Italy
In Italy, many participants once again collected “green miles” during their action weeks this year, and of course, miles were also collected throughout the year through pedibus and bikebus campaigns.
PIACENZA
Free to Move: Piacenza Collects 21,418 Green Miles
As every year, children in Piacenza were on the move in the 2025/26 school year, travelling actively, safely and in a climate friendly way, and collecting plenty of Green Miles along the way. Under the motto "LIBERI di MUOVERSI" (free to move), the city is promoting active, safe, inclusive and sustainable mobility at schools. The initiative is coordinated by Infoambiente (the CEAS of the Comune di Piacenza) as part of the municipal social and health plan. In response to the city's public call, 11 schools carried out their own projects, from primary schools to secondary schools.
In total, 21,418 Green Miles were collected. Of these, 11,045 were gathered through good everyday actions by 1,420 pupils from 70 classes at 11 primary schools. A further 7,644 miles were earned for the journey to school on foot and by bike: on five Pedibus lines and one Bikebus line, 103 children travelled together with 61 adult companions, the "drivers". Another 2,729 miles came from the Minimaratona Pedibus, a 2 kilometre walk with 2,196 registered participants. Thank you to everyone involved for your commitment!
Pedibus and Bikebus
Walking to school has a long tradition in Piacenza. At the Vittorino Da Feltre primary school, children walk to school together every morning accompanied by two adults, and the Pedibus has two active lines there. At the De Amicis school, one line runs with 24 children and 10 companions, and at the Caduti sul Lavoro school two lines run with 30 children and 7 companions, where the Pedibus has been running for 19 years.
A new addition is the Bikebus: in spring 2025, the "Vittorino Bike Bus" started at the Vittorino Da Feltre school. The children cycle to school in a group with adult companions, and just like a bus route, there is a starting point and several stops where others can join the group. This builds community and turns the journey to school into a fun, active experience. For more Insides and Pictures you can visit the Vittorino Bike Bus Intagram page here!
Minimaratona Pedibus on 10 May 2026
One highlight was the Minimaratona Pedibus, held as part of the Placentia Half Marathon, which also supports UNICEF's international projects. 24 school sites took part, with 2,196 registrations, including 801 pupils and 257 siblings, making 1,058 children and young people. The weather was rainy, but the mood was wonderful all the same: "Una città felice pur con la pioggia", a happy city even in the rain.
The motto was "LIBERI di MUOVERSI … spazio per tutti!" (free to move, space for everyone). New this year was a banner competition: each school made a fabric banner (80 x 200 cm) with its name, which was displayed at the start and during the walk and stays with the school afterwards. This time, prizes went not to individual children for the drawings on their bibs, but to classes that had painted a poster (100 x 70 cm) on the motto. In line with the city's plastic reduction strategy, the bibs were made of paper instead of non woven fabric, and the children could decorate them and keep them.
The primary school XXV Aprile had the highest participation in relation to the number of pupils, class 4B of the Carella primary school led among the classes, and the best banner was made by the Vittorino Da Feltre school. The poster prizes went to the Alberoni kindergarten, class 1B of the Don Minzoni primary school, class 2B of the Giordani primary school, class 3 of the Casa del Fanciullo, class 4B of the Caduti sul Lavoro primary school and class 5B of the Mazzini primary school. The best slogan came from the San Lazzaro school: "Camminiamo insieme verso un futuro migliore!" (Let's walk together towards a better future). In this way, the children gave space and a voice to the rights of everyone: all people, all living beings and sometimes even aliens.
The Minimaratona is under the patronage of the regional school office, follows the Emilia-Romagna region's guidelines for sustainable sporting events, is part of the international Streets for Kids campaign, and has been submitted to the Festival dello Sviluppo Sostenibile, which promotes the goals of Agenda 2030.
Cycling, culture and health in everyday school life
The Calvino school redesigned its bike parking, set up five new parking spots and turned an old bicycle into a flower planter. Classes from several schools practised safe cycling, learned small repairs and how to lock a bike properly, and pupils at the Calvino school composed their own road safety songs. At the Istituto Casali, 35 classes with around 800 pupils regularly went for walks during PE lessons. Students of the Liceo Gioia went on educational trips by train and bike, for example from Vicenza via Padua to Abano Terme.
At the Giretto d'Italia, the national competition between cities for cycling mobility, pupils from several schools counted cyclists on their way to work and school during European Mobility Week and analysed the numbers in maths class. The Liceo Colombini produces the podcast "Tutto fa green" and plans a green piazzetta in front of the school. At the Istituto Romagnosi, 90 staff members answered a survey about their commutes, and 41 now take part in the "Bike to Work" programme. The IV Circolo Didattico brings more movement into lessons with "active breaks", and newly arrived pupils at the Dante-Carducci school got to know their new city on guided city walks.
Calendasco, Rottofreno and Rivergaro
Schools from Calendasco, Rottofreno (including San Nicolò) and Rivergaro also took part in the Minimaratona Pedibus. Their miles are included in the 2,729 miles of the Minimaratona.
A heartfelt thank you goes to all the children, teachers, parents, volunteers and partners who painted, applauded, walked, listened, took part and worked together, all with a smile in the rain! More photos can be found on the Facebook page of "Liberi di Muoversi".
