Video and Photos: Walk To School Day In Vienna

This time last year, was a small movement at Wolftrap Elementary School, a group of about two dozen kids that rode for a mile and a half through their neighborhood to class about once a month, instead of driving or taking the bus.

On Wednesday, at least twice that amount gathered at the top of Liberty Tree Lane to walk to school with Principal Anita Blain as Wolftrap Elementary celebrated International Walk To School Day; even more students trekked down Beulah Road and the streets leading to it.

Five other Vienna schools, and 21 more across the county, participated in Walk To School festivities on Wednesday, the first year Fairfax County Public Schools formally endorsed the event.

While , and there are plenty of students who still take the bus, parent organizer and Safe Routes to School advocate Jeff Anderson said it's clear parent and community walking and biking activists have started to make a dent in transportation habits.

Some of the children surrounding Anderson on Liberty Tree Lane on Wednesday used to be frequent faces in the kiss and ride. Now, they're walking to school on their own, or, biking to school with their parents regularly. A few dozen bikes line the racks along the side of the school on any given day; as many as 20 even in the rain.

"In 1969, 60 percent of children bike or walked to school. Today, only 13 percent," said Anderson, who began Wolfie's Bike Train and continues to lead it.  "It's another tree in the forest of things we're trying to reinstill in our children ... namely a healthy lifestyle, eating well, getting out and walking."

At Kilmer Middle School — which received last June — school staff ran out of the "tickets" they gave to each child that walked or biked to school. The students wrote their name on the ticket and hung it on a banner, in exchange for a granola bar and a bottle of water.

"We have a lot of students that just get dropped off by their parents and they live close enough to walk or ride," said Kilmer Middle School employee Brian Herberger. "It seemed like we should encourage them to get some fresh air and get some exercise."

For Vienna Elementary School, this year's International Walk To School Day kicked off a new program called "Walking Wednesdays," a day that will encourage students to walk to class every week. donated coffee to parents who dropped their kids off on foot.

"We want to encourage families to walk with their kids more than two or three times a year," said Linda Kerr, a member of the schools' Safe Routes To School committee. "There are so many great reasons to walk to school with kids--mainly the exercise. Recess is very limited nowadays and walking to school is a great way for kids to get their wiggles out before sitting in the classroom all day. But walking to school is a great time for kids to get some fresh air and for parents to talk to kids about the day ahead."

Often, Kerr said, it seems easier to parents to drop kids off at school, or load them onto a bus. But as the walking movement has taken hold at the school, many have discovered the opposite is the case.

"Many parents in the Vienna Elementary School borders have discovered that it often takes the same amount of time (or faster) to walk since most live within about a mile from the school," Kerr said. "Walking to school is also a great opportunity for parents of students to visit with neighbors. I feel living in a small walkable community is one reason we chose to live in Vienna."

Louise Archer Elementary School and Marshall Road Elementary School also participated in the event. Marshall Road had about 240 kids participate in the event, said PTA President Beth Eachus, and Vienna Mayor Jane Seeman joined the walkers at Louise Archer.

Click through the media gallery above to see pictures from Louise Archer and Marshall Road. Watch the video to see highlights from Wolftrap Elementary and Kilmer Middle Schools' celebrations.