Six new bike racks are installed at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County (CCE) courtesy of a partnership between CCE, Broome-Tioga BOCES, and the Broome County Health Department. Students from BOCES’ welding program created the new equipment with the support of the Health Department’s Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC) grant.
The bike racks depict farmers market style produce, representative of the fruits and vegetables that are offered at the market and each one was designed, welded, and painted by BOCES students. With recent changes to nearby infrastructure to make area more bike- and pedestrian-friendly, along with a renewed emphasis on alternate modes of transportation, CCE was a perfect location for the installation of the new bike racks.
“This project meant a lot to me in regards to the combination of work and school; being able to show my co-workers and our community what I do means a lot to me!" said Kaili Young, a BOCES welding student who has also worked at CCE.
As BOCES Welding Instructor John Shear explains, "This project was a good fit for our students, including Kaili and Ruthanne who have learned some new skills like bending the pipe and use of our CNC plasma cutter. I also involved several other welding students that helped sand and prepare the bike racks for paint shop. Thanks to Chad Barriger Zajdel (Auto Body Instructor at BT BOCES) and his students for quickly painting the bike racks so near to the end of the busy school year. The racks will last for years, and we hope all involved are happy with the finished product."
Through the CHSC grant, the Broome County Health Department has partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County for several years on a variety of health-promotion projects within area school districts. This year, with the goal of extending these projects beyond local school districts, the CCE campus was considered to be the ideal setting. Since CCE offers a variety of public places including the farmers market, retail store, and gardens, it serves as an excellent location for increasing opportunities for physical activity amongst community members.
CHSC is a five-year initiative funded by the New York State Department of Health to establish and support healthy behaviors in high-needs communities.
