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Kick-off Spring By Joining The Fresh Air Challenge
It is not too late to put your best foot or bike wheel forward and challenging your mates or colleagues to ditch the car for this year’s NPDC Fresh Air Challenge.
All throughout September, The Fresh Air Challenge/Te Wero Hauhau is your chance to up your active travel.
Our Let’s Go team is encouraging people to reduce the reliance (and cost) of car travel which begins with a footstep or the turn of a bicycle wheel. Or hailing a bus!
“People will be surprised how easy making a change can be,” says NPDC Let’s Go Advisor, Anna Davies.
“Get your colleagues to swap even one car trip a week for walking, biking, scootering, busing or ridesharing. Even working from home or holding virtual meetings count!”
Challenge participants log how many active kilometres they do over the month and there are some cool prizes and awards. Workplaces in the 2021 Fresh Air Challenge logged 7,633 ‘conscious’ trips in various forms of sustainable travel choices.
Anna says the challenge is enough for some people to make a permanent switch to a more active way of getting around the district as well as boosting their physical and mental health.
Among the comments from some of last year’s participants were:
“It’s great for my overall fitness, it’s easy to do and the best thing is I don't need to find a car park.”
“Car-pooling is a great way to save money, have a laugh, unwind and reduce the number of cars on the road.”
“I really do get to explore some of the hidden gems of the city, skip the traffic queues in peak times, and have a moment to myself.”
Go to Home - Fresh Air Challenge (letsgo.org.nz), or email LetsGo@npdc.govt.nz to register today.
Fast facts
- Let’s Go’s school travel programme is recognised as one of the best in New Zealand by Waka Kotahi. We work with primary, intermediate, and high schools in the district.
- Before beginning their active travel journeys many schools started with as little as 30% of their students actively travelling to school. That number rises to an average 69% after participating in our programme.
- We work with businesses to promote the Aotearoa Bike Challenge and Fresh Air Challenge.
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