LAVERTON CYCLING PROJECT
The Laverton Cycling Project (LCP) is an established long-term, sustainable, community-governed cycling program for all community members in the Laverton shire and associated very remote areas, particularly for Indigenous youth.
Since 2017, CDF has provided multiple successful initiatives, including access to education, fitness, well-being testing, specific cycle training, bike maintenance skills, road safety training, and participation in events relevant to cycling.
Importantly, both the participants and local stakeholders are very supportive and keen for the CDF’s LCP to continue and expand. Programs are offered for diverse community elements including both youths and adults.
The CDF has been able to send coaching staff to Laverton every month to run cycling programs, with such programs having a measurable positive impact on the local community.
In collaboration with the Shire of Laverton we are building a traineeship that provides first-hand community work experience and insight into project management and stakeholder engagement. This is a novel opportunity for young people to help deliver the LCP program, thereby also achieving long-term sustainability of the program through staff expansion and knowledge transfer. Initially, such coaches will be drawn from CDF members and/or members of the local community.
There is also a strong stakeholder desire to expand the program to satellite towns in the greater Laverton shire, including the Indigenous-inhabited areas of Cosmo Newbery and Mulga Queen, which commenced in 2024. At present CDF is one of the only non-government organisations to service these remote communities regularly.
The CDF is eager to improve cycling infrastructure in the Laverton area via gazetted cycling trails that take in the stunning countryside, traditional lore and culture, and historical elements that showcase the rich and diverse bush area.
In time, an ambitious plan exists to develop Indigenous and disadvantaged youth in the sport of cycling and support them through athlete-development pathways, with aspirations to attain professional cycling status.
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LCP MEASURABLE POSITIVE IMPACTS
- Increased school attendance and performance.
- Reduction in juvenile crime.
- Increased fitness among youth and adults.
- Improved mood metrics.
- Increased social engagement.
- Services an average of 25 youths and adults per month.
Local participation connected to wider impact.
View full documentBuilding sustainable outcomes through community participation.
The LCP enables partners and corporations to engage meaningfully with a remote at-risk community through Environmental, Social and Governance frameworks, Corporate Social Responsibility programs and Reconciliation Action Plans.
Its work contributes to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals covering good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, and sustainable cities and communities.
The project works closely with the Shire of Laverton, local youth services, Pakaanu Aboriginal Corporation, the Laverton Cross Cultural Association, emergency services, regional resource companies and other community stakeholders. Together, they create pathways through cycling, education, cultural participation, travel and occupational development.
Good Health and Wellbeing
Quality Education
Gender Equality
Sustainable Cities and Communities
COMMUNITY VOICES
The Laverton youth are still connected to country and culture, this requires an outside, or ‘on land’ experience. Laverton Cycling Project fulfills the kids' needs to be healthy through exercise and their connection to culture. It is more than just cycling alone. When the kids are on-country they are ‘in the zone’. This means they are more content, engaged and require less direction as they are within an environment that fulfills their needs of connection, culture and exercise.
Programs like the Laverton Cycling Project improve fitness in the youth community. Our kids are some of the fittest in the greater Goldfields and regional communities. The kids have a long-standing interest in cycling; however, without programs like the Laverton Cycling Project, there might be little social facilitation to engage in cycling as an activity. Cycling provides exercise, sport, commuting and freedom of movement for all community members, including children. This is important for kids to look up to and see that cycling can be a long-term way of life. Sport for the kids, through the Laverton Cycling Project, has been described by local traditional elders as a ‘religion’ of sorts that provides attention, focus, skill development and fitness that the community might otherwise not be able to facilitate.
The Laverton Cycling Project can also facilitate adults being physically active, meaning when the kids transition to adulthood there is already an existing culture around being physically fit. It is important that the kids can see adults as being fit and therefore something to aspire to. Without programs like the Laverton Cycling Project, youth crime can go up, with the kids seeking attention and affirmation elsewhere. This can place a huge burden on the community and the resources that service remote communities.
We push hard for our youth to break the cycle of ill-health in our community. The Laverton Cycling Project helps maintain health across the entire lifespan and demonstrates how health can be maintained regardless of age, gender or culture. The Laverton Cycling Project can also educate youths and community around other aspects of health, such as diet and nutrition around exercise. This is important as our mob needs better education and opportunities in this regard. The Laverton Cycling Project provides opportunities where there otherwise might be few. We need programs that do not just ‘tick a box’ but are longer term, sustainable and engage community and stakeholders. The LCP does not just tick a box; it is actively involved in the community and engages stakeholders to ensure longevity and effectiveness.
The Laverton Cycling Project complements the local infrastructure and needs for exercise and health for the community in Laverton, whilst curtailing anti-social behaviour should these programs not be made available. Through initiatives like the Laverton Cycling Project, juvenile crime is now at a low 1% within the community of Laverton.
The Laverton Cycling Project can help an individual grow and develop adaptive health habits, and even integrate traditional culture with exercise. Traditional culture has always involved movement and exercise, with cycling a natural fit for exploring country, culture and connection. Additionally, the LCP allows youths to exercise and develop alongside adults regardless of age or cultural affiliation. This can break down barriers and even provide development opportunities through relationship building, occupational opportunities and cultural exchange.
Through the Laverton Cycling Project and Pakaanu Aboriginal Corporation, we can bring physical activity and traditional culture together for the benefit of all community members and cultural affiliations.