When adults walk, bicycle and ride the bus, we create a cleaner, healthier and more vibrant community. When we teach children to make Smart Trips, we extend those benefits into the future. We also give children opportunities for fun physical activity and important tools for confident, independent exploration.
Bicycle Skills Courses
Smart Trips partners with community groups to host fun and instructive bicycle skills courses. Children learn the importance of stopping and looking for traffic, the meaning of traffic signs and signals, and much more. Smart Trips provides instructors, course equipment, loaned bikes and helmets. For more information, contact Michelle Grandy at michelle@wcog.org or (360) 685-8388 to inquire about scheduled courses.
7th Grade Bus Program
In middle schools, Smart Trips works with seventh grade students to educate and encourage them to ride the Whatcom Transportation Authority bus system. The program consists of classroom presentations and on-bus instruction from a WTA driver. The classroom sessions are engaging, interactive and fun. Students learn:
- How to plan WTA bus trips
- How to put a bike on the bus
- Specific routes to get to places they’d like to go
- Rules and expectations while riding the bus
Adventure Camp
In the summer, Smart Trips offers a week-long adventure camp. 12 to 14 year-olds learn to travel safely and independently in Bellingham, walking, bicycling and riding the bus. Includes games, field trips and activities to teach map-reading, walking and bicycle skills, and bus route planning. Camp culminates in a scavenger hunt by bus all around town. Three week long sessions are offered through Bellingham Parks and Recreation. For more information, contact Michelle Grandy at michelle@wcog.org or (360) 685-8388.