Lightfoot decided to take a lightfooted approach to Biketober 22 by:

a) biking as much as possible and,

b) interacting with the community to influence their habits. 

While it might sound like a case of “all hui, and no dooey”, we engaged in meaningful kōrero with different groups to discuss ways to make change. Some of the Lightfoot team travelled to Wānaka (carpooling) to catch up with the Wao crowd at Scroggin, for their monthly Green Drinks. Facilitated by Laura Williamson, and in conversation with Simon Telfer, many probing issues relating to local transport were resolved. In the short 60 minute session, Simon and Amanda solved most of the district’s local transport issues. Some awesome takeaway points from the session were: be visible in your use of bikes. Where possible, proudly wear your bike gear, helmet etc into shops so they know you travelled by bike:

Another key takeaway was to always promote active travel by hearing people’s concerns, but provide examples from your own experience of how it can work for you, your whanau or the wider community you live in.

It was Simon’s turn to travel over the hill to attend the Sustainable Queenstown Green Drinks. The Lightfoot crew met with Simon and local artist and educator Scott Kennedy. A big thanks to Smiths for hosting this event where we had the opportunity to promote the Lightfoot vision for change in the Wakatipu basin. 

Our trifecta of events in Biketober culminated in a fantastic session as part of the Wao Youth Summit.

From micro-cars that navigate deep flood waters, to towns that rely on electric golf carts, our ākonga had the opportunity to consider some of the solutions that might become inherent to their generation.