Wokingham Borough Connect
 What's happening in our schools this month
Pupils get poetic for active travel
Children across the borough have impressed us in our poetry competition, which challenged them to write about walking, cycling or scooting to school.
The winner was Will from Westende Junior School, Wokingham, whose fantastic entry Walking Through the Seasons has won a school visit by poet James Carter.
Will's poem reads:
On the summer day, walking down the path,
With the hot sun beaming down on your back but still I love walking.
On the autumn day, walking down the street,
With the orange leaves crunching under your feet.
On the winter day, walking down the path,
In the cold gloomy day, but still I love walking.
On the spring day, walking down the street,
In a warm spring day and the blossom on the trees.
The runners-up from Wheatfield Primary School, Winnersh, and St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School and Westende Junior School, both in Wokingham, each won a My Journey Wokingham goody bag.
Get moving on the trip to school
Throughout November, more than a dozen schools have been adding more activity to their daily school run through our Active Journey event.
Every child is given a bingo card with nine options for adding more steps, and those who complete it are entered into a draw to win a scooter and other prizes.
This is part of a year-long effort to inspire children to sit less, stand often and move more at school, called the Active Movement programme.
Wescott Infant School wins gold
Wescott Infant School has earned gold accreditation for its Modeshift STARS school travel plan to promote walking, cycling and scooting. We attended an assembly on 18 November to present their award.
The school has completed 36 main initiatives, including taking part in Beat the Street and Road Safety Week, promoting a "park and stride" scheme and holding a "bling your bike" competition, plus 23 supporting ones like becoming an eco-school.
It has increased park and stride use by 10 per cent and cycling by almost five per cent since starting a travel plan last year, and is working towards platinum status.
 Pupils get planting for National Tree Week
National Tree Week (26 November to 4 December) marks the start of the tree planting season, which runs until next March.
Our Wokingham Air Quality Project is now working with local charity Freely Fruity (email) to encourage the borough's air quality schools to plant fruit trees.
As well as absorbing harmful pollutants, trees can help us tackle the climate emergency by reducing carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming.
Bring on the bling for prizes this Christmas
We'd love you to enter our Christmas challenge to bling your bike, scooter or even yourself in the most festive way possible for the school run.
Please send us a picture of your festive creations by 15 December and you could win a £25 Decathlon voucher or My Journey Wokingham goody bags.
Stay seen to keep safe over the winter
As the days get darker, it's vital to know how to be visible when out walking, cycling or scooting - so try our Be Bright Be Seen quiz, which runs until 30 November.
Correct entries will go in a draw to win high-vis jackets for the winner's class.
 Could you help to keep Bikeathon going?
The proposed date and venue for the next Wokingham Bikeathon, which we support, will be Sunday 11 June 2023 at Cantley Park in Wokingham.
However, if this much-loved annual event is to go ahead as usual, new committee members are urgently needed to organise and run it.
Volunteers could attend monthly committee meetings, usually held in the evenings, or help with publicity including social media.
Help is also required on the day in the registration tent, at the finish line or with setting up and clearing the event field.
Additionally, organisers are looking for marshals and help putting up and taking down direction signs along the course.
A great day out for more than a decade
The Wokingham Bikeathon has been running since 2008, starting with 143 riders and growing to become a popular family event with up to 800 riders of all ages.
Many local and national charities have also benefitted over the years from donations from the funds raised by the Bikeathon.
Any surplus raised by the event goes to good causes, while riders often individually raise funds for the charity of their choice.
To get in touch or find out more about helping, please use the contact form on the Bikeathon website or email the committee.
 New bike lockers installed with our support
We've worked with Wokingham Town Council to install four new bike lockers at the entrance to Denmark Street Car Park in Wokingham.
These are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week all year round and can be booked for a full day at a time for just £1.
Cyclists must register in advance through the Spokesafe app, which allows them to check availability in advance and generates an access code for maximum security.
The lockers were funded by a Government sustainable travel grant to our My Journey Wokingham team, which we passed on to the town council.
Four more will follow in the town centre once a location is decided.
 Early bird rewards for winter riders
Register for Love to Ride Wokingham's Winter Wheelers cycling scheme before 30 November and you could win an early bird prize of a £100 bike shop gift card.
The competition runs from 1 to 25 December and encourages people to get riding on even the coldest months, with prizes available daily to those who saddle up for just 10 minutes or more.
The star prize is a bike worth £1,000, with the winner to be announced on Christmas Day - and it only takes 30 seconds to sign up!
 Station path could keep green ambitions on track
A new traffic-free walking and cycling route could be built between Twyford and Charvil if our bid for funding is successful.
We’re seeking a multi-million pound contribution towards the scheme from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund as part of our wider pledge to tackle air pollution and the climate emergency by making active travel easier.
This would go towards a 1.4km off-road route between Twyford station and Charvil via Loddon Nature Reserve and Charvil Country Park, along the northern side of the railway. Work would finish by March 2026 at the latest.
The route would eventually form part of a proposed link between Twyford and Palmer Park, on the outskirts of Reading, via Charvil and Woodley. This includes a proposed section from Woodley to Reading which we’re looking at revised designs for.
We want to improve links across the borough as part of our draft Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, a long-term strategic vision that we’ll be publishing soon.
 Points make prizes for bus users
Until 13 December, each bus journey you make could win an entry into a prize draw for a £50 Waitrose voucher.
You'll need to install the Innovation Valley Rewards app, which will also earn you points - known as ValleyCoins - for walking, cycling or using public transport.
These can be redeemed for high street vouchers or given to charity, and you can also earn ValleyTickets to enter weekly and monthly draws by taking the bus or train.
So if you're leaving the car at home, download the app to make sure you're making the most of travelling more sustainably.
 Locations for new electric vehicle chargers
We’ve just announced the sites for dozens of new electric vehicle charging points which should encourage higher ownership when they are installed next year.
They’ll be funded by a grant from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, in partnership with the Energy Saving Trust, for two points at each of 19 locations. This covers 60 per cent of the cost and the rest will be met by suppliers.
Twelve sites are residential streets, all five minutes’ walk from areas of high demand:
- William Heelas Way, Wokingham town, RG40 1RE
- Pigott Road, Wokingham town, RG40 1PY
- St Paul’s Gate, Wokingham town, RG41 2YP
- Station Road, Twyford, RG10 9NE
- Pitford Road, Woodley, RG5 4QF
- Bramshill Close, Arborfield, RG2 9PT
- Braybrooke Road, Wargrave, RG10 8DY
- Roycroft Lane, Finchampstead, RG40 4HW
- Chatsworth Avenue, Winnersh, RG51 5EW
- Westminster Way, Earley, RG6 4BZ
- Maiden Place community centre, Earley, RG6 3HE
- Wheble Drive, Woodley, RG5 3DU
The rest will go in dedicated bays at our Denmark Street, Rose Street and Cockpit Path car parks, all Wokingham town, Polehampton Close (West) in Twyford, Station Road in Earley and Crockhamwell Road and Headley Road in Woodley.
Bikeability Instructors needed
If you love cycling and would like to train the next generation how to cycle then this could be of interest to you.
Avanti Cycling are holding their next Bikeability instructor training course starting on 5 January then 9, 10, 12 and 13 January 2022 in Reading. There are bursaries available too for the five day training course.
For further information please contact: greg@avanticycling.co.uk
 Regular cycle training and activities
- Bikeability Learn to Ride sessions (£6) at FBC in Finchampstead on Wednesdays and Woodford Park Leisure Centre in Woodley on Thursdays
- FREE Balance Bike Clubs at FBC on Wednesdays and Woodford Park Leisure Centre on Thursdays
- FREE Dr Bike checks at Woodford Park Leisure Centre in Woodley on Thursdays from 19 January 2023
For more information, visit our website.
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