Local youth councils identified that not everyone wears a helmet while cycling, and they are doing something about it.

It’s Youth Week, and this year’s theme is ‘We’re stronger together’.

Youth development organisation Ara Taiohi is the kaitiaki of Youth Week, with the goal of supporting our young people to lead and respond to their own wellbeing and that of their whānau and communities.

This year, the combined youth councils of Alexandra and Roxburgh have identified an issue they want to address - the number of people they see who are not wearing bike helmets - and Ara Taioha is backing them with funds to kick-start their campaign.

The ‘wear a helmet’ campaign is being launched through Youth Week, and will be a focus for the rest of this year.

The young people behind the campaign are looking to keep people in their communities safe and healthy, and also the people who come here to ride our wonderful trails.

It’s an issue they are really passionate about.

Unfortunately helmets are not worn by everyone who rides our trails.

“They thought about how much cycling means to this community, and came up with a plan to address the problem,” says Puna Rangatahi manager Sharleen Stirling-Lindsay.

“It fits well with the theme of our community being stronger together, and with their commitment to helping people stay healthy and well.”

Sharleen says the young councillors came up with a number of projects within the campaign, all designed to drive the message home and get people wearing their helmets.

Get your helmets on Wednesday morning to ride to school, as youth councillors will be out and about at local schools, checking who’s wearing their helmet correctly and giving out prizes.

“There’s also a colouring competition, and youth reps will be distributing these in the schools, or people can come and pick entries up at Puna Rangatahi.

“There’s prizes, and we’ll display entries at the youth centre.”

Sharleen says young people are also creating video clips to get the message out online - so keep an eye out on Puna Rangatahi’s social media.

However, one of the key projects the young people are working on is called ‘Hand me back helmets’, and this project is the main reason they applied for Ara Taioha funding.

“It’s a bit like boomerang bags, but with helmets,” Sharleen says.

“If people bike into town and realise they’re not wearing a helmet, they can borrow one and then return it.”

Sharleen says they are currently looking for central locations in Alexandra and Roxburgh to host a box of helmets where people could access them when needed.

If anyone wanted to help, she said, they could contact her at Puna Rangatahi.

“The youth councils have also written letters to the rail trail and other cycling related trusts asking if there is a way to put signage up on our trails, to raise awareness.

“They’ve seen people on the rail trail without helmets; just as its habit to put your seatbelt on when you get in a car, it should be a habit to always wear a cycle helmet.

“They’ve also seen people when they come off the rail trail, biking along the footpath and causing issues, so there’s a lot of aspects of cycling they want to address through the year in terms of awareness and understanding.

“Our young people are really proud to live in a community that has such a positive thing around cycling, and that people come here especially for cycling.

“They see how important cycling tourism is for our community and they want people to have a great experience.

“They want to have a positive impact on creating change - and they realise we all have a part to play.”

Can you host a ‘Hand me back helmet’ box? Contact Sharleen on [email protected]