Schools and Young People

Photo by Lisa Watts, graphic by RTC

Trail Moments | The Great Bike Shortage? For Me, It Was the Great Bike Summer!

Posted 09/02/21 by Silvia Ascarelli in America's Trails | Tagged with COVID-19, Demand for Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Schools and Young People, Trail Moments, Trail Use Tips, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

In late May 2020, during the early days of the COVID-induced Great Bike Shortage, I stood in line with a neighbor to buy a used bike. Her first bike. My neighbor Shahreen is in her late 30s and didn’t know how to ride a bike, so she asked me to teach her. And so began my Great Bike Summer.

Canyon Rim Trail | Courtesy Los Alamos County Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Division

New Mexico’s Canyon Rim Trail

Posted 12/04/20 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Connected Systems, Federal, Funding, Health and Active Living, New Mexico, Schools and Young People, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

One of Los Alamos County's most popular pathways, the Canyon Rim Trail, provides an easy—and easy to reach—option in the heart of the community, packing a lot of wonder into its 2.5 miles.

The Mom Squad on the W&OD Trail in Northern Virginia | Courtesy Brandi Horton

Trail Moments | Stealing Moments of “Me Time” on the Trail as a Mom During COVID

Posted 09/10/20 by Brandi Horton in America's Trails, Health and Wellness, Trail Use | Tagged with COVID-19, Encouraging Trail Use, Schools and Young People, Trail Moments, Trail Use Tips, Virginia, Why Use Trails?

While my moments on the trail can’t fix the systemic inequalities that women face, or the uphill climb many of us are facing during and after the pandemic, these moments on the trail can help me rebuild my resilience. And they are—as often as I can create them.

"Transcend," a mural along the West Papio Trail commissioned by by the Papio-Missouri River NRD, was created by Omaha artist Hugo Zamorano, an instructor for the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program at Omaha's Joslyn Art Museum. | Photo courtesy Chuck Cooper, Papio-Missouri River NRD

Art Program in Omaha Makes Beautiful Connections on the West Papio Trail

Posted 05/08/19 by Cory Matteson in America's Trails | Tagged with Art, Nebraska, Rural Communities, Schools and Young People

The latest connection on the West Papio Trail brings with it the latest additions to a community-wide effort to spread public art along the Omaha-area trail system. Both can be found beneath a bridge that crosses heavily trafficked Harrison Street.

Donny Green leads a bike camp at Red Shed Bike Shop | Photo by Scott Stark

Big Hearts in the Smallest State: A Bike Camp Offers a Providential Pedal

Posted 09/01/17 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Taking Action, Health and Wellness, Success Stories | Tagged with Biking, Case Studies, Equity, Funding, Health and Active Living, Rhode Island, Schools and Young People, Success Stories, Trail Communities

It’s a heartwarming sight, watching a new rider roll down the trail, a slow grin spreading across his or her face—experiencing that sweet mixture of freedom, independence and pride. It’s an image that Donny Green, director of a youth bike camp in Rhode Island, has seen many times.

Biking with Margot on the Schuylkill River Trail in Pennsylvania | Photo courtesy Dr. Peter Doehring

Accessible Trail Adventures for People of All Abilities

Posted 05/15/17 by Peter Doehring in Trail Use, America's Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with People with Disabilities, Schools and Young People, Trail Use Tips, Why Use Trails?

Sometimes it can be hard to imagine how to plan a successful adventure for your family with special needs. But when the trips are successful, the exercise and shared enjoyment that trails offer can be incredibly powerful and restorative! Here are a few tips on how to ensure people of all abilities are having a great time out on the trail.

Rutgers-Camden IGNITE student participants on their 2017 inaugural "new bike" ride on the Camden GreenWay | Photo by Anya Saretzky/ RTC

New Fleet of Bikes IGNITES Trail-Inspired Youth in Camden, New Jersey

Posted 05/04/17 by Anya Saretzky in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Circuit Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Schools and Young People

On April 27 at Holy Name School in Camden, New Jersey, eight fifth- through eighth-graders enthusiastically greeted their new Fuji hybrid bikes as part of the Rutger-Camden IGNITE afterschool cycling program.

RTC Youth Sojourn participants cross the Ben Franklin Bridge between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, on the Circuit Trails network. | Photo by Blake Rubin

23 Youth Tackle 170-Mile Watershed Sojourn in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Posted 09/01/16 by Anya Saretzky in Health and Wellness, Success Stories | Tagged with Circuit Trails, Community Events, Connected Systems, Ecology and Environment, Encouraging Trail Use, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Schools and Young People, Young Champions

As a culmination of our summer youth programming in the Greater Philadelphia Area, RTC brought 23 young people together this August for our second annual Youth Sojourn—a five-day bike ride over 170 miles of Circuit Trails in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Led by RTC Youth Engagement Coordinator Jolie Chylack and several Youth Leaders, the sojourn capped off a great summer of watershed health education programming.

RTC Youth Leaders Allen Williams, Paul Jewell and Jaymere Copeland at the 2016 Youth Bike Summit in St. Paul, Minnesota | Photo by RTC/Anya Saretzky

Impressions from the 2016 National Youth Bike Summit in Minnesota

Posted 06/14/16 by Anya Saretzky in Success Stories, Taking Action | Tagged with Biking, Ecology and Environment, Schools and Young People, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Young Champions

During Memorial Day weekend, RTC’s Youth Leaders in the Philadelphia/Camden area attended the Youth Bike Summit at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jaymere Copeland, Paul Jewell and Allen Williams joined young people from across the country to learn and share ideas focused on using cycling as a tool to improve communities.

Photo courtesy Alex Blackstock | CC by 2.0

Bike-Friendly Colleges Are on the Rise

Posted 12/18/15 by Momentum Mag in Success Stories, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Bike Commuting, Biking, Schools and Young People, Walkability and Bikeability

Many are familiar with the League of American Bicyclists’ List of Bike Friendly Businesses. Another category the League ranks is Bicycle Friendly Universities (BFUs). This list has only been active for four years, but the last round of designations graduated to a new level with a record-breaking number of top-performing colleges.

Photo courtesy Girls in Gear

Bike-Savvy Middle Schoolers Help Reclaim—and Redesign—Columbus Streets

Posted 02/03/15 by Katie Harris in Success Stories, Taking Action | Tagged with Biking, Ohio, Schools and Young People, Young Champions

A formidable group of young women travels the streets of Columbus. Helmet clad, they roll through town on their bikes, searching for sidewalks and bike lanes and assessing street lighting. They know the names of the city council members who represent them, and you may find them behind a microphone at a town hall meeting advocating for the local bicycling movement. They also help cyclists themselves; they can fix a flat bike tire without giving it a second thought. They are an impressive group. Oh, and they’re in middle school!

Photo courtesy Freewheelin' Community Bikes (FWCB)

Positive Peer Pressure: Indy Earn-a-Bike Program Teaches Bike (and Life) Skills

Posted 11/18/14 by Katie Harris in Success Stories | Tagged with Repairs and Trail Safety, Indiana, Schools and Young People

Freewheelin' Community Bikes is a nonprofit ​ ​that uses bicycles to “bring out the best in people and their community.” It’s eight weeks of commitment for kids ages 10 to 16, with a big pay off at the other end: a set of wheels, and the knowledge and confidence that comes from knowing how to repair a bicycle.