Fixing Bikes, Fuelling Change: School Pupils in Forth Valley Get Climate Wheels Turning

Across the Forth Valley, a quiet revolution is under way. It’s being led by FEL Scotland, whose mission is to support grassroots climate action and to empower school pupils, armed with spanners, grease, and sometimes even skateboards. They’re getting wheels turning again: repairing bikes, teaching others to ride safely, and growing skills, confidence and community - all while driving real climate action.

Fixing bikes, fixing confidence, fixing the planet
At Balfron High, what started with a few pupils learning basic bike maintenance two years ago has become a full-fledged bike repair service - a brilliant hands-on school project, supported and led by FEL Scotland.  With guidance from the charity’s Active Travel Officer, Scott Kennedy, pupils at Balfron High School have turned a class project into a thriving initiative for their school and the community overall. And thanks to a new £80,000 award from Foundation Scotland, FEL can now continue this kind of hands-on climate action across the region.

Under Scott’s guidance, pupils undertake repair sessions for bikes in need of some urgent TLC. The most common repairs are inner tubes, tyres, and brakes.  The “biggest disaster” they’ve faced was a cracked frame, which had to be retired and replaced completely.

Scott said: 

"For generations, young people have had fun exploring their local world on bikes.  It’s the freedom you feel, the laughs you have when you are cycling with your mates, there’s nothing else like it. These pupils are encouraging others to do the same: fixing bikes, making sure everyone rides safely, getting people out and about exercising and even better, helping to save the planet at the same time.  Every cycle journey is one less polluting car ride in the Forth Valley. I’m proud to be part of this change. It’s good for the kids, good for families’ budgets, and good for the planet. What’s not to like? I really hope other schools start to do the same."

For 13-year-old Darryn O’Neill, who’s uncle first got him into bikes and who hopes to follow his dad into stonemasonry, this is more than a school project.

"It’s a great feeling when you give the bike back ready to hit the road. I love a project where I can use my hands.  It feels good to fix something up, take a step back and say I’ve done that.  But this isn’t just about saving a bike it’s us helping to save the planet too.”  “It’s not just about fixing bikes,” adds 15-year-old Cooper Duff in S4 “You learn how to talk to people, explain what’s wrong, you are problem-solving and making them feel confident to ride again. That’s a nice feeling."

Zack Miller, 15, in S4 also loves working on the project: 

You don’t realise you’re learning until suddenly you can do things on your own. It’s a shame when someone comes in with a bike that doesn’t have that much wrong with it, but they just have no idea how to fix it themselves… so it’s going to rust and growing cobwebs.  I love seeing someone cycle past me on a bike I’ve fixed myself, it makes me feel good.

So far, the Balfron shop has serviced around 50 bikes, and the project’s impact keeps growing. Pupils are experimenting with skateboards as a flexible, bus-friendly travel option, with many now using their skateboards to get to their bus stop, then to school when they get off. Along the way, pupils have earned national bike maintenance qualifications— but the real lessons go beyond mechanics.  

Pedalling change
Across Clackmannanshire, Stirling and Falkirk, FEL Scotland has been helping pupils and families embrace greener travel. The biggest success story is at Lornshill Academy in Alloa, where cycling to school is now nine times higher than the national average. This growth is driven by initiatives such as their hugely successful Bike Buddies, which has donated more than 450 bikes to local primary pupils. Every child receives the same model – so everyone has the same - removing barriers and ensuring no one is left behind.

Clara Walker, Executive Director of FEL Scotland said:

It’s about more than just getting to school, Cycling is freedom, it’s independence — and when young people can do it together, it builds confidence, friendships and healthy habits for life. We’re incredibly grateful to Foundation Scotland for helping us grow this work.

A wider movement
FEL Scotland is part of a network of 24 Climate Action Hubs, supported by the Scottish Government to enable community-led responses to climate change. The Scottish Government’s Climate Action Secretary, Gillian Martin, has praised the hubs as “a fantastic endorsement of the work carried out by Climate Hubs across the country and their ability to support and drive local change.”

Foundation Scotland’s grant is part of a £500,000 investment across central Scotland, covering hubs in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, and East Dunbartonshire.

From local projects to national impact
For pupils in the Forth Valley that change is already happening. Whether fixing a puncture, donating a bike, or encouraging classmates to cycle, this project is quietly reshaping how local people travel, connect, and live sustainably. The hope is that other communities in the area will replicate the model, turning classrooms into workshops and pupils into local climate leaders. Nine times more pupils are now cycling to school in Alloa. Hundreds of bikes have been repaired, restored, or gifted. Young people are proving that climate action can start with two wheels, a basic toolkit, and a group of determined teenagers.