About us
By focusing on the fundamental right to good physical and mental health, Free Wheel North enabled thousands of people living with varying physical disabilities and other additional support needs to enjoy their outdoor environment through cycling.
Five Year Mission
The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it
- Karl Marx, Eleven Theses on Feuerbach
Free Wheel North strives for a barrier-free urban environment where everyone has the equal opportunity to cycle. We therefore have a plan to scale-up, replicate and grow. Physical and social activity are the answers, and we have demonstrated the power of our projects over the last 15 years.
Values
Our social values and environmental values are intrinsically linked. We believe in mobility justice by taking an equitable approach to movement by providing varied travel options for those with the least mobility. In supporting access to active travel through cycling, we enable people to make more environmentally conscious decisions by providing the skills and confidence to choose cycling over cars. You can read our environmental policy below.
Environmental Policy
Free Wheel North recognises the interconnection between the environmental and social impact of the organisation and takes responsibility for both. While ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and codes of practice, we are further committed to improving the physical and mental health of our beneficiaries through outdoor recreational activities, notably by supporting those living with disabilities to cycle. We advocate for mobility justice by providing more equitable forms of active travel and call for improved urban infrastructure to accommodate a wider range of movement that goes beyond private motorised vehicles. Access to lower impact means of transport such as cycling improves the health of beneficiaries and connects them with nature, it creates an environment for enjoyment and connection, and helps to reduce pollution in urban spaces.
-
Continue our commitment to waste reduction through the circularity of our bicycle fleet by maintaining bike conditions and carrying out necessary repairs.
-
Reduce the number of single use items on site to advance our practices of circularity.
-
Involve staff and volunteers to ensure commitments are met by the whole organisation.
-
Explore potential for renewable energy technologies within the organisation to reduce carbon footprint and demonstrate our commitment to decarbonising our energy.
-
Involve beneficiaries through a variety of community engagement to improve our services and to ensure goals of mobility justice continue to be considered.
-
Advocate for active travel in urban areas at different scales including government consultations, stakeholder engagement and partnerships.
-
Monitor and revise objectives regularly in light of developments.
The following Sustainable Development Goals underpin our work and are embedded within our environmental policy: good health and wellbeing, reduced inequalities and sustainable cities and communities.
Our environmental policy is publicly available and is shared with all staff and volunteers and input from our service users is encouraged to foster an environment of collaboration.
