Bikes at sẏd

Working together with our rakatahi towards waste minimisation
Each year at least 500 bicycles go into landfill. Southern Youth Development works with rakatahi to collect bicycles from the landfill to restore, recycle and gift them back out to people who need them. This programme has expanded to have after school sessions twice a week to cater for two different age groups.
All rakatahi involved in this programme gain lifelong skills by learning how to maintain and care for a bicycle. We teach everything through learning how to use tools, maintaining and understanding the mechanisms of a bicycle.
This programme is only possible because of generous funding from the Dunedin City Council Waste Minimisation team. Whakawhetai ki a koe mo to tautoko.

The Tuesday early afternoon sessions targets 12-18 year olds and the Tuesday late afternoon sessions targets 18-24.
The focus points for the younger group is on both hard and soft skill building, mentoring, safe tool use and workshop etiquette.
The focus for the older group (who are primarily tertiary students) includes the above elements, but also promotes pro-social work in the community, and focuses on transport autonomy to promote cycling as a mode of transport for people within the age group.
This programme is part of the wider community’s efforts to reduce waste by lessening the impact on the environment as the bicycles are either revitalised or recycled into scrap metal.
This programme encourages the use of alternative transport avenues that has long lasting health benefits through exercise and waste reduction.
Feedback from rakatahi at the completion of restoring bicycles is predominately about the sense of accomplishment that they have recreated something new.
Since 2018, the project had helped divert 1,100 bicycles from landfill and in 2022 alone, engaged over 130 young people.