Bike Champion profile - Liz Cramb

Liz Cramb is a Grade 5/6 Teacher at Buckingham Elementary in Burnaby. She knows the benefits of cycling and tries to instill the importance of active transportation in her students as well. Too often she sees students driven and dropped off, leading to parking congestion issues including safety for all. Organizing Bike to School Week is Liz’s tool for getting kids out of cars and onto their bike.

Liz coordinated Bike to School Week for the first time last year and approached it as a leadership opportunity for her students. This came from the social studies curriculum where senior elementary students are meant to implement a plan of action to address a community issue, which in this case is both health of individuals and safety. Her students made posters and gave presentations in other classes to promote Bike to School Week. Greeters from her class welcomed students who biked to school each day by helping them lock up their bike and place a sticker on the Bike to School Week poster to show that they had biked to school. Liz says that this student leadership style of running Bike to School Week fills an important role because “the older kids need to feel needed, wanted, and able to contribute”.

This year Liz hopes to have a temporary bike rack installed at the school so there is more parking space for bikes. She also hopes to have more prizes donated from local businesses and maybe have bike tune-ups the week before Bike to School Week so everyone’s bike is ready to go. Liz’s advice to other schools: get the students involved in organizing and running Bike to School Week so they feel needed and wanted, and take ownership over the event.