Saturday, December 5, 2009

Freiker Works to get kids Biking to School

Steve Kruse, a member of our committee, provided a neat article about Freiker, here.

Freiker Works to get kids Biking to School
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"Another great non-profit in Boulder that encourages sustainability is Freiker. Freiker is short for "frequent biker," and the idea is to get kids motivated about riding their bikes to school by providing feedback about how frequently they ride via the Freikometer. According to their website, "The Freikometer counts riders using a radio-frequency identification (RFID). Freikers have RFID tags affixed to their helmets. When they ride to school, they ride past the Freikometer to 'ring in'." the Freikometers are solar powered, and I can attest (since my daughter goes to school at one of the shools with a Freikometer) that the kids LOVE to have their rides recorded. Freiker offers prizes, like an iPod to riders who ride their bikes 160 rides a year (not easy to do). But riding no matter the weather becomes a habit, and it's great habits like these that our kids need, both for their health and for the planet. You can contact Freiker to make a donation or to see if they can expand to a school near you!
Cited in this presentation (re: the recent book "Nudge"):
http://tinyurl.com/yl2oqhy