Building Healthy Habits: Powering YRAM in Schools

An important aspect of the promotion of year-round active mobility is the continued education and inspiration of future generations to adopt active and healthy modes of transport all year round.

At a time when increasing numbers of children are spending excessive time in front of screens, promoting an active mobility culture among students and young people can ensure daily exercise while improving physical and mental wellbeing. Furthermore, through the design of various activities and workshops, young pedestrians and cyclists can learn crucial road safety lessons, which can result in increased independence and confidence.

To learn more about the work being done to educate schoolchildren, parents, and teachers about year-round active mobility and its benefits through the BATS project, we spoke to project partners Union of Harju County Municipalities (HOL) and Municipality of Gdynia.

Within the BATS project, HOL is working closely with Kiili Municipality, and Kiili Gymnasium School, while Gdynia Municipality is using its influence over the city of Gdynia, to inspire and educate local children on the benefits YRAM and the best practices to adopt.

Thanks for speaking to us! Please tell us more about your BATS campaign activities related to YRAM in schools, and what you want to achieve?

HOL: “The recent YRAM campaign at Kiili School included designing and launching questionnaires for students, teachers, and parents, as well as organising a Cycling Week from 21–25 April 2025, with a dedicated Bike Day held on 23 April 2025.

Through the campaign, we aimed to capture the current situation and use the questionnaires to gently nudge the target group toward active mobility, while considering how they could continue regular physical activity even during dark and bad weather. This approach served as a form of “positive nudging,” as our partners from TalTech University describe it. With the questionnaires we set a baseline to measure how well our campaign is working.”

Gdynia: “From October to December 2024, an autumn-winter edition of the well-known campaign “Odprowadzam Sam” was carried out, which has been organised during the Spring-Summer season in Gdynia for twelve years.. 8 educational institutions were invited to participate in this unique edition, including 4 kindergartens and 4 primary schools.

The campaign aims to reduce car traffic near public kindergartens and primary schools, increase the safety of children of preschool and school age during their daily journey to the facility and educate children about road safety, promote sustainable ways of moving around the city during daily journeys among the youngest residents of Gdynia and their parents, in particular walking, and encourage parents of children attending public kindergartens and primary schools in Gdynia to lead a healthy lifestyle by regularly taking their children to the facility instead of driving them by car.”

How are these activities progressing? How was the general reaction?

HOL: “Initially, the campaign was promoted through the Kiili municipal newspaper and social media. Bike Day activities included an educational cycling track, cycling lessons and competitions, program-branded giveaways, free on-site bike maintenance by an expert, the sale of cycling gear, fresh fruit and hot drinks for participants, student performances and a concert by local rap artist säm. The questionnaire was completed by 558 students, 64 teachers, and 124 parents, while roughly 80 students participated in the Bike Day activities and more during bike week. The feedback to the campaign was very positive.”

Gdynia: “Generally, the reaction to the campaign was positive, with educators reporting high involvement levels from children and a positive reception to the activities. Data obtained shows that almost 98% of children (459 responses) expressed a positive opinion on sticking up posters, while over 68% (320 responses) of children got involved in the campaign, encouraging their parents to take part in the campaign and come to kindergarten or school by bike, scooter, or on foot.”

Did you run the campaign over the winter? What activities took place?

HOL: “This was our first campaign, and we plan to continue it in autumn–winter 2025. Upcoming activities will include workshops on bicycle maintenance, covering topics such as how to use winter tyres and how to prepare a bike for winter usage.We are also planning a “Winter Hike” next winter to encourage safe and active mobility during the darker months.”

Gdynia: “The Campaign ran from October 27 to January 15. Before the campaign began, City Hall employees provided participating educational institutions with promotional materials and survey questionnaires that allowed for the assessment of children’s transport habits at the beginning and end of the campaign. Each institution participating in the campaign received an information poster. Additionally, all groups participating in the campaign received a poster with a tree and stickers.

Children who came to kindergarten on foot, by bike, on a scooter or used public transport between 1 October and 6 December 2024 were asked to stick a colourful sticker on a poster depicting a tree. Stickers could also be used by children whose parents parked their car at a greater distance from the kindergarten or school and then walked or scootered the rest of the way. This way, children living far from the educational facility could actively participate in the campaign.”

How was your campaign introduced to students, parents, and staff?

HOL: “To raise awareness about the project’s goals, we produced a video outlining its objectives and promoting questionnaires. This video was shared repeatedly on the e-school platform, Stuudium. Students were encouraged to reflect on their daily school commute and to photograph both the positive and problematic aspects of their journey. These images were included as part of their questionnaire responses. The event was actively promoted on the municipality’s social media in the weeks leading up to it and an article was published in the Kiili Municipality paper. Overall, the promotion of the campaign was successful – the topic became a “common knowledge” and was actively discussed by local people.”

Gdynia: “The campaign was presented as an autumn-winter pilot edition, but students, parents, and teachers knew the assumptions from the spring-summer edition, which is why it was easier for us to communicate with all groups. We provided schools and kindergartens with worksheets and educational booklets for individual work with parents, while we also delivered posters. During the campaign, we were in constant contact with school and kindergarten directors, and conducted classes with 26 groups in schools and kindergartens on sustainable and year-round active mobility.”

What type of activities or incentives were made available to encourage students and others to participate in the campaign?

HOL: “During the bike week there were classes to learn biking skills (compulsory for 3rd grade), different competitions on bike day, a free bike maintenance booth for local people, and a concert. To encourage participation, prizes were given to those who participated in competitions. The Student Council ran the Bike Day café and students had an opportunity to perform on stage before the main performer, adding a personal and festive touch to the event. The main performer was Estonian 2024 Rap Artist of the Year and popular TikToker säm.  The free bike maintenance booth featuring two maintenance technicians was really popular and a reason to visit the event for lots of people.”

Gdynia: “As a thank you for their involvement in the campaign, children and teachers were invited to a play by the Gdynia Główna Theatre entitled “Why We’re Not Flying to the Whistle?” directed by Grzegorz Kujawiński. In order to accommodate all participants in the campaign, the play was performed twice in the auditorium of the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park. Thanks to the play, the youngest generation could see the consequences of not caring for our planet and how important cooperation is.

The children received gifts containing gadgets, the purpose of which was to increase the safety and visibility of the campaign participants on the road. Each of the children received a reflective scarf, an elastic reflective band, a reflective mascot (a keychain in the shape of a sun), and a bag with a reflector for the back. Additionally, the children were given books for independent work.”

Have you noticed any changes in attitudes towards active mobility and YRAM amongst students, parents and staff?

HOL: “At this stage, it’s too early to assess any permanent behavioural changes, as the spring campaign was our first. However, even during the preparation work and meetings with the municipal government and school, a positive shift of mindset was visible.  We plan to repeat the questionnaires in the autumn to track potential shifts over time. In addition, the “Winter Hike” will be carried out during the late autumn period to further engage participants and promote safe, active travel during the darker months.”

Gdynia: “The data collected through the campaign has shown some initial positive behavioural changes amongst participants. The data has shown us an increase in the share of trips on foot (+4.5%), by public transport (+4.3%), by car (+2.3%) and combining walking and car trips (+1.6%).

On the other hand, a significant decrease was noted in the case of using bicycles and scooters (-12.7%). The observed results indicate that the choice of a bicycle or scooter is strongly dependent on the season and weather conditions. Despite giving up these means of transport, the increase in the share of car trips was relatively small (+2.4%). Most children and parents, giving up bicycles and scooters, decided to travel on foot (+4.4%) or use public transport (+4.4%). A small number chose combined solutions, such as travelling by car and then walking a longer distance to kindergarten or school.”

Introducing campaigns of this nature is not always straightforward. Have you experienced any challenges? If so, how have these challenges been overcome?

HOL: “While no major issues arose during the event, we had hoped for greater participation from teenagers on Bike Day. According to the school’s Recreation Teacher, future events should be more clearly tailored to different age groups. As he noted, “The older students don’t want to participate alongside the younger ones, and they’re not easily motivated to come to school (or public) in the evenings”. He suggested to maybe make some event (or part of it) as a part of school day or a graded task/assignment.”

Gdynia: “We did not encounter any particular challenges, which we believe is due to our extensive experience in implementing campaigns.”

Within the BATS project, fellow partners are interested in running similar campaigns. How can these partners and other cities across the Baltic Sea Region learn from your experience with running campaigns for YRAM in schools?

HOL: “Support from local organisations, municipalities, community members and leaders is essential for the success of such campaigns. It is good to take time for preparing the events, prioritise face-to-face meetings, and “sell” the idea to local co-organizers and stakeholders. Equally important is the ability to remain flexible, making internal adjustments when needed, for example, if there is need to change methods for reaching the target group.”

Gdynia: “Twelve years ago, we started pilot campaigns with children in several schools and kindergarten. We introduced our ideas one by one, not all at once, so that educational institutions could familiarise themselves with the concepts. We organised many meetings with directors. Most importantly, we started with a meeting with the President and the Department of Education, to whom we presented our ideas and received permission to introduce them to schools and kindergartens. From our experience, prior organisation in order to confirm or challenge existing assumptions is a crucial aspect to consider when implementing campaigns for YRAM in schools.”

Moving forward, have you already identified some next steps? What is planned in the coming months?

HOL: “Our partner, Kiili Municipality, is organising a community cycling tour—Kiili Vänt—in early September. In October, we will hold bicycle maintenance workshops at the school, covering topics such as using winter tyres, preparing bikes for winter usage, and repeating the questionnaires to assess any changes in behaviour.

Next winter a Winter Hike is planned for bike users, encouraging to continue cycling even in challenging conditions.”

Gdynia: “We are planning a second edition of the autumn-winter campaign in the period October-December 2025. However, it will be improved with suggestions gathered during the recent campaign from students, teachers and parents.”

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