Bunchland likes to give props to families who love helping the planet and getting down and dirty with nature. The ones who really knock our organic, pesticide-free cotton socks off get our coveted Gosh Darn Green! Award.
- CITY: Cobble Hill, Vancouver Island, Vancouver
- OUR BUNCH: Bridgitte, co-owner of Natural Pod. Allan, architect/co-owner of Natural Pod. Arc, 7, grounded builder and creator. Arla, 4, free-spirited mover and dancer. Sunset, miniature Labradoodle.
Bridgitte and Allan sell beautiful green items through the company they co-own, Natural Pod. But they also know how to make turn someone else’s junk into something beautiful.
Hand-me-down bikes don’t always suit the kid they’re given to, and Bridgitte and Allan wanted their son Arc’s bike to be a perfect fit. So they built him one out of old bike parts, with a little help from the University of British Columbia’s Bike Kitchen. To find the parts they needed, they scoured garage sales and asked their friends and family to donate their unused bikes. The total cost? Twenty bucks, spent on parts they couldn’t locate from older bikes, such as new inner tubes.
Arc couldn’t wait for his new bike to be built and helped out by scrubbing off rust with steel wool and tightening bolts with a wrench. When his present was complete, he rode it to a school fair to show it off to his friends. He even generously let his pals take test rides! Bridgitte says that besides learning a ton about the mechanics of building a bike from recycled parts, Arc learned that his bike had a lesser environmental impact than buying a brand-new one. Best part is, his bike is one of a kind, made just for him. Lucky guy!
Congratulations, Bridgitte, Allan, Arc and Arla. You win our Gosh Darn Green! Award for giving new meaning to the world “upcycling.”
Wanna build your own bike with your family? Here are some tips from Bridgitte and UBC’s Bike Kitchen, and some websites to check out in your city!
Bridgitte’s tips:
1. Reach out to friends and family and see who has old bikes. Look in your community for bike recycling programs, such as UBC’s Bike Kitchen.
2. Understand that there is a time commitment involved. From a child’s point of you, there is a tremendous sense of anticipation and excitement about the process. They should learn about how things take time. Make sure you’ve got some time allocated each week to build the bike with your family.
3. Have fun with it. It is a learning experience, and if you run into problems, bike stores or mechanics in your local area can offer help. There are different websites that sell brakes and gears. If you Google “building a bike,” you will get a ton of results.
Build-a bike resources:
TORONTO: Bike Pirates
MONTREAL: Mile-End Bike Garage (children under 12 use the shop for free!)
VANCOUVER: The Bike Kitchen
NEW YORK CITY: Bike Works NYC
LOS ANGELES: Bike Oven
We also like this step-by-step how-to guide.
Is your family so green it hurts? Maybe you guys are Gosh Darn Green! material. Email amanda@bunchfamily.ca.
