In June, six international students at the Steinbach regional campus were given bicycles to help them travel to and from their work placements over the summer.

Geoff Heath, Environmental Initiatives Coordinator at RRC Polytech, got involved with this project when on a site visit to the Steinbach campus. He heard some of the students could benefit from having access to bikes from Regional Campus Manager, Sheri Stoupe, and Student Success Coach, Syd Shukla-Bergen. Steinbach doesn’t have public transportation and some students’ only means of getting around was walking everywhere they went.

With Geoff’s background as Education Director of The WRENCH in Winnipeg, he knew exactly where to go to get the bikes they needed. The half-dozen used bikes chosen needed a little love, so Geoff, along with another staff member, fixed them up to be ready to ride.

He then brought the bikes out to Steinbach and connected Sheri, Syd, and the students with their local community bike shop, La Bikequerie, to set up a bike maintenance session so the students could learn how to best care for their new-to-them bikes.

The local Canadian Tire also donated helmets and locks to ensure the students could bike safely and keep their bikes secure wherever they go.

The students were excited to receive their bikes – some of them re-learning after not having ridden a bike for many years. One student, Urvashi Sharma, said using the bike has cut down their commute time from 45 minutes by walking to 10-15 minutes by bike to get to their job.

Kim Koop, staff member at RRC Polytech’s Steinbach campus, and a resident of Steinbach, often sees the students riding their bikes. She said, “It is wonderful to see the international students using their bikes to get around.”

As part of the sustainability team at RRC Polytech, Geoff hopes to encourage a “culture of repair” – one where we learn the value of repairing what we have rather than buying new. A new bike can be expensive to buy, but a used one with a few parts to make it work like new is a low monetary cost and a low environmental cost – and is more accessible to many folks who cannot spend hundreds of dollars on a new bike.

“Access to transportation is something that the Sustainability Office advocates for, and in some cases, options can be limited,” said Geoff. “Cycling can be a new option for some that is cost effective and sustainable. Our office is happy to support these choices and connect students and staff with community resources just as we did for these students in Steinbach.”

Sustainability is one of the six values the guides RRC Polytech forward. Learn more about the Sustainability Office and how they can support you in making sustainable choices.