenges that they face on their way to school. My name is Smart and I cycle to school and my journey takes me one hour and five minutes. I have to cycle up steep slopes, under power cables that spark and along lots of busy roads that have big potholes in them. The most terrifying thing on my journey are the hijackers and robbers. Donald has to walk past dirty water, which smells really bad and makes him feel sick. When it rains the place becomes muddy and sometimes he falls. Anthony climbs over a big wall to get to school. This is difficult when he is carrying lots of things.

Smart Ng’oma, Donald Chisoni and Anthony Merrick, Malawi

I walk two kilometres to the bus stop and then I wait a long time for a space on the bus. We are packed onto the bus and I become weak and tired from people pushing me around to get on or off the bus. People step on my feet and I hurt all over. My uniform and body gets dirty and I have to wash before I enter the classroom.

James Tawer, Ghana

I’m living in a refugee camp and my school is inside the city, so every morning to reach school I have to pass a checkpoint. Here, some soldiers take my bag and look through everything, including my pencil-case. Sometimes it takes so long that I miss school.

Nisrine, Palestine

Angela Malambo

Anthony Merrick

Extreme weather

At any one time, there are approximately 1800 thunderstorms happening over the surface of the Earth.

The weather you experience depends on where you live in the world – in the desert, hot dry days and cold nights are normal, while those living in the far north have long harsh winters with short cool summers. In monsoon areas it is normal to have periods of heavy rain followed by long dry spells with no rain and hot sun. However, recent climate changes have upset traditional weather patterns across the globe.

How does extreme weather affect your journey to school?

We had so much rain the rivers could not hold any more water: the river got so high that all the water poured out onto the main road and flooded Tenbury. My Dad, my little sister and I got our wetsuits on and strapped two kayaks on to the top of the car and we drove to town. We took the kayaks off the roof of the car and paddled down the street, past all the shops.

Saffron Howells, UK

Saffron Howells

In the middle of the night two fire brigade men banged at my front door. They said that we had to leave our house and go up to the school because the area where we lived was flooding. I was so scared that I was shaking like a leaf. My house was the first to be evacuated because it is right next to the river bank.

In the morning my grandfather and I walked from the school to our house, but as I was walking towards my house I had to stop because my wellies were full of water and the water was flowing so hard that it nearly pushed me over.

Rachel Wall, UK

During an El Niño year, the normally hot and dry coast of Peru is drenched by rain. Water that may be good for desert ecosystems can also bring chaos and disease. Before the El Niño of 1983/4, the people of San Pedro de Lloc used mules as transport. Pools of stagnant water resulting from the heavy rain became an ideal home for the dengue fly and also created perfect conditions for ‘dengue fever’ to spread. The dengue flies attacked the mules, killing them, and within days the whole town’s transport system had collapsed.

There was one shop in the town that sold bicycles. There were 20 bicycles in the shop at the time, but not for long! Soon the whole town was riding bikes and the shop owner had a thriving bicycle business!

Tom Jolly

In addition to the long distances that I walk to school there is also the problem of weather and climate. Some rivers flood during the rainy season and then I have to use the longest way to reach school. This forces me to arrive at my home in the late hours. I am very tired and this affects my studies.

Tendai Mg Chikiakiula, Malawi

In the rainy season there are lots of transport problems, some due to over-flooding. The train will not work because of the floods. This creates a barrier between families as there is no way of travelling. A lot of children face these problems: some reach their destinations late and are exposed to dangers, such as wild animals, if they are alone.

Lufovicco Magola, Malawi

Tom Jolly

Tom Jolly

Suzi Barden

Far and away

One of the longest tandems or “bicycles built for two” ever made was actually for thirty-five people. Can you imagine riding on that?

What would happen if you didn’t live close to your school? How would you get there?

Lots of children live in the countryside or rural areas all over the world and cannot get to school easily. It might be too far to walk and there could be no public transport. Do you know someone who lives a long way from their school? How do they travel?

Many children in remote parts of the United Kingdom have to travel some distance to reach their schools, but many children in other parts of the world have an even bigger struggle to get to school. Can you imagine concentrating on your lessons after some of these journeys?

My name is Katie. I live in a little village called Barwick Ford. It is in the countryside and a long way from my school. There are no buses to school, so my sister and I are picked up by a taxi. We then collect another two children and drive to school. I wish there was a bus to school or that school was close enough to cycle to because that would be more environmentally friendly.

Katie Emmerson, UK

I drive to school because I live far away and if I walk it will take me an hour. I would like to walk to school because it is healthy and better for the environment.

Frank, UK

Daniel López

My name is Bernard. I live in Ghana. I ride my bike to school and back to my house at the end of the day. I like my bike, but sometimes I feel pain after riding each day and I get very hot and sweaty.

Bernard Agordzo, Ghana

Amani Bernard is 9 years old. He goes to school on Mvita Island in Mombasa, Kenya. Amani walks 7 kilometres from his home in Likoni every morning and back home in the evenings. As his family cannot afford to replace his worn out shoes, he walks barefoot to school and carries his old shoes with him. In Kenya children are often not allowed to attend school unless they have shoes, so Amani puts his shoes on when he gets to school. This is a big problem in Kenya because many families cannot afford to buy their children shoes. Every day Amani wakes up at 5:00 am and gets ready for school. Then he walks from his home to the Likoni ferry and crosses to Mvita Island where he continues walking to school. It is a very long journey, but he does not complain because he is pleased to be able to go to school.

Hussan Wanini, Kenya

I walk to school and so did my grandfather, but I want to tell you about my grandfather’s friends who had much more fun when they travelled to school.

His friends who came from far away would ride donkeys, horses, camels or cows! They ‘parked’ their animals in the backyard of the school. When I imagine the animals in my school, I always laugh. Hakim Ousmane Tinaou, Benin

Hussan Wanini

Bernard Agordzo

Claire Brenner

Far and away 2

My name is Harold and I’m from Cuenca, in Ecuador. I go to and from school by foot. My house is close, but as I live on a hill I run down it to get to school, but have to climb up on the way back. It’s better than driving there.

Harold Troya, Ecuador

These children live in Vietnam in Asia. They have to climb down the mountain to get to school. It is very steep and when it rains it becomes slippery toothey have to tread very carefully so as not to fall.

Dan Roberts, USA

My name is Juan and I’m seven. I’m from a farm in the mountains near Santa Rosa de los Pastos Grandes in Argentina. Every Monday my mother and I leave for school really early - even before sunrise. We walk for more than 10 hours. I am always behind her because it is windy and my mother thinks I’ll be less blown by the wind and won’t get as cold. Sometimes she carries my little brother Alejandro too. He sleeps almost all the way and she takes him to the doctor for a check-up and injections. She also buys food for the week. In Santa Rosa I go to Miss Maria’s school. We sleep and eat there, 15 children in all, but there are more who live closer and don’t have to stay there. On Friday my mother walks all alone to come and get me. I’m lucky that my Mum can bring me to school even though it is a long walk. I love school and I’m learning loads.

Juan’s story as told to Mariana Stengourt, Argentina

Dan Roberts

Harold Troya

Many children in Burundi have to walk a really long way to get to school. Although they set off very early and miss lunch while walking back, they do not complain because they love learning and school.

Jean Mwabantu, Burundi

Nepal is a mountainous and hilly country. I live in a small village named Jankauli that lies on the bank of Rapti River. The river has crocodiles in it and in the National Park near my home you can see one-horned rhinoceroses. My school is one and half kilometres away from my house. The roads that we use are not very good. They become muddy in the summer season and are difficult to walk on. I usually walk to school with my friends. There is a school bus, but I don’t use it because we don’t have enough money to pay the bus fare. I wish I had a bicycle to go to school as using a bicycle is not bad for the environment. Sometimes my aunt takes me to school on her bicycle, if she has time.

Asmita Mahato, Nepal

My name is Leeny. I am 13 years old. When coming to school I use a bus. I like travelling on the bus because I meet new friends and these friends teach me about different things like drawing and making pictures. Sometimes I get bored because I travel for 8 to 9 hours because I go to a boarding school. I enjoy looking at the animals especially the monkeys. I like monkeys, but I feel bad because they run away when they see the bus.

Lenny Banda, Zambia

Jean Mwabantu

Watery places

Most of us travel to school on solid ground whether it be sitting on a bus, riding a bike or walking. Just imagine that you lived on a tiny island surrounded by water and that your school was on another island. More importantly, how do they keep their school books dry?

There are many watery places around the world where people have to travel in unusual ways. In Britain there are the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall to the south and the Orkney Islands far to the north. Further afield in the Pacific Ocean there is a large group of islands called the Solomon Islands.

Read these stories and imagine travelling like these children.

I’m Laura. I live on the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands near Cornwall. My island is called St. Martin’s – it’s small and quiet but very beautiful. I went to primary school here and there were only 5 pupils in my class! Now that I am at secondary school I travel by boat to St. Mary’s, the biggest island. During the week I stay over at a hostel with all my friends and come home on the boat at the weekends. I enjoy the boat trip, but not when it is stormy and the sea is rough. In the winter we travel by catamaran because it is more stable.

Laura Jones, UK

Indonesia has over 18,000 islands. About 6,000 of these islands have people living on them.

Ginny Mills

Every day I paddle to Billi School in a dugout wooden canoe with my brother, Jared. The best thing about travelling by canoe is watching the wild dolphins swim near our canoe. When we paddle faster, they come in front of our canoe and play with us. When the weather is bad it is dangerous and we get tired easily. I think the government should provide a school house for us to stay at during the week, so we don’t have to paddle to school every day.

Ratu Seru, Solomon Islands

I paddle to school in a dug-out wooden canoe with my twin brother. The journey takes 55 to 60 minutes. The rain, rough sea and strong sea currents make the journey difficult and dangerous. I also find it hard to concentrate in class because I am so tired from paddling the canoe. Our canoe capsized twice on our way to the school and our clothes, books and pens got wet. Luckily we capsized near the coastline so we can swim to the reefs quickly.

Delton Dimu, Solomon Islands

I am the captain of the dug-out canoe that I travel to school in every day. Each morning I check the weather and decide if we can travel. We take extra clothes to school in case the clothes that we are wearing get wet. When we arrive we change our clothes before going into the classroom. One day the clothes we were wearing and our extra clothes got wet from the strong wind and rough sea, so we decided to enter the class with wet clothes. We were sent back by the teacher as we are not allowed in class with wet clothes on.

Jasandra Sasadra Achi, Solomon Islands

Alan S Agassi

Alan S Agassi

Alan

S Agassi

Moving forward

By 2050, there should be a 60 per cent cut in CO2 emissions from the 1990 level.

TfL aims to encourage people to ride their bikes on 1 million more trips each day, by 2025.

TfL is hoping that, by the year 2025, people will walk 1 million more journeys each day.

Transport for tomorrow

The way we travel is changing. New materials and technology mean more exciting and environmentally-friendly transport is possible. By 2025 we could be scooting around town not on four or two wheels – but on one! Engineers and scientists are developing a onewheeled vehicle that is powered by hydrogen gas. Taking public transport could mean hopping onto a combined bus-tram system. Maybe the vehicle could be driven from either end and could separate to become two vehicles making public transport more flexible. Gas-guzzling cars might be banned, and instead of stopping to fill up with petrol or diesel we could be plugging in our electric vehicles. The possibilities are endless!

How do you think we will travel in the future?

Look at the following ideas for inspiration and then draw or describe your vision for ‘moving forward’ towards the future.

My Mom has an electric car. It is cool because it doesn’t use gas, instead it uses electricity. I sometimes get embarrassed when my friends wave at me, but I will get used to it. When we get home we just plug it in instead of going to the gas station. My Mom says we are going to save lots of money with the car. I wonder what we can do with the money? Maybe a new skateboard, Mom? Help prevent global warming and drive electric cars!

Rico Kauahi Bowman, USA

Renewable energy uses natural resources, for example sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which will never run out and do not pollute the environment. Renewable energy can be used instead of fossil fuels such as, oil, coal or gas that will eventually run out and that produce carbon dioxide when they are burnt.

Lani Bowman

I wanted a mode of transport that was environmentally friendly and a little bit different. I found out about electric bikes. They are like normal bicycles but have an electric motor to make riding easier. I ordered a kit from the internet and with the help of my local bike shop turned my bike into an electric bike. I now ride my e-bike everywhere I would ride a car and can travel as fast as any of the speed limits within my city. All I have to do to refuel is plug the batteries into the charger before I go to bed. My bike is environmentally friendly and really fun to ride.

Josh Darrach, Canada

My friends and I wanted to make our city more colourful, so we planted flowers into our bicycle baskets! It is fun, makes the streets really cheerful and you always have your flowers, herbs or even strawberries with you.

Sophie Burger, Germany

If you would like to make a ‘Bike Garden’ like Sophie, please check out our website for more information.

www.everyjourneymatters.co.uk

Biofuels are fuels made from something that is living or from the waste of something that is living. Biofuels can reduce greenhouse gases because the fuel releases gases that are less damaging to the environment than petrol or diesel. In science class we looked at making biofuel from algae because we live near the Black Sea where algae is washed onto the beaches. It ruins the beaches, so collecting it and making it into a fuel would be really good. Our experiment showed that making biofuel out of algae worked very well – by using it we would have both clean beaches and environmentally friendly fuel to use in our cars!

Anca Ivan and Ioana Nedelcu, Romania

Sophie Burger

Julien

Paquin

Josh Darrach

Dare to dream

How will we travel in 2050?

This taxi is powered by rain. Clouds come out of the back like steam.

Maja Vera Vraaten, Belgium

People will be teleported to their destinations in the future.

Matgorzata Bovkosia, Poland

This is called the ‘Fly Car’. It is environmentally friendly and very fast.

Marina Alvarez, Argentina

This bus is powered by solar power. It has solar panels on the top, so it collects energy as it moves.

James Rue, France

I think that people will have backpacks with rockets in them so they will float above the ground to school.

Mio Yoshizawa, Japan

Draw a picture of how you think we will travel in 2050. Check out www.everyjourneymatters.co.uk for more information.

Over to you...

We hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as we enjoyed planning and designing it. It’s been a journey of discovery finding out how children around the world travel. More and more cities are coming up with exciting transport options that are better for the environment. Londoners are lucky to have so many sustainable transport options to choose from. We need to think about our travel habits and find out how we can make our journeys as green as possible.

This book is only the beginning…the journey continues with you. Our website has more information, fun games and projects to get involved in. Visit us at www.everyjourneymatters.co.uk to tell us how you travel to school and share your ideas for a greener, cleaner transport future.

And remember…stop, think and travel smarter!

Sam Morris

Remember everything we do affects this world.

You are not the only one. This is our Earth, it’s our home. We need to make the difference because nothing else will.

Jane Pedersen, UK

Our Earth, our future.

Omar Hussein, UK

Be seen travelling green!

Francesca Mcloughlin, UK

Make sure you travel around the world sustainably today or you might not have a world to travel around tomorrow.

Holly Howe Watson, UK

Make your green mark and travel clean.

Peju Obasa, UK

It shouldn’t be seen as a chore to change your lifestyle in an environmentallyfriendly way, view it as an opportunity instead. Stop complaining and get sustaining.

Callum Douglas, UK

Glossary

Atmosphere

layers of air, composed of gases and particles, surrounding the Earth

Biodegradable capable of being broken down by natural processes

Biofuel fuel made from something that is living, for example, straw, corn

Carbon dioxide gas formed by the burning of carbon and by breathing

Catamaran

a boat of two parallel hulls linked by a single deck

Climate

the normal patterns of weather in an area

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

an environmentally clean alternative to petrol or diesel. It is made by compressing methane and is stored in cylinders

Ecosystem

chain of life that links plants, animals, insects and physical surroundings

El Niño a naturally occurring Pacific ocean condition resulting in major changes in weather

Environment everything around us, plants, air, land, life, etc

Information for teachers

Equator

the imaginary line circling the Earth at the widest part of the globe

Fossil fuels

coal, oil and natural gas that release carbon when burned

Funicular railway

train which is designed to travel up steep hills

Global warming

our atmosphere contains excess levels of carbon dioxide, produced by burning fossil fuels, which warms up the surface of our planet

Greenhouse gases

carbon dioxide and other gases that cause global warming

Please visit our website for lesson plans on sustainable travel that accompanies this book.

These lessons are designed for the use of Key Stage 2 teachers, particularly in London, although they can be adapted for teaching for Key Stage 1 and in any location.

The sequence of lessons focuses particularly on knowledge and understanding of environmental change and sustainable development (National Curriculum objectives 5a and 5b for Key Stage 2 Geography). Other links to the National Curriculum are specified for individual lessons. The sequence of lessons could be used as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the following QCA units (Unit 20: Local traffic – an environmental issue or Unit 12: Should the high street be closed to traffic?) .

www.everyjourneymatters.co.uk

Hurricane

a severe tropical storm usually with heavy rains and winds

Hybrid vehicle

a vehicle which uses two or more energy sources, for example, an electric bicycle

Jeepney

a form of public transport, like a bus, used in the Philippines

Kayak

a small canoe

Monsoon

the rainy season in southern Asia when the wind blows from the southwest bringing heavy rains

Nomad

a person who moves according to the needs of the community and the changing of the seasons

Ozone layer

a layer in the Earth’s atmosphere that protects us from harmful rays from the sun

Pedestrian

a person who travels by foot

Piranha

fish in the Amazon river that attack and destroy living animals

Pollution damaging the environment by introducing harmful substances

Refugee

a person who flees his or her home due to dangerous situations

Rikki mini-bus used as public transport in Cape Town

Stagnant not flowing or circulating

Sustainable transport ways of travelling which cause the least possible harm to the environment

Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn imaginary lines circling the Earth halfway between the equator and the poles

Whether it’s walking once a week, cycling regularly or taking public transport a little more, changing the way we travel can help make a real difference to our health, our surroundings and the environment. The Travel Demand Management team at Transport for London is running London wide campaign to encourage people to choose sustainable travel for their journeys in, out and around the city. Working with local schools, businesses and communities, TfL provides exciting initiatives and resources to inspire and motivate Londoners to ditch the car and opt for walking, cycling, using public transport, joining a car club and generally travelling smarter .