The City of Palo Alto is encouraging students to walk or bike to school on Thursday celebrating the annual Walk & Roll day.

The city is expecting thousands of students throughout the district to participate in the event, which promotes eco-friendly and physically active methods of commuting to school, according to Palo Alto Unified School District’s website.

Paly Campus Supervisor Ernesto Cruz emphasizes the importance of finding different ways to commute to school.

“Students should try to walk, bike or carpool to show that we care about the environment,” Cruz said. “It’s the one time during the year where we can make a difference. It is also good for students to get out and walk rather than driving to school.”

A small reward will be given out to students who participate at the school entrances.

“We will be handing out Hershey’s Kisses to those [students] who participate,” Cruz said.

According to junior Derek Schoenberger, helping the environment and receiving free candy is more than enough of an incentive to walk or bike to school.

“I will definitely be biking to school because I’ve driven almost every day this year,” Schoenberger said. “It’s a good chance to switch things up and help the environment …  and I want a Hershey’s Kiss.”