St Anthony's in the Media

Kea Kids News

The Miramar Peninsular Newsletter

On The Go Awards 2021

St Anthony’s has won the school runner-up award for the On the Go Awards at the recent 2Walk 2Cycle conference. We were nominated by The Greater Wellington Regional Council for our school’s wonderful participation rate in the annual Movin’ March competition as well as our consistent and outstanding support of active travel and road safety over the years. 

Here is what they said in the nomination form:

Movin’March:

St Anthony’s Seatoun has a strong history of encouraging safe and active travel for children at their school.  One of the ways they do this is by taking part in Greater Wellington’s annual Movin’March event.  This event encourages and celebrates walking and “wheeling” (biking, scootering) at primary schools in the Wellington region over one month.  Each year St Anthony’s School’s walking and wheeling rate has impressed the Movin’March team and was particularly notable in 2020 where COVID-19 caused so much disruption and challenges for schools nationwide. St Anthony’s School recorded an astonishing 1,716 walking and wheeling trips over a 3 week period.  That equates to around 17 trips per student (with just a roll of around 100).  If each trip is equivalent to 500m, that adds to a total of 858kms which is nearly as far as walking from Wellington to Rotorua and back!  St Anthony’s School in fact was the school with the highest walking and wheeling participation rate out of the 129 schools that participated in Movin’March across the Wellington region. 

Read on below to see Waka Kotahi’s media release about the On the Go Awards.

On the Go Awards recognise outstanding walking and cycling projects

ReBicycle EkeRua which upcycles donated, second-hand bikes and gives them to refugees and other people in need in Wellington, received the top honour at the On the Go Awards in Dunedin on Thursday night.

The On the Go Awards (formerly the Bike to the Future Awards) are organised by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in partnership with Cycling Action Network and Living Streets Aotearoa. They are an opportunity to acknowledge the dedication and contribution of projects that support a healthier, cleaner and safer transport system.

ReBicycle EkeRua gets people on bikes and transforms lives. The project enables free healthy transport options, prevents useful resources ending up in landfill, and reduces transport carbon emissions.

Hilleke Townsend from ReBicycle EkeRua says, “The project is a massive team effort involving the mahi of our many volunteers and coordinators, and also donations from people all over Wellington. But it’s the people who we serve who make this work truly rewarding. We’d like to thank Waka Kotahi for this recognition and share it with the wider ReBicycle EkeRua whanau.”

There were six award categories won by a range of different organisations:

• Shifting the dial award winner – Ecomatters Bike Hubs by Ecomatters Trust. EcoMatters Bike Hubs offer education and information about basic bike repairs and maintenance, low-cost used bikes, bikes to borrow, and information on routes, to support and engage the community of Auckland around cycling.

• Workplace or School award winner – Here comes the sun, a play street event by Point Chevalier School, Auckland. A play street creates play spaces by temporarily closing streets so the space can be used by the community for play activities and interaction. The event is one of a number of initiatives the school has delivered to increase the number of students who get to school in an active way.

• Taking communities on the journey award winner - The Kuaka Gateway - Delivered by Waka Kotahi and WSP with thanks to Napier City Council and Napier Airport. The Kuaka Gateway was designed to improve safety at one of the top six high-risk rural intersections in New Zealand, improve regional walking and cycling connections, unlock economic growth and create an iconic northern gateway for Napier and the Heretaunga Plains. 

• Making communities more people friendly award winner - ReBicycle EkeRua, Hilleke and Mike Townsend. ReBicycle EkeRua upcycles donated, second-hand bikes and gives them to refugees and other people in need in Wellington.

• Built excellence award (walking) winner and Built excellence award (cycling) winner - He Ara Kotahi, delivered by Palmerston North City Council and with thanks to Rangitane o Manawatū, Massey University and Linton Army Camp. He Ara Kotahi is Palmerston North’s newest riverside pathway, that winds its way along the river providing breath-taking views of the river and city, before leading you through farmland, native bush and pa sites. The star attraction of the walkway is the 194-metre long He Ara Kotahi Bridge, that connects the Victoria Esplanade with the other side of the Manawatu river.

Deborah Hume, Waka Kotahi Establishment Manager Multimodal and Innovation, says, “Our judging team was impressed by the range of innovative projects being undertaken across the country and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate all of their hard mahi.”

“The awards are part of the government’s wider commitment to increase the share of travel by walking, cycling and public transport to help shape a more sustainable transport system. All of the projects and people recognised at the awards contribute to driving this shift by encouraging more people to walk and cycle as an everyday transport option.”

The awards were held at the 2WALKandCYCLE conference in Ōtepoti (Dunedin).

Full list of award recipients and finalists below:

The awards were judged by:

• Caroline McElnay, the Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health,

• Simon Kingham, the Chief Science Advisor at the Ministry of Transport,

• Greg Lazzaro, General Manager of Safety, Health & Environment at Waka Kotahi

  -19 March 2021