Running an Assembly: The High Carbon Commute 🌍🚗
What did we do? We ran a school assembly all about the high carbon commute—what it means, why it matters, and how we can all help make a difference.
We started by explaining that when we travel in cars, especially on short journeys, we release carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the air. This is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. We talked about how cars, buses, and even planes all add to our carbon footprint, and how our everyday travel choices can help the planet—or harm it.
We shared some surprising facts, like how the school run makes up a big part of the morning traffic and how even a short car journey creates more pollution than people think. Some children acted out different travel choices—walking, scooting, cycling, car-sharing—and we asked the audience to guess which were low carbon and which were high carbon.
What did we learn? We learned that even small changes—like walking or biking to school once or twice a week—can really help. We also learned that walking or scooting isn’t just good for the planet, it’s fun, healthy, and a great way to wake up in the morning!
What could we do next?
Set up an Active Travel Team to lead more assemblies or organise challenges
Launch a “Low Carbon Travel” Week
Make a video version of the assembly to share with families
Encourage more children to be travel champions in their class
The assembly helped everyone think about how our travel habits add up—and how we all have the power to choose a greener way to move!
Activity description
Share what you've learned about the effect that transportation has on the environment with pupils and staff at your school. Make it clear why you want to take action on the school commute and what everyone can do to help.
You might want to use some of the data that you have from the survey you conducted - either from one class or the whole school.
Make sure that everyone knows what they need to do next. It might be hard to go from driving every day to cycling or walking but you can reduce your carbon footprint in less dramatic ways. The Sustainable Transport pyramid is a great resource for this - it shows people how by nudging to the next level they can make lower carbon choices.
Even if they can only switch one journey a week, that's a great start!
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