The Active Travel Team at Islington council is looking for donations in the form of unwanted bikes (if such things exist) which could be given to local students learning to ride and to maintain a bike.
The council will be running their All About the Bike project at seven Islington secondary schools in 2023. This project is delivered to Islington schools where a high proportion of students receive free school meals and who otherwise would have been unable to afford a cycle. There is a full day of training, which consists of Level 3 Bikeability cycle training (how to ride on local roads and more advanced junctions) and basic maintenance (such as mending a puncture and adjusting brakes).
Refurbished, abandoned and donated bikes are gifted to the students for them to keep. The project is delivered by local mechanics and cycle instructors. Pupils are empowered through bike ownership for use on their daily journeys and gain the know-how to ride safely and carry out basic maintenance. This might be a small project but it has big outcomes for the health, independence and confidence of young people.
This project has a lot going for it:
- Pupils’ confidence and self-esteem are boosted through receiving both the cycle and the training
- Economic inequality is addressed by targeting students in receipt of the Pupil Premium, allowing them the opportunities to own a bike and receive training they may otherwise not have had
- Helps to embed cost-effective travel behaviour for students to take with them through life
- Positive behavioural change is reinforced through the project (building physical activity and environmentally-friendly travel options into students’ daily lives)
- The cycles provided are previously abandoned or donated and are reconditioned, saving the environmental impact of creating new products.
- All the training is provided by local mechanics and cycle trainers, which helps sustain the local economy.
The Council has some funding to deliver the project but is looking for any unwanted or abandoned bikes which could be refurbished and given to young people. So if you have a bike sitting sadly in a shed, and you want to put it to good use, please contact patrycja.ozog@islington.gov.uk.
Many thanks !