Bikes & Bugs Parade

We've been having such a buzz this summer! We're so busy, we've barely had time to fill you in on all the great stuff we've been up to, so we'll backpedal a little bit and tell you all about our recent collaboration with The Bike Hub The Bike Hub runs community bike shops in Crumlin, and Dun Laoghaire. They offer bike repairs, bike maintenance lessons, and volunteering opportunities. They also have an accessible fleet for people unable to use regular bikes. Their MO is to make cycling accessible to as many people as possible. Getting on your bike is a great way to get around. No tickets, tolls, or traffic jams, it is cheap, convenient, healthy, and fun. Cycling is everyday climate action in motion and we are all about promoting easy ways to get involved in protecting the planet, so we were delighted to be invited to create something with TBH for Bike Week, an annual celebration and promotion of the benefits of cycling, organised by the National Transport Authority. We met with Stephen, the founder of TBH, to discuss how we could celebrate bikes, and the amazing services provided by TBH, while building on our own work around creating community engagement with climate action, and promoting climate-positive celebrations. In a stroke of incredibly good luck, TBH had their Family Bike Day planned for Saturday, May 20th, which also happened to be World Bee Day. So we decided to create a 'Bikes & Bugs Parade'. A mini cycling adventure that explores the joy of cycling while bringing awareness to the biodiversity of Eamonn Ceannt Park. We met with the amazing multi-tasking Lucy from TBH to plot a route for the ride, and a treasure hunt.

TGRP had recently hosted our second annual Biodiversity Parade with the community of Sallins, and saw our flagship school Greystones Educate Together finish off their 'Grow Your Green Cloak' run with their own amazing 'Growing' themed parade led by teacher and artist Jacqui Dunne.

We invited Jacqui to create an aesthetic for our Bikes & Bugs Parade that was colourful, fun, and family-friendly, and also allowed us to reuse some of the costumes from the GETS parade. We designed a series of insect-inspired costumes that could be easily replicated and safely worn when cycling. Many of the costumes were made from recycled yoga mats, which were brightly coloured, and durable. We also designed costumes & masks for the bikes. We used materials sourced from Recreate, which have been diverted from landfill, and we made everything with the intention that it could be used again.

We had a Costume Creation Station in The Bike Hub to prepare costumes ahead of time, we enlisted a number of helpers, including cycling advocate, and designer Conor Cahill who took on the task of turning a cargo bike into a grasshopper. Ciaran the bicycle planking Postman agreed to be a Ladybird marshall. TGRP member and artist Deimante, signed up as a face painter, she also sourced a print of an Impossible bicycle from Made in Carlow, as a prize for Best Dressed Bike. Sustainable toy company Jiminy also sponsored a prize for the best-dressed person.

When Family Bike Day rolled around we set up outside TBH in Eamonn Ceannt Park, there were a host of activities including bike tattoos, bike checks, and slow races. We invited people to come early to create costumes for their bikes.

Simon, Cassielle, and Aquielle Dunne led the charge in The Grasshopper cargo bike.

Peter from I Bike Dublin provided the sound system, Pawficer Jojo came with his humans, Ronan captured the event on his ant bike. Participants, walked, bopped, and wheeled around the park. The prize for best-dressed person went to Ruby, who dressed as a butterfly, and the best-dressed bike went to Fiona and her team of 'Three Bugs in a Rug' in their Dublin Bike Library cargo bike.

We had such a buzz, it was a wheely good time.

Our next Pedal Party Parade is a Save Our Seas Cycle on July 9th as part of Coastival with The Bike Hub Dun Laoire. You can join in our pre parade costume creation station on July 2nd. For more details follow our socials. The Green Roots Project & The Bike Hub We'd love to see you there.