SFCT’s Trails Program Manager led a group of eight participants from the national Green Schools Conference on a 7.25-mile bike tour on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Bicycles and helmets were generously provided by the City’s Recreation Department.
The ride map – click on image for full-size view
The GSC Bike Tour makes its first stop, at the model school crossing for Gonzales Community School, where we were joined by Assistant Principal Jill Hutchinson-Bass.
The second stop on the tour was Aspen Community School, which has a weekly walk-and-roll-to-school event and enough solar power to meet 50% of the schools electricity needs. …And where Jill Hutchinson-Bass, who joined us for this leg of the ride, is also Assistant Principal!
The GSC Tour on the Santa Fe River Trail
Thie third school on the tour was Salazar Elementary School, which also has a weekly walk-and-roll-to-school event as well as a model school garden. Crossing guard Bill Adrian, who is also Vice President of the Casa Alegre Neighborhood Association, met us on site to discuss the history of the neighborhood since the 1950s and the impact of increased traffic on walking and bicycling in the area.
Salazar E.S. teacher and walk-and-roll leader Miquelita Hernandez-Eklund and her daughter, a student at Mandela International Magnet School, describe the joys and challenges of walking and rolling to school.
Will Knoesel of Mandela International Magnet School, who joined the ride at Ashbaugh Park, provides a campus tour. MIMS will undergo a rebuild using Santa Fe Public Schools’ new Sustainable Design Standards.
After passing by the New Mexico School for the Deaf on the Acequia Trail, the tour group was briefly split in half on the Rail Trail by the NM Railrunner commuter train as we entered the Railyard Park.
The full itinerary – click on image for full-size view