The benefits of walking as exercise are well-documented, as are the positive impacts of healthy activity on students’ ability to learn and retain information.

So promoting walking to school seems like a no-brainer.

Yet there are few official programs in place to get more children walking to and from school on a regular basis.

Without question, more are needed.

The Nanaimo school district is working toward that goal, discussing ways to maximize an $8,000 grant awarded last year, and hopes to have programs in place this winter.

In the meantime, more parent groups and schools should be looking to follow the lead of their counterparts at Pauline Haarer and Frank J. Ney elementary schools.

At Frank Ney, a ‘walking school bus’ has been in place for more than a year, regularly getting two separate groups of kids to school safely, without the need of a school bus or parents’ vehicles.

So in addition to the health and educational benefits for the students, there’s a reduced environmental impact.

With school districts across B.C. scrambling to save every available penny, there could also be positive financial implications to getting more kids walking – less need for costly school buses.

To avoid job losses, those workers – drivers, mechanics and so forth – displaced or affected by the change could be redirected to similar roles in the walk-to-school programs, supervising ‘passengers’ and ensuring they all get to school safely.

And there would still be significant cost savings, as buses are enormously expensive to own and operate.

In short, the benefits of getting kids walking and biking to school are many and need more exploration.