This spring, a student-led initiative encouraged faculty, staff, and students at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School to rethink their daily commute to reduce emissions and help boost their energy and mental clarity for the day.
This past spring, 11th grader Miriam Harbath organized the Bike and Walk to School Challenge for her fellow students and the faculty at Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School to participate in for the month of May. Miriam, who was on exchange from Switzerland this year, says that at her home in Geneva, she likes to bike everywhere.
“I think it makes sense from a lot of perspectives,” she said. “For the environment, of course, but also because it allows you to take in some fresh air before school to increase your concentration.”
Miriam decided to design a challenge that offered prizes both for biking or walking the most days and also for traveling the farthest distance to school. Over the course of the whole month, the challenge participants logged over 700 miles of biking and walking.
“A friend of mine woke up at 4am to participate, and another biked 16 miles to get here,” Miriam said. “So people are really motivated, and I’ve gotten feedback that they want to do it more often.”
At the end of the challenge, the final awards were given out to seven students in six categories:
Most mileage biked in total: Simon Towe with 80 miles
Most mileage walked in total: Robin Procheal-Bensmen with 14 miles
Most days biked to school: Theo Grout with 30 days
Most days walked to school: Genevieve Coen with 31 days
Most miles biked at one time: Mateo and Daniela Tarrago, with 14 miles
Most miles walked at once: Sophia Madey with 8.6 miles
Even as Miriam returned to her home in Switerzland, she said she hopes that the Bike and Walk to School Challenge can continue in some way in future years and even grow to include other initiatives at Hawthorne Valley.
“I feel this is a place where people would be open to such an idea, and it would be really fun if the whole organization participated,” Miriam said. “I think the response this year from students and faculty shows that if you actually make the challenge fun and attractive, a lot of people will join in.”
We thank Miriam for her work coordinating this challenge, and congratulate all the students, faculty, and staff who participated throughout the month.
To learn more about how Hawthorne Valley is working to become a campus that contributes more to our environment and community than we extract, visit our Net Positive webpage or contact Josh Wise, Campus Director.
