| Young
people in a rural area address their
transport problems by repairing old
bikes for their own use and for transporting
to Africa.
 Setting
Working with 9-16 year olds on disadvantaged
estates in Bath and North East Somerset.
The
project
'So, how do I use a spanner?' is a
common question at the beginning of
each Recycle project. It reflects
the initial skill level and confidence
of young people involved in Recycle,
one of Envolve's environmental youth
work projects.
The
aim, central to the approach of Envolve,
is to enable young people to tackle
real problems that affect them and
their local environment.
Lack
of affordable transport is a theme
that arises repeatedly during consultation
with young people. Young people also
complain (reasonably) that they are
'consulted to death' but never see
any results.
The
Recycle project supports young people
in tackling these problems for themselves
by stripping down old bikes, supplied
by the police and local residents,
rebuilding and respraying them. They
then have the bike for transport and,
equally important, the sense of achievement
of having made it themselves. In the
process they gain the skills to maintain
their own bike or rebuild another
for themselves or their friends. Some
of the young people have shown real
flair, to the extent that Envolve
has employed one 16 year-old to train
others.
 Broader
benefits include the young people
gaining a source of sustainable transport:
bikes are non-polluting and encourage
a healthy, active lifestyle. The project
also provides opportunities to discuss
environmental issues, such as the
massive problem of waste disposal
and how re-use and recycling can help
tackle this.
It
soon became apparent that there
was potential to move beyond
local environmental issues to
a more global dimension as the
same transport issues affect
young people across the world
and bikes are an effective solution.
Awareness is enhanced through
'Big Brother' style interviews
and video documentation of the
project, allowing participants
to express their views and record
how the project has affected
them.
The
global dimension is reinforced
as the young people also prepare
bikes to send to African countries.
A charity transports them and
supports African communities
to maintain the bikes through
training and tools.
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