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Ré-Bécanne

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Transportation is the largest source of GHG emissions in Quebec, and there was unprecedented growth in these emissions throughout the 1990s. These trends tend to place young people, and the population in general, in a vicious circle. The growing automobile congestion on city streets gives the impression that walking and cycling are dangerous, and causes still heavier road traffic. Bicycles offer an alternative that is particularly interesting to young people because of its benefits: greater mobility, independence and physical fitness.

Founded in 1979, ENvironnement JEUnesse (ENJEU) is an environmental non-profit organization with over 1,200 members, including 100 educational institutions. They reach more than 10,000 young people every year through training and other activities. Their board of directors has eleven members, whose average age is 25. Their mission is to:

  • Stimulate the development of an ecological conscience among young people and support them in their environmental activities; and,
  • Create environment- and science-oriented recreation activities to develop a critical vision of science among young people on the economic, social, cultural and environmental levels.

What are they doing?

The Ré-Bécanne project aims to make young people aware of sustainable transportation in a typical Canadian urban context. Through this pilot project, ENJEU hopes to establish a model for action on youth transportation that can be reproduced with other community groups.

The project involves educating and raising the awareness of young people aged 12-17 who visit Montreal's downtown youth centres on issues related to sustainable transportation and climate change. They hope to draw their attention to this problem, enable them to become socially involved, and with them set up an alternative: cycling. This will be done by providing training on sustainable transportation and climate change and a workshop on maintaining, assembling and repairing bicycles, skateboards and in-line skates in which the young people will take part. Once a young person has taken the program, he or she can participate in a program called earn-a-bike.

What did the project accomplish?

The Ré-Bécanne project targeted people aged 12-17 who visit Montréal's downtown youth centres. The workshops provided participants an introduction to sustainable transportation and climate change and a workshop on maintaining, assembling and repairing bicycles.

For those youth without bicycles, a special "earn-a-bike" program provided youth participants with a recycled bicycle they helped to repair themselves. To earn the bike, youth had to complete 10 hours of volunteer service, helping project organizers collect bicycles for recycling in the Ré-Bécanne project, assisting with the creation of piece of public art using old bicycle parts in a Montréal park, or assisting at the free summer bicycle maintenance workshops ENJEU provides Montréal cyclists along city bike routes during the summer months. Notable results include:

  • 150 youth participated in bicycle repair and sustainable transportation workshops
  • 100% of participants had a better understanding of sustainable transportation issues according to post workshop surveys
  • 11 partner Youth Centres
  • 5 non-profit partners (environmental and cycling groups)
  • Provincial support for future phases
  • Skills-based program builds environmental awareness and ensures participants can maintain and repair their sustainable transportation choices (I.e., their bicycles)
  • 91% of participants committed to using bicycles for primary transport
  • 25 participants awarded free bicycles
  • 47 bicycles recycled

Where can you find more information?

ENJEU (available in french only)



Date modified:
2010-02-03