A Dozen Years with ELMO ASRTS
As we reach the end of another academic year, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the work I have done and the impact I have had in the community. I never started this company to make a lot of money, but rather to find ways to help people and organizations that need support at a reasonable cost. While my full time job at Fanshawe College and family has meant that I haven’t had as much time to look for consulting work, I have still managed to do community-based projects I am passionate about. None more than the Elgin London Middlesex Oxford Active & Safe Routes to School Steering Committee, of which I am a long-term volunteer and co-chair.
When I first came to London in 2012 to become a post doctoral fellow in the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory (HEALab) at Western University, I was lucky enough to join the Elgin, London, Middlesex, Oxford Active & Safe Routes to School Steering Committee. I attended the committee along with many HEALab members, including Jason Gilliland, Douglas Rivet & Steve Fitzpatrick. Our committee was chaired by Diane Szoller & Lori Fellner, who led the pilot of School Travel Planning under the leadership of Green Communities Canada.
Over the next 6 years, ELMO ASRTS became a leader in Ontario for evidence informed interventions, adapting School Travel Planning for our region. This work, under the leadership of Emily Van Kesteren, Pam Ewart, & Kelly Vanderhoeven, was vital to improving infrastructure for Active School Travel in our region.
I was also lucky enough to work with so many amazing students who completed research on topics related to Active School Travel: Douglas Rivet, Steve Fitzpatrick, Emily Bent, MRTPI, Christine Mitchell, Katherine Wilson, Alina Medeiros, Adrian Buttazzoni, Erika Romanelli-Baird, Emma Fabri, and Nathaniel Frisbee M.Sc..
In 2018, I became co-chair and worked closely with Emily Van Kesteren & Tara MacDaniel to continue building on the work that was previously completed. Since then there has been much uncertainty around this work as changing priorities from partners and COVID stalled a lot of great work. Over that time I had amazing co-chairs in Maureen Cosyn Heath, MPA, Kristy Kastelic and currently, Melissa Waters, but I felt like things were kinda stuck in neutral.
Fast forward to the end of the 2024-25 school year and I now represent Fanshawe College, the Urban 360 Lab, and Healthy Way Consulting on the Committee. I feel that we have finally found our post-COVID footing and are moving forward. We had a great year of progress, with 5 schools starting our new streamlined School Travel Planning program redeveloped by Kristy Kastelic, Rachel Eskin, Chantha Sreng, Sarah Petrie, Darrell Jutzi, Allison Miller, Sylvia Hazenberg, and Erica Arnett, BhSc, MBA. We also are installing Wayfinding Signs in 13 school neighbourhoods, revived the CAA Club Group Safety Patrol program, and supported active school travel in many schools across Thames Valley District School Board & London District Catholic School Board.
This year capped off with a massive highlight for me. Students at Westfield Public School in Tillsonburg, Ontario came up with an idea to have Motor Free Mondays at their school. Fanshawe College and the ELMO ASRTS committee came together to support these students to help turn their idea to reality. Partners from Southwestern Public Health, Student Transportation Services, OPP, and Fanshawe joined the students in encouraging their classmates to take active and sustainable modes of travel to and from school!
A dozen years supporting active school travel in our community has been amazing and I know year 13 has a lot in store. Check out our website, sign up for our seasonal newsletter, or follow us on social media to learn more about this amazing committee!