By Danetta, Jason, and AMY Northwest Healthy Bulldog staff | When you need to go somewhere nearby, choosing to walk or bike instead of riding in a car helps keep the air cleaner.
Biking and walking are great options for “greener transportation,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Two AMY Northwest staff members described why they like to use greener forms of transportation to get to school in the morning in recent interviews with the Healthy Bulldog.
Mr. Torrisi, the seventh-grade ELA teacher, rides his electric bike to and from school most days. Mr. Purvis, the eighth-grade math resident, said he will often take the bus to school and walk to and from the bus stop.
Mr. Torrisi said he enjoys biking as a form of exercising. Biking is convenient and accessible, espe- cially because AMY is such a short distance from his home. It’s a reliable form of transportation, he said.
Mr. Torrisi said he began biking on his honeymoon when he and his wife decided to rent bikes. They didn’t have a car at the time and didn’t have much access to getting around, so that seemed like a great alternative.
Biking is one type of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercises “include activities that make your heart beat faster and cause you to breathe harder and sweat,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These exercises are healthy for your heart, strengthen your muscles, improve your mood, help you sleep better, and more.
Mr. Purvis said he likes walking because it’s easy and free. He typically walks a half an hour before and after school around his neighborhood with his dog. “I feel like our neighborhood is safe in general,” he said.
If he doesn’t walk in his neighborhood, he walks his dog on the Wissahickon Parkway near Lincoln Drive. “Walking helps me remember all the things that are important to me,” he said. “Walking is something everyone should do, for their health and also mental stability.”
According to the American Heart Association, walking—especially brisk walking—can play a role in keeping your heart healthy. “Walking is an easy physical activity to begin and maintain as part of a physically active lifestyle,” the American Heart Association says.
Illustration by Kay, Eleanor Emlen E.S.
