AN ONLINE poll is being conducted to name the mascot of the children's walk to school scheme Green Footsteps.

The green bug is the friendly face of the popular Kent Messenger Group-supported scheme and currently makes visits to schools in Kent and Medway to present special trophies to classes that win KM Green Footsteps Challenge Days, held three times per year. These awards are made to classes that have the highest number of children walking to school on KM Green Footsteps Challenge Days.

Currently the bug has had no name and there has been enormous speculation amongst children involved with the project as to whether the bug is a boy or a girl.

Now this special poll, which will run until noon on Monday, July 23, 2007, will decide the name, and possibly the sex of this bug.

The names that made it to the shortlist are: Bertie, Bubbles, Buster, Lily, Boggle, Centi, Wiggle, Bio, Betsy and Benny.

To cast a vote simply go to the polling centre on the walk to schoool website www.kentwalkingbus.org and click to make your selection. The winner will automatically be displayed in the polling centre at the close of poll.

The polling centre for this walk to school Project is a new feature that will enable organisations and schools the charity works with to involve the public in making decisions on road safety, health and environmental issues or activities.

Schools the Project works with may use the polling centre to display images from design competitions and then encourage the school community to vote to select the winner.

Green Footsteps is operated by a partnership of organisations including Kent County Council and Medway Council, together with the award-winning children's charity Kent and Medway Walking Bus Group.

The charity has packages available where the winner of a school design competition can be presented with a prize and then have the illustration printed on a banner to display at the entrance to the school. This can be a very effective method of trumpeting the benefits of Walking Buses or other walk to school initiatives.

To find out more about making use of this polling centre contact Simon Dolby at the KM walk to school office on 01227 825383.