RE:CYCLING Program Receives Sustainability Grant
The Bicycle RE: CYCLING Program (Re-Engineering: Contributions to Youth Charities and Learning Innovation and New-idea Generation), has received funding from the East Tennessee State University Campus Sustainability Committee. The Bicycle RE: CYCLING Program brings together the OmniSource Corporation, the Public Health Student Association (PHSA), and the College of Public Health and is a part of the College’s Project EARTH program at Valleybrook.
The project starts with bicycles being sold to OmniSource for scrap metal. OmniSource then donates these bicycles to the College of Public Health. Bicycles are then either refurbished (“Contributions to Youth Charities”) or repurposed (“Learning Innovation and New-Idea Generation”).
“Contributions to Youth Charities” consists of bicycles that are in good repair and/or needing minimal repair being refurbished and donated to various regional children's charities. Prior to donation, they are inspected by personnel from local bike shops to ensure quality and safety. The Public Health Student Association provides as many helmets as possible for the donated bicycles. In 2015, faculty and students from the College of Public Health donated 21 bicycles to children at the Boys and Girls Club of Johnson City and Washington County.
“Learning Innovation and New-Idea Generation” involves using the principles of frugal innovation to repurpose old bicycles and create pedal-powered machines for use in low-resource settings. This project provides a platform for students to try to solve global health challenges by building a bicycle-based machine. For example, a group of students in the Doctor of Public Health program developed and built a bicycle-based spinning wheel. The process of taking an idea from conception to a tangible product provides the student with numerous skills and lessons which are difficult, sometimes even impossible, to gain in a traditional classroom experience.
Faculty, staff and students from across campus can participate in the Bicycle RE: CYCLING program by contacting Dr. Mike Stoots at stootsj@etsu.edu.