initiative Archives - Page 9 of 9

27/12/201502/03/2017

Dads ‘n’ Lads

Digging through Rotorua’s mountain bike archives, I found this little gem. I thought it was a particularly interesting initiative as it was focused on getting more men riding, whereas it is usually women who are the focus of such programs. I was especially excited about the follow-up outcomes that emerged out of this program.

Background

Indeed, this program was developed following the highly successful Women’s Activator Series and its ongoing positive outcomes (a collaboration between Sport Bay of Plenty (BOP) and Rotorua District Council and Primary Health Services) in conjunction with the results of a 2006 survey, that found “that men enjoyed male-only environments and opportunities to get active with family members. Men preferred an element of competition and challenge to the physical activity as having a structured and encouraging environment was as important a motivator as the fitness benefits” (Fowler & Mansell, 2008).

The Program

The Program was 1-1.5 hour every Thursday evening for 10 weeks. It had support from local individuals and groups who provided shuttle transportation, expert guides, a personal trainer for the weekly pre-ride stretch sessions and the like. Basic bike skills were learned and practiced at the local BMX track for the first fortnight to build confidence and skills while individual fitness levels were determined. The rest of the Program was conducted in the forest, where a new skill was introduced each week – designed to scaffold skills and confidence.

Bicycles Create Change - First timers in the Whakarewarewa Forest — First timers in the Whakarnewarewa Forest. Source: Fowler & Mansell, 2008.

The Program identified three main aims (Fowler & Mansell, 2008): first: to increase the frequency and commitment participants have to physical activity over and beyond the 10-week series period; second: to increase the skills and  confidence of beginner mountain bike riders; finally: to increase the usage of the  Whakarewarewa forest by participants for mountain biking and other forms of recreation with family and friends.

Participants

An ad was run on December 18^th 2007 in the local Daily Post newspaper (see image below) reading: “Calling all men. No matter your age, shape, size or speed (in fact, the slower the better) – this training series is for YOU & it’s FREE! For the past 3 years, we have had the Women’s Activator Series, but now it is time for something for the blokes…. Dad ‘n’ Lads is a 10 week fun run and mountain bike training series aimed at men who are currently not very active, but would like to improve their fitness, have some laughs at the same time and discover some great walking/running/cycling to share with family and friends once the series is over. For 10 weeks you will enjoy a weekly training session, which will have options for the beginners and progress to more challenging routes as your fitness increases. How much you challenge yourself is up to you!” 42 men responded to the ad (including 3 father and son partnerships) – of which 20 completed the program.

Bicycles Create Change - Dads 'n' Lads — Source: Daily Post, December 18th 2007

Outcomes

The 3 main aims of the program were met. Overall there were 5 main noteworthy outcomes of this program.

Activity levels increased remarkably by week 10 with 60% increasing their activity to 2-3 days per week while the other 40% had increased their activity level to a minimum of 30 mins per day.
Increased assertiveness using the Whakarewarewa Forest for recreation. Confidence and familiarity with the forest meant that participants felt confident to take family and friends into the forest for recreational activities.
Setting and achieving goals such as fitness, strength or weight-loss, increased general activity levels (on the bike and in the forest) father/son bonding and forming new friendships were some of the top goals achieved.
Educating others was a key feature of the program that every participant identified with, having involved or taken out for a ride, at least, one family member (wife, child or grandchild). The top 3 skills that were instrumental in taking out others that were learnt from the program, was: setting up the bike correctly, basic riding techniques and being able to change a flat tyre.
Valued outcomes for the participants included: structured, yet informal/social setting, having bikes available to rent for the activity and the mutual support of the other men.

Follow-up positive changes

This Program had clear aims and solid support throughout, which meant that there was a consistent and reliable basis for the participants to develop their confidence, skills and networks. I think it is exciting that many participants put these skills into action and took others out into the forest, for family outings for example, increasing fitness; increasing appreciation and use of the amazing forest on their doorstep; and enhancing quality time with others – which shows the potential that such community programs have for ongoing indirect positive impacts benefiting a greater number of people in the community.

Also, it is great to hear that the participants formed their own group ride after the program finished – to maintain the camaraderie, skills and habits they had learnt. Their monthly group ride also includes their family members, which is a wonderful way of extending the enjoyment, fitness, ability and community that this program began.

Bicycles Create Change - Dads 'n' Lads group — Dads ‘n’ Lads Participants Source: Fowler & Mansell, 2008.

Fowler, A., & Mansell, L. (2008). Dads ‘N’ lads – getting men on the move with rotorua’s beginner mountain bike series.Australasian Parks and Leisure, 11(2), 34-37.

18/12/201502/03/2017

Darebin Shared Paths Etiquette Initiative

A friend who lives in Darebin City Council area in Melbourne sent me through a link to the Darebin Shared Path Etiquette. This is definitely my kind of community project – fun, positive, effective, low-cost and high-impact community participation, consultation and awareness-raising. I was delighted to see a city council being proactive and engaging the locals. Appropriately sharing pathways for all users; be they cyclists, pedestrians, dog walkers, or fitness groups, can be an issue. Such problems need to be recognised and discussed – bringing it to the streets makes this conversation a lot more personal, accessible and immediate – and the free ice-cream was also an added bonus for some I am sure!

Initiative

This Council Community Engagement Initiative arises from ‘concerns about behaviour [are] raised by the community on a regular basis, which led us to embark on 4 community workshops in November – we are now inviting the community to develop a shared path etiquette that encourages safe, respectful and considerate riding and walking on our shared paths, so everyone can enjoy using them‘ (Darebin City Council Facebook page).

Outcomes

During these community workshops, participants were asked to contribute their ideas and the responses were posted on the council event facebook page (a sample of which I have re-posted below). The input from these consultations and workshops will help inform the Darebin City Council’s Shared Path Etiquette Strategy.

To contribute your own vote to this discussion click here – voting closes January 5th 2016.

Darebin City Council's Shared Path Etiquette Facebook Page — Darebin City Council (Melbourne) Shared Path Etiquette Facebook Page

15/11/201513/02/2017

Bicycle Washing Machine

Initiative: When Remya Jose was 14, she invented a bicycle –powered washing machine to help her do the family washing. With women traditionally doing the household chores, Remya and her sister had to take over the family washing after both parents were too ill to work. Hand washing Indian style is usually done in rural waterways that are away from the home and it is a time-consuming, physically demanding and labour intensive activity. Previously Remya’s family did not have a washing machine. After seeing other locals in her town of Kizhattoor Panchayat, India, use a few electrical washing machines, she fashioned her design based on the same principles, but added pedals as the power source so that no electricity was needed. The ‘washer’ is seated behind the machine on a seat so that when they cycle, a chain rotates a mesh cylinder inside a central aluminum box. It now takes Remya only about 20 minutes to soak, wash and rinse clothes. She designed it herself and with help, it was made from parts that were sourced locally.

Effectiveness: This simple yet effective modification is a great example of what I consider to be the most effective, sustainable and powerful community change: one where the problem is self-identified by the community; a solution is self-initiated and implemented and there is no reliance on external people, materials or skills in order to maintain the result. Such practices are a move in the right direction to reduce criticisms that aid perpetuates a culture of dependency and expectations, and that communities are best left alone to deal with and overcome their own problems without external intervention.

Connection: Furthermore, as Easterly (2008) points out, it is the people who are creative and experimental in trialing alternative ways to solving community problems (like Remya), who are usually more effective in alleviating poverty associated issues as opposed to those who invest copious amounts of energy, time and money into approaches that have no immediate results and/or are not locally contextualized.

Take away: This story is also a humble reminder for us Westerners of the lies we tell ourselves, like: ‘I don’t know how to fix it’, ‘I haven’t got the money’, ‘I don’t have the time’, ‘It’s quicker just to buy a new one’ – are all too easy and such thinking does not create positive change. But ingenious action will.

As this story exemplifies, training, education and money is often no match for being resourceful, shrewd and confident. I think it is a pity that such valuable skills are not promoted and taught within our community.

Where in your life do you apply cheap, innovative and functional solutions to problems?

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Easterly, W., 1957, & ebrary, I. (2008). Reinventing foreign aid (1st ed.). Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

06/11/201513/02/2017

Ecomobility Festival

Practice: In September 2013, the town of Suwon, South Korea, went car free for a month for the Ecomobility Festival. It took two years to plan and in order to help assist the locals’ mobility, 400 free public bicycles were provided as well as bike riding lessons as many residents had never ridden a bike before. I highly recommend that you have a look at the interesting event results now released in a book of the project here.

Neighborhood in Motion - Suwon: South Korea 2013 — Source: Neighborhood in Motion

It took two years to plan and in order to help assist local mobility, 400 free public bicycles were provided as well as bike riding lessons as many residents had never ridden a bike before. This ambitious exercise in urban ecomobility was strategically designed to be for a longer duration. As the Ecomobility website identifies, many cities have had success with car-free days (or for even a week; however, the true test of adapting to a more sustainable lifestyle was to create a scenario where people could not simply put off or reschedule regular routines in order to participate in the social experiment – it needed to be more challenging to see if real changes were truly possible.

The results were fantastic and very positive.

Connection: In 1987, the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development (better known as the Brundtland Report) was the origin of, and the first to use the term ‘sustainable development’. However, forewarning of the unsustainable nature of predominant economic development based on global resource depletion was not a new concept (Schumacher, 1973). When the report clearly articulated that ‘the hope for the future [was] conditional on decisive political action [and then] to begin managing environmental resources to ensure both sustainable human progress and human survival’ (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, pg. 11), the spotlight was turned firmly onto the need for progressive, immediate and comprehensive political change.

Ecomobility Festivals are now being held in different cities (the most recent being South Africa in October 2015) each time to prove that mass community change IS possible. The most exciting aspect of this initiative is scale. If you suggest such a venture to an Australian politician, they would no doubt immediately claim that taking such decisive action is inconceivable – and certainly not within their power to do so. This case study proves otherwise, not once, but twice – rather impressively as well. So, where is our ‘decisive political action’?

street-races-in-suwon-ecomobility-festival — Source: Inhabitat

Impact: That is why the Ecomobility Festival is such an important step towards more positive social change. It demonstrates that decisive political action CAN be successfully implemented on a large scale and that bicycles and other non-renewable forms of transport are indeed very real, indispensable, logical and attainable options for sustainable cities of the future.

Not only that, but it was Korea first, then South Africa who are leading the world in exerting the precise necessary political action that the Brundtland Report identified as necessary in order for humans to overcome our current efforts in what Fry (2011) calls ‘sustaining the unsustainable’.

Results: To make a concerted change, bold decisions need to be made followed by action. More so than ever, it seems that the ecomobility framework not only creates positive social change, but equally highlights which communities are lacking in the political leadership necessary for change. It is also rewarding to see a rise in the political profile and popular recognition of the necessity of pervasive urban bicycle use.

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Fry, T. (2011). Sustainability is meaningless – It’s time for a new Enlightenment. The Conversation, 3 May, viewed 29 July 2011 at <http://theconversation.edu.au/sustainability-is-meaningless-its-time-for-a-new-enlightenment-683>

Schumacher, E. F. (1973). Small is beautiful: Economics as if people really mattered. Abacus, London, 64.

World Commission on Environment and Development.(1987). Our Common Future. United Nations, Oslo.