Pedal-powered smoothies at the EMRC

As part of a health and well-being initiative to encourage staff to try cycling and to promote bike events in the lead up to Bike Week 2018, the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council (EMRC) borrowed a pedal-powered blender for a day.

The EMRC hired the blender from the Town of Victoria Park and supplied ingredients so staff could blend a delicious and nutritious smoothie for themselves throughout the day. The bike blender was a huge success with 28 people giving it a go, including the Directors and the CEO. Many different healthy smoothie combinations were created from the fruit and vegetables and it was particularly enjoyable to see genuine smiles on people’s faces as they realised how fun and easy it was to pedal and blend it themselves.

The day finished off with the monthly staff information session which featured cycling. It included information on the benefits of cycling for health, sustainability, convenience and wellbeing, details of the regular EMRC staff bike rides before work on Fridays and the dates of Bike Week events within Perth’s Eastern Region. It concluded with a slideshow of photos and videos taken through the day of smoothie making.

The activities were a fun and interactive way for staff, some of which haven’t been on a bike in years, to remember that riding a bike is something you don’t forget how to do. Responses were overwhelmingly positive with many people saying it was easier than thought and they would consider cycling for transport, to socialise and to stay fit.

This is one of several activities and initiatives the EMRC have planned to encourage staff to cycle for social, health and sustainability reasons. Stay tuned to see what we do next!