Walk Wheel Cycle Trust's Healthy Workplaces project, funded by Welsh Government, is now working with schools across Cymru to give their staff a boost on their journey to and from work.
Staff from Maes Derw pupil referral unit were some of the first in Cymru to borrow e-bikes for free thanks to the Healthy Workplaces project. Credit: Walk Wheel Cycle Trust.
Starting with Maes Derw pupil referral unit (PRU) in Swansea, our Healthy Workplaces project staff have been busy delivering e-bikes to schools across Cymru.
Thanks to funding from Welsh Government, the project team have been working with schools from across the country to help staff get healthier on their commutes.
Staff from Maes Derw in the south, Ysgol Tir Morfa and Ysgol Sant Elfod in the north have benefitted from being able to borrow e-bikes for free – including bike locks, bags and helmets.
The aim is to get more people travelling sustainably and in healthier ways, so staff have access to e-bikes as well as sessions to build their confidence around more active ways of travelling to work.
Our project officers have helped school staff to map out routes to their workplaces, helping them to better navigate the journey to work, and empowering them through their travel choices.
A staff member from Ysgol Tir Morfa having a go with one of the Healthy Workplaces e-bikes on the school grounds. Credit: Walk Wheel Cycle Trust.
E-bikes enabling staff to make healthier and more active journeys
For some staff members at Ysgol Tir Morfa, the appeal of using an e-bike was in changing their travel method when travelling between their school’s two sites.
They also saw the project as a chance to give some of their older students, who are studying bike mechanic skills as part of their learning, a practical opportunity to put what they’ve learned into practice.
“Being so close to all the cycle paths along the coast here, it’s an ideal location to cycle to work,” said Ben, one of the staff at Tir Morfa.
“There’s plenty of opportunity to get out, there’s not too much traffic on the road [to school] either.”
Seeing staff set that example by commuting to work on e-bikes could also encourage their students to make healthier and more active journeys, according to Ben.
For some of the staff at Maes Derw, being able to borrow an e-bike made cycling to work a viable option, with some having to deal with some steep hills on their journey.
Having a pedal-assisted e-bike that they could borrow for an extended period of time meant that some of the notoriously hilly Welsh landscape was no longer going to be an issue.
Walk Wheel Cycle Trust’s project officers will work with school staff to get them comfortable using the e-bikes, alongside supporting them to make active journeys to work. Credit: Walk Wheel Cycle Trust.
A healthy resource available to schools across Cymru
Speaking about the project, Charlie Gordon, Project Manager at Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, said, “Thanks to the funding from Welsh Government, we’re able to work with schools across the country in getting their staff making healthier, more sustainable journeys.”
“If you work at any kind of school in Wales and want to get involved, we want to hear from you – you don’t have to be fully fledged cyclists to benefit from this project!”
“We want to help staff feel confident and empowered to make active, healthy journeys to work, and the e-bikes help make that fun as well.”
