Anglesey residents gifted digital bike
Residents at Hafan Cefni Extra Care scheme in Anglesey were recently gifted a digital bike which was built by sixth form students at Ysgol David Hughes, Menai Bridge in partnership with Digital Communities Wales.
The A Level Pupils which were guided by officers from the ‘Llwybrau Cof / Memory Lane’ project at Digital Communities Wales were tasked with assembling the exercise bike and creating a digital connection to the Google streetview software, allowing the rider to experience a leisurely bike ride at a location of their choice.
Managed by development agency Cwmpas, Digital Communities Wales is Welsh Government’s national digital inclusion programme.
The project, which was partnership between Ysgol David Hughes, Digital Communities Wales, Anglesey County Council and North Wales Recycle IT has provided the residents at Hafan Cefni with an alternative way to exercise whilst also taking a trip down memory lane, something some haven’t done in years.
Brenda Huws, Extra Care Manager at Hafan Cefni spoke to us about how the session came about and the benefits for both residents and the students:
“We were approached by the Llwybrau Cof / Memory Lane team to be a part of this exciting project and we jumped at the opportunity.
“The residents took part in something similar to the digital bike a few years ago and really enjoyed it, but we only had the bike for that one session. What the students at Ysgol David Hughes have done is amazing and they really have given the residents at Hafan Cefni a new lease of life, giving them back some independence that they may have lost over the years.
“It was also great to see the young people interacting with the residents throughout the day and seeing them unlock core memories whilst taking a trip down a familiar route, reminiscing about the good old days.”
Not only does this bike offer and safe and enjoyable experience for the residents of Hafan Cefni, but it also provided the students of Ysgol David Hughes with the opportunity to develop new skills as well as problem solve whilst building the bike.
“I would also like to thank everyone who was involved in the project, for the students, Daron Harris and the rest of the teaching staff at Ysgol David Hughes for taking on the challenge, my colleague Simon Jones for supporting the students in building the digital bike, Anglesey County Council for donating £1,000 towards purchasing the bikes and North Wales Recycle IT who kindly donated repurposed laptops for each bike. Their enthusiasm to get this project across the line was great and it was lovely to see the fruits of our labour transpire into residents enjoying themselves.”