New Zealand's national day to celebrate walking
Would you join us on the 13th of March for Walk2Work Day celebration? Everyone is invited, the more, the merrier! The rules of the day are very simple:
- Take your favourite walk to work
- Walk with the kids to school
- Hop off the bus or train a couple of stops earlier and walk to work - that counts
- Park your car further from your destination and walk - that counts, too
- Use the stairs, and you are celebrating walking with us
- Walk to the shop or cafe
- An extra step for dedicated walkers: post a photo of you walking in social media and be in the draw to win one of our t-shirts! Please use some of the following hashtags so we could find your photos: #Walk2WorkNZ, #Walk2WorkDayNZ, #Walk2Work, #Walk2WorkDay. The giveaway will run until 14th of March - the more creative images you post, the higher are your chances to win.
Living Streets Aotearoa celebrates Walk2Work day since 2008, and we would love to see more people joining us not only on the day but every day. The reason behind the celebration is easy as. Walking is good for you and the environment. It also helps you plan your arrival time - there are no traffic jams or delays on the footpaths of Aotearoa. You become healthier, the planet thanks you for reducing carbon emissions, and you save money. Win-win!
If you walk just 1000 metres (it is about 1300 steps or 12 minutes), you will
Gain energy; tone your legs, bum and tum;
use up 74 calories (for a 70kg person);
lift your mood; improve balance and coordination;
Save 0.72 cents of car costs, avoid 0.2kgs of carbon emissions and save $3.62 of health costs;
Reduce disease risk and improve heart health;
Be able to socialise with friends and community on the way.
Let's Walk2Work together on the 13th of March. See you on the footpath!
Contact walk2work[a]livingstreets.org.nz for more information
Auckland - details coming soon
Hawkes Bay - Hastings - check the council for more information - take a walk with Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst at 12.30 lunchtime, meet on the steps out the front of Hastings District Council
- see Sport HawkesBay folks on top of Otatara Pā at lunchtime
Cambridge - the purple tee shirts of the FBGs will be out on the river tracks in Cambridge, check them out on facebook
Wellington - Celebrate the power of your feet and join Ellen at the corner of Austin and Ellice Streets, Mt Victoria, walk through our suburb to Oriental Parade, see some sights, have a chat about our suburb on the way. Leaves at 8am on the dot, and will take about half an hour. About half of Mt Victorians walk to work every day so walking is important in Mt Victoria.
Wellington - Mayor Justin goes for a walk at 1pm - contact WCC for more details
Wellington - Join Councillors Fleur Fitzsimmons and Daran Ponter, and MP Paul Eagle at Shorland Park, Island Bay at 8am to walk to St Francis de Salle and Island Bay Schools
Wellington - Join Councillor Sarah Free at 8am to walk from the bus hub in Miramar to Evans Bay Intermediate School in Kilbirnie
Wairarapa - Carterton Councillor Jill Greathead will be walking into work, catch her along the way. Carterton City Councillors will be taking a walk break between meetings, this boosts energy levels so they can focus on making Carterton better.
Wairarapa - Masterton Councillor Chris Peterson will be walking to a working bee at Trade Aid - join him along the way "Often walking is the most convenient way to get from A to B in Masterton"