Wellington City Council ahead of the game with local schools
More and more local councils around NZ are now investing in cycling as part of their transport strategy.
And with higher levels of investment in biking, it makes a lot of sense to ensure that the next generation of riders have the skills and confidence they need to ride. Wellington City Council are doing just that – this week saw the council become the first NZ local body to fully fund and manage the implementation of Bikes in Schools projects at three Wellington primary schools.
West Park School, Karori West Normal School and Holy Cross School all received the complete biking package within their own school grounds. The result: over 1300 kids every year will have regular access to a bike at these schools.
We made it to the grand opening at Holy Cross on Monday, where the track was opened by Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown. She said: “Bikes in Schools means Wellington students will be healthier and more independent. Modern cities offer children opportunities for daily exercise and recreation”
This was a first for Bikes in Schools in lots of ways – the three schools were selected as part of a competition from a pool of local schools, and the tracks were then designed by WCC engineers after consulting with students. On Monday we had to agree the end result looked fantastic.
Thanks to Holy Cross School for such a good day, and to Wellington City Council for making this a reality.
You can read more on WCC’s website here
Inner city cycling – Freemans Bay style
When you’re a kid living in inner city Auckland, you don’t get too many chances to tear round on a bike without a care in the world.
That’s why it was so exciting to see so many kids doing just that at the latest Bikes in Schools track opening, at Freemans Bay School in central Auckland on Friday. It was easy for all the VIP visitors at the opening to get caught up in all the excitement too, but even after every visitor had left many of the kids were still racing round their laps.
The Hon. Nikki Kaye MP was there to officially snip the ribbon and open the track
Huge thanks to the Freemans Bay Board of Trustees for all their support for the project, and to the project’s funders including Sport Auckland, the Local Waitemata Board, Barfoot and Thomson, the ASB Community Trust and YouthTown
Special thanks also to Auckland Transport for funding the cycle skills training at the school
It was also great to see Ross Buckley and his team from KMPG who are about to ride the Tour of NZ in support of Bikes in Schools.
More pictures from the school website here
Parakai School, Auckland bike track opens
Parakai School kids are very excited about the amazing new addition to their school – a 420m long cycle track around the school grounds.
Parakai principal Nick Neubert expects the track to be used both for fun and for cycle safety and bike skills lessons, and says the local community are very welcome to use the track too. “We want the school to be the hub of our community, and we’ve already noticed families from outside school coming down on the weekend and after school to use the track”.
The track has been two years in the making, after deputy principal Sue Caltaux saw similar facilities around Auckland and started investigating funding options with BoT chairman Des Ross. Auckland Council contributed to the cost of the track too.
You can also check out a video of track construction here
National “Go by Bike Day”
Yesterday was national “Go by Bike Day”, with cycling events across the country. In Hastings, the council marked the occasion with their annual big breakfast for cycle commuters.
So good to see the crowds of kids at the event – including five local schools with “Bikes in Schools” facilities, many of them arriving at the breakfast in convoys from schools several kms away. Well done to them!
Pinehaven School first off the blocks in 2015
Mahora School on Radio New Zealand “Sunday morning” show
Jeremy Rose from the Sunday Morning programme paid a visit to Hastings recently as part of his report on “Bikeconomics” – the contribution cycling makes to the economy.
As well as checking out the bike scene in Hawkes Bay, he also dropped in to Mahora School to find out about the impact of their track – you can hear the whole report here:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/20161014/bikenomics-what-s-cycling-worth
Bikes in Schools – now on YouTube
Our YouTube channel has now gone live – you can find it here
All the best bits from Bikes in Schools – school openings, the impact on schools, media clips and also practical stuff for schools like how to build a track and how to choose bikes.
Why not subscribe and you’ll get updates on new videos when we post them.
Irongate School, Flaxmere
Well done to Irongate School in Flaxmere, who opened their brand new 450m track around the school grounds on 21st October
We were treated to a haka from the kids before everyone was let loose on their inaugural lap of the track – which was looking great. A couple of interesting comments came up: everyone agreed that the completion of the track made the school grounds look even better, giving it an almost park-like appearance. And also that even before the bikes were out on the track, the kids were using the new track a lot during break times just to walk round the grounds, something they had not done before.
Thanks to principal Fay Wooster and all the staff and children at the school for a great opening, we really enjoyed it. Also many thanks to the generous support from all the different organisations that made this all possible: Eastern and Central Community Trust for funding the track itself, Hawkes Bay District Health Board and Variety for their help with bikes and helmets, and to Sports HB for initial cycle skills training.
Waihi East school track opens
Waihi East school’s grand opening of their new track was on 15th October – thanks to principal Emily Hargreaves and the staff and children for making us so welcome on the day
The ribbon was cut by the youngest and oldest children at the school – 5 year old Cody Heremaia and 11 year old Shar Malone, before fifty kids set off on a gentle first lap (before progressively speeding up for the next!).
The school plans to start a bike club next term, and is hoping next year to start hosting an inter-school bike competition for the area too. They might have a bit of a head start on that one….
Special thanks for the generous support from Sport Waikato, Corbett Road Quarry, Waihi Sports and Cycles, The Lion Foundation and Valder-Ohinemuri Trust, all whom helped to make this project a reality.
You can also find loads more pictures and videos in a fantastic “Google+ story” from the school right here