Bluearth is a proud participant in the TAFISA World Walking Day 2020!

On Sunday 4 October 2020 it is World Walking Day. The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA) is rallying people and organisations from across the world to 'pass the baton' across all time zones to celebrate the power of sport and physical activity in unifying the world during the COVID-19 crisis. The global pandemic has stunned our societies, grassroots sports, health systems, governments, and citizens worldwide.

This event will take place everywhere on Sunday 4 October 2020 from 10am local time. It will connect people by creating a wave across the world from east to west and covering all 24 time zones.

The Bluearth Foundation are encouraging you to join in and raise funds for an important cause at the same time.

Helping Inner Melbourne Schools

A decline in physical activity is being seen in Australia's children. However, this has become particularly urgent in children residing in Inner Melbourne public housing towers who have been subjected to Australia's hardest COVID-19 restrictions recently. A large proportion of Inner Melbourne primary school students reside in these public housing towers that were placed under such hard restrictions, while many Inner Melbourne schools are already considered disadvantaged.

Principals from schools in this area have shared with us that their students are usually vigorous in sport and activities with local clubs, but for many months have been confined to small dwellings where outdoor access to spaces for physical activity is restricted. They also report that that the social isolation, lack of peer support and absence of physical activity associated with school closures and residential lockdowns have induced adverse effects on the children’s physical, mental and social health.

School closures and remote schooling due to the COVID-19 crisis have also triggered alarming educational gaps for disadvantaged schools, including a break in Physical Education, as this recent article highlights here. How long-term these adverse effects on children’s health, wellbeing and education remains to be determined but is of great concern for our current generation and requires urgent, critical attention.

Let World Walking Day 2020 shine a light on our most positive and empowered way to move out of COVID-19 and benefit this Melbourne community. Let this be a symbolic show of strength and resilience to bind together and spread the word that we will come through this. Please get your loved ones outside and show them better days are to come.

Bluearth Fundraising Goal 

Bluearth has set a bold goal to raise $12,000 to provide our Active Schools program* in Inner Melbourne schools. Bluearth's Active Schools program focuses on mindful movement and moving well. As Bluearth's CEO, Peter Parker, describes in the above video, we would love to see our Active Schools program in these schools. Our Active Schools program's focus will develop excellent physical, mental and emotional health benefits for these children and their wider community, combatting the recent effects of COVID-19. Therefore, we are thankful for any donation you make through participating in the TAFISA World Walking Day 2020, and we trust you will enjoy being a part of this global activity!

* For more information on our Active Schools Program, please visit our website here

How you can participate with Bluearth in TAFISA World Walking Day 2020 and show support to Inner Melbourne schools

Anyone can join by choosing their favourite active movement ~ walking, running, cycling, swimming, canoeing, skateboarding, climbing, horse riding, surfing, etc. Once you have chosen, watch the video from Bluearth's CEO Peter Parker, above, then follow these steps to take part!

1. Register with TAFISA (optional) here

2. Download and print off the baton template from this page in the ‘downloads’ section, or make your own

3. Make a video of yourself while being active and passing the baton from your left to your right-hand side (right to the left-hand side for people watching the video). To observe social distancing, you do not actually have to pass the baton to anyone, you can simply pass it across the lens as if supposedly passing to someone. For tips on how to pass your baton, please watch this video here

4. In the same video, please say "On World Walking Day, I am passing the baton for Bluearth Foundation"

5. Share on social media! Please share your video and any photos passing the baton on social media with the hashtags #bluearthfoundation and #worldwalkingday, and tag Bluearth and TAFISA using @bluearth_foundation and @tafisaofficial on Instagram and @BluearthFoundation and @TAFISAOffice on Facebook

The only rule is that it must take place from 10am on Sunday October 4, 2020. Please follow your relevant COVID-19 restrictions, including government guidelines on mask wearing, social gatherings and social distancing. Victorian residents, please remain within your 5km radius and adhere to time restrictions allowed for exercise.