Bikes@sẏd
Working together with our rangatahi towards waste minimisation
Each year at least 500 bicycles go into landfill. Southern Youth Development works with rangatahi to collect bicycles from the landfill to restore, recycle and gift them back out to people who need them. All rangatahi 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.
What is bikes@syd and how does it work?
Bikes@syd runs an after school programme on Tuesday's during the school term. The afterschool session runs from 3:15pm until 5:00pm for 12 to 24 year olds.
Bikes@syd also operates a Tuesday Bike grab at Te Oraka from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Here students bike up a pre-loved bike for a koha (donation). You’ll help Conan repair your bike so you learn basic care skills and can have access to the tools throughout the week at Te Oraka.
The Tuesday afternoon session focus points for rangatahi is on both hard and soft skill building, mentoring, safe tool use and workshop etiquette, but also promotes pro-social work in the community, and focuses on transport autonomy to promote cycling as a mode of transport.
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 and encourages the use of alternative transport avenues that has long lasting health benefits through exercise.
Feedback from rangatahi 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.