Sustainable transport charity Sustrans announced details of the scheme at the Ecos Centre in Ballymena this morning.

Michelle Gildernew, Minister designate for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, attended today's event.

The Sustrans project aims to achieve a 10% reduction in car journeys in participating schools and to increase levels of walking and cycling by June next year.

The charity takes its inspiration from Denmark where 60% of school children cycle to school, compared to less than 1% in the UK.

The new Northern Ireland scheme will include improvements in and around selected schools to encourage more pupils to walk and cycle.

Work is due to begin immediately and will include building new cycling and walking routes and installing baggage lockers and cycle sheds.

Eighteen rural primary schools will share the funding which comes from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development through the EU Programme for Building Sustainable Prosperity, the Department for Regional Development Roads Service, the Department of Education and the DoE Road Safety Education Branch.

Sustrans has appointed two School Travel Advisors who will work with the schools to produce and implement school travel plans tailored to meet each school's specific needs to enable children to travel in an active and environmentally-friendly way.

William Methven, rural safe routes to school project manager for Sustrans, said: "We know that many youngsters want to cycle or walk to school, but very few actually do so currently.

"We believe that this scheme will make a positive difference to the lives of hundreds of young people across rural Northern Ireland which will bring benefits for generations to come."

Michelle Gildernew said: "We know that sustainable transport must be a priority because the way we travel has such a major impact on our environment.

"Safe Routes to Schools is an exciting scheme that can help to change the way children travel to school, can reduce the number of cars on our roads and pollution and can improve children's health and development."

The 18 primary schools involved in the scheme are: Ballinamallard, Broadbridge (Eglinton), Cloughmills, Gracehill (Ballymena), Hezlett (Castlerock), Kilbride (Doagh), Killylea (Armagh), Killyleagh, Moneymore, St Colmcille's (Claudy), St Jarlath's (Dungannon), St John's (Swatragh), St Joseph's (Bessbrook), St Mary's (Gortaclea), St Mary's (Lurgan), St Patrick's (Castlederg), St Patrick's (Derrygonnelly) and Templepatrick.