Alice
26 May 2023

Cycling Friendly Campus Award and Goodbye from Alice, our Campus Cycling Officer

 

I am pleased to announce that Edinburgh College has received the Cycling Friendly Campus Award for two campuses, Sighthill and Milton Road.

The nationally-recognised award is managed by Cycling Scotland whose vision is ‘A sustainable, inclusive and healthy Scotland where anyone, anywhere can enjoy all the benefits of cycling’

I have been working towards gaining this award for the College, so I’m proud to see Edinburgh College joining other Cycling Friendly campuses across Scotland – see a map HERE. I started this Cycling Scotland work placement in September 2022 and I’m finishing up at the end of May. It’s been a great experience which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, learning lots of new skills and meeting lots of interesting people. While I am sad to be going, I hope that the positive changes I’ve made at the College will create a lasting impact encouraging more people to cycle.

More information about the Cycling Friendly programme can be found here: https://www.cycling.scot/our-programmes

Edinburgh College has worked hard to support its community to make sustainable transport choices. By improving facilities, providing confidence training and resources and regular events, they’ve made cycling easier and more accessible to students and staff, and we are pleased to recognise their efforts by awarding them the Cycling Friendly Campus award for Sighthill and Milton Road.
Valentin Jeanjean, Behaviour Change Manager at Cycling Scotland

Achievements in my time at Edinburgh College

Working with other departments in the College, I helped to design, organise and produce the Spring into Cycling Week in March. The Dr Bike sessions were popular, and it was great to see lots of bikes getting fixed! You can check out the Spring into Cycling blogs here.

Considering that there had not been a CCO at the College for a few years, it was a challenge to get cycling activities going again at the College but overall, I hope that I’ve made some positive lasting changes.

Perhaps the highlight of the placement was meeting lots of people and getting to work in a supportive and friendly environment. It has been lovely to be part of the small (but perfectly formed!) Sustainability team. This role was a change of career for me, and I’m pleased to have started working in the active travel sector. Looking ahead I’m excited to be working for Cycling Scotland, hosted by The Bike Station in Edinburgh.

A big Thank You to Martin, Severine, Callum and everyone else at the College I've worked with.

Alice Barker

Campus Cycling Officer