How many elephants does it take to get to school? Well, the question might not seem as bizarre as you think as one Rochdale school has found out.
Wardle Academy recently became the first in Greater Manchester to participate in the Little Planet Module, giving students the opportunity to discuss how their travel choices may impact on the future of the planet.
And they found out that approximately 828,200kg of greenhouse gasses are put into the atmosphere every day by English children being taken to secondary school in the car – the same weight as 165 African elephants.
Students also learnt that their local area has already made some steps to addressing the issue. These include Greater Manchester using more green buses than anywhere in the UK outside London and that Horwich Parkway Rail station is in fact powered by wind turbines.
Launched in October 2013, Little Planet is an interactive lesson, which is being delivered on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) by Stardotstar.
This forms part of their involvement with Ticket 2 Kyoto (T2K), a four-year project involving four other European countries that aims to reduce carbon emissions from public transport
Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of the TfGM committee, said: “Anyone can play a part in improving the air that we breathe by making greener travel choices, like walking or cycling.
“It’s good for you as well as the environment, and choosing public transport can produce fewer carbon emissions than driving.”
Since the Ticket to Kyoto began in 2011, TfGM has reduced carbon emissions by 19% and has become the first UK transport authority to commit to becoming zero carbon by 2033.
For more information on Little Planet visit www.littleplanet.org.uk
Picture courtesy of Pimlico Badger, with thanks.
