Students, parents take to the roads for Bike to School Day

The wheels on the bus go round and round, and last week, bicycles, scooters and skateboards joined the ride to school.

The Weston Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) hosted its first fall Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day, Wednesday, Oct. 7. Phoebe Beierle, the PTO Green Committee co-chair, who organized the event with Mojgan Anvari, said it was a great way to pair families’ desire to be climate-friendly and a love for the town’s natural beauty.

“Westonians love to be outside,” she said. “Parents and families are so active.”

The national Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day is held at schools across the country to encourage families to encourage more physical activity every spring. Beierle said the PTO decided to add a day in the fall because it was such a popular event.

Students and parents gathered throughout the town before heading to school. Gary Maurice readied his bike alongside his children Bode, 6, and Etta, 7, in front of Town Hall that morning as frost melted off Town Green.

“We try to get out on our bikes at least once a week in the neighborhood or on the trails,” he said.

He and his children participated last year, although Bode and Etta rode scooters instead of bicycles.

Beierle said she has seen the event encourage more activity throughout the year and that she hopes the conversation about environmentally-friendly travel will continue.

“We’ve been seeing more kids biking to school overall,” she said. “We get to be active and reduce carbon emissions.”