Council rewards walkers with local discounts and freebies

Pic: @hackneycouncil

Pic: @hackneycouncil

Hackney Council is rewarding a healthy walking routine on “Walking is Rewarding” day today (May 18) by offering freebies and discounts.

Walking is Rewarding is an initiative aimed at encouraging people to walk to places across the borough for environmental, health and safety reasons.

They are appealing for commuters, visitors and locals to walk to or from work, school, the shops, or just for fun.

The council has teamed up with 10 cafes and shops around Hackney, who are offering giveaways and great offers to encourage the residents of all ages to take part today.

Councillor Feyral Demirci, Cabinet Member of Neighbourhoods and Sustainability said: “The Walking is Rewarding day is a fantastic opportunity to start a healthy walking habit or increase the amount of walking you do as part of a daily routine.

“Walking for just 30 minutes per day is a great way to increase physical activity, reducing major health problems whilst helping to reduce the environmental impact caused by vehicle use.”

The council has proposed the idea not only for health and environmental reasons, but to inspire both visitors and Hackney residents to “enjoy the boroughs green spaces, local landmarks and meet new people.

“Walking also provides social time with children, friends and colleagues – there are so many wellbeing and environmental benefits from such as a simple and free exercise.”

The initiative also aims at reducing the number of cars on the roads to reduce traffic congestion.

On last year’s Walking is Rewarding day, with parents walking their children to school, schools that logged journeys reported a 25-per-cent reduction in car journeys compared with the previous month.

On social media, Hackney locals have been posting their walk to work, school and shops with the hashtag #Hackneywalking.

All of the 10 shops and cafés are local Hackney retailers.

To take part in Walking is Rewarding, simply tweet: @greenerhackney, email or call 020 8356 8816 to receive the secret code to receive discounted food and drink offers.

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