Students at Montreal high school repair used bikes

Montreal students at La Dauversière Secondary School in Cartierville are getting the chance to gain hands-on experience repairing used bikes.

It’s all part of an initiative created by two teachers at the school to engage students in physical activity while teaching them lifelong skills.

“Working with my hands like building something, fixing something. I love that,” said Daghan Serter, a student in the program.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, physical education teachers Laurent Baron and Guillaume Skelling use their lunch break to teach students how to repair bikes through two workshops: Zéro Vélo and Pro Mécano.

Through the Zéro Vélo workshop, students even get to keep the bikes they fix.

“I have a bike, M. Baron is already giving me a bike,” said another student, Soha Basiri.

“Some of them they never owned the bike…the neighbourhood is not the most wealthy one. So, there’s a lot of students that are in need,” said Baron.

The initiative was launched with the help of various community donations by Montrealers and non-profit organization, Cycle Nord Sud, as well as a financial contribution of around $5000 after Baron won a contest in 2022 pitching this idea.

Baron says the money went towards buying most of the tools in the workshop.

“We hear a lot, some students are like, ‘Oh, my bike is broken,’ and when you ask what’s broken on your bike, ‘Oh, I have a flat tire,’ but for me, that’s not a broken bike. It’s like 10 minutes job. But if you don’t know how to do it, then your bike stays at home and you’re just not using it,” said Skelling.

The program also provides students with helmets and locks for their bikes.

Baron says he hopes to find a way to implement repairing bikes into the school curriculum. He also wants to expand the program’s reach.  

“Not only for school but for people out of school, for the whole neighborhood, for the community,” said Baron.