Celebrating The Magic of Walking at Scottish Parliament

During Walk to School Week (20-24 May 2024) our Scotland team carried the message of the importance of everyday walking straight to Parliament. 

MSPs and pupils hang paper leaves from a tree

Sponsored by Foysol Choudhury, Labour MSP for Lothians Region, we set up our Living Streets stall in the Garden Lobby at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, where we engaged in conversations with lots of MSPs including Emma Harper (SNP MSP for South Scotland Region), Ross Greer (Greens MSP for West Scotland Region), and Pam Duncan-Glancy (Labour MSP for Glasgow Region). 

A highlight of the week was our ‘Magic Tree’, we decorated a tree outside the parliament building with colourful ribbons and leaf-shaped paper cut-outs to celebrate this year’s Walk to School Week theme: The Magic of Walking. We invited pupils from our WOW schools across Scotland to write down on the leaves why they believe walking is magic. 

"I like walking to school so I can get into the right mindset for the day ahead." - Reyss, pupil from Scotland WOW School

Pupils from Abbeyhill Primary School walked to the Magic Tree at parliament on Wednesday, where they were greeted by a speech from Foysol emphasising the importance of walking. 
Mark Ruskell (Greens MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife) and Ariane Burgess (Greens MSP for Highlands and Islands) also joined in for a photo shoot by the Magic Tree. 

The MSPs and Abbeyhill pupils added their own leaf cutouts to the tree, expressing what the magic of walking meant to them. One pupil from Abbeyhill primary wrote, ‘If you walk, you can experience things you can’t experience any other way’, while Ariane Burgess MSP said, ‘I love the spontaneous interactions and meetings I have when I walk – It’s magic!’ 

It was a fantastic day outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, and a wonderful way to celebrate this year’s Walk to School Week. The Magic Tree sparked engagement and brought MSPs into the conversation about the importance of everyday walking.

 

MSPS and pupils crouch at a stone bench writing on paper leaves

About the author

Danielle Angeli

Office Support Coordinator, Living Streets Scotland