“To enable decile 1 school children to receive the positive social impacts of riding a bike regularly”
In 2010 Paul McArdle and his wife, Meg Frater, were recognised for their contribution to increasing cycling in New Zealand at the ASB Cycle Friendly Awards where they won the Greater Wellington Regional Council Cycling Champion of the Year Award. In 2009 Paul and Meg returned from a number of years working overseas and noticed a significant change in the children in their community and New Zealand generally.
They observed:
• they were less active
• greater percentages were visibly overweight
• fewer children were cycling
Out of this observation and a desire to make a difference, the Bike On New Zealand Charitable Trust was developed to implement the “Bikes in Schools” project. The vision of the Bike On Charitable Trust is to enable decile 1 school children to receive the positive social impacts of riding a bike regularly.
The aim of this toolkit is to support and assist other schools or communities who wish to see a Bikes In Schools Project established in their community. It provides the steps undertaken to implement the Bikes InSchools project in Wellsford Primary but is by no means the only way todo it. This document also identifies other options that could be used and these will depend on your school and community. It is not a “one size fits all” model so adapt the information to best suit your community’s needs.