Thursday, February 13, 2025

Sustainable NCW’s Bike CoOp expands under Ecology grant

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WENATCHEE – Sustainable NCW’s Bike CoOp will be launching its mobile bike repair, CoOp on the Go, after receiving grant funding from the Washington State Department of Ecology through the Air Quality for Overburdened Communities grant program.

Ecology’s new grant program funds local projects that improve air quality in communities it has determined are “historically overburdened with health, social, and environmental inequities and are highly impacted by air pollution,” which includes Wenatchee and East Wenatchee.

The mobile bike repair will allow the Bike CoOp to reach more communities, providing education and tools to empower both youth and adults to ride their bikes further and more often.

“If you are empowered to bike, then you are helping the environment, because you’re not creating greenhouse gas emissions by driving, [and] you are helping yourself because it’s a healthy way to move…And biking is community building because it’s a little slower and we’re not disconnected from each other in our car bubbles,” said NCW Executive Director Marlene Farrell.

The Bike CoOp started in spring of last year after Sustainable NCW met with interested community members to discuss creating a bike cooperative for the Wenatchee Valley. Of those members was Van Brinkerhoff, who has spent the last five years teaching himself repairs through refurbishing abandoned bikes and giving them away.

‘What became very apparent, is there's a lot of folks out there that would really like a bike, and some have means to buy a bike, but a lot don't. And so, I kind of saw it moving towards a little bit of a social justice kind of aspect to it,” said Brinkerhoff.

Brinkerhoff also started volunteering with the Cashmere Middle School Bicycle Repair Club, where he realized teaching someone how to repair their bike is just as impactful as gifting a bike, especially for underserved communities.

“Kids get really empowered when they can do their own maintenance on a regular basis. They can go out and ride and have a good time and not worry about, ‘Oh, I got a flat tire. Oh, wait a minute, I know how to fix it,’” said Brinkerhoff.

Inspired by his experience, Brinkerhoff brainstormed the idea of a community bike shop, or cooperative, in the Wenatchee Valley with a friend in the bike repair community, Loren Honaas. The two brought the idea to the nonprofit, who was immediately interested.

“Sustainable NCW has always been about the environmental justice side of sustainability as well, so this fits really, really well,” said Sustainable NCW Executive Director Marlene Farrell.

The program was established through a committee under Sustainable NCW with a mission to provide education around repair and safety, build community, advocate for bike route infrastructure, and promote sustainability.

The program started with pilot bike repair workshops with the youth organization Triple Point NCW, as well as providing education and free bike parking at the Wenatchee Farmers Markets over the summer. 

When Ecology announced a new grant program in August that funds local projects in communities it determined to be overburdened by air pollution, the CoOp team came up with the idea of a mobile bike repair, where it could reach more communities.

The grant funds will support the purchase of an electric vehicle, trailer, repair equipment, event materials, helmets, repair kits, and bicycles for refurbishment, as well as funding for a part-time position.

Within the first six months, the mobile bike repair program plans to provide bike safety and repair education to six middle schools in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee, as well as a handful of community events such as the Apple Blossom Festival and its Earth Day Fair.

“Youth can be leaders on this. If they’re learning something that can become a life skill, then not only are they doing it for the rest of their lives, but they can bring their families along, which then can bring their friends and neighbors,” said Farrell.

Sustainable NCW is currently looking for volunteers and plans to hire a part-time project coordinator for the CoOp on the Go initiative in the near future. Repair training will be provided to volunteers. Those interested in getting involved can find out more information at sustainablencw.org/bike-coop.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media

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