Active Pollock Halls

Active Pollock Halls is a new project to support staff working at Pollock Halls to consider building more movement in to their working day or their daily commute. There will be lots of events, training, and other opportunities to get walking, wheeling and cycling.

Prize draw

To help encourage you to get active, participants in our project activities can opt to enter a prize draw for a £100 Love2Shop voucher. There will be 3 prizes, and we will pick a random winner from everyone who has participated in an activity (and has opted into the prize draw) within the following time-frames:

• 1st June - 30th September 2024
• 1st October - 31st December 2024
• 1st January - 31st March 2025

After participating in a project activity, you will be asked to complete a short survey to help with monitoring and evaluation. Doing so will give you an additional entry to the prize draw.

Scheduled events

Feel Good Walks & Cycles

We have partnered with the Active Lives team to arrange Feel Good Walks & Cycles. These are an opportunity to meet like-minded people, feel part of a community and stay connected. Our small groups are led by experienced and welcoming walk & cycle leaders. Meeting up with others for a walk and a talk can do wonders for our physical, mental and social health. Look out for dates and times being posted on the Active Lives website.

Ongoing opportunities

1-to-1 Cycle Training

We will put you in touch with a qualified trainer and they will work with you on a 1-to-1 basis to develop your cycling in a personalised way. That might mean:

• Learning to ride as an absolute beginner
• Improving your bike control skills so you can signal one-handed
• Helping you to gain the confidence to tackle a particular junction or route you've always been worried about
• We can also offer cargo-bike specific training.

These classes are entirely free, though we limit each individual to a maximum of 10 hours of training.

Doctor Bike

Doctor Bike is a free bike maintenance service for staff and students. It takes place by the bike parking between the Reception Centre and Chancellor's Court. No need to book - just turn up. The dates and times for Semester One are:

•  7 October 2024: 4:30pm to 6:30pm
• 4 November 2024: 1pm to 3pm
• 2 December 2024: 1pm to 3pm

Bike Maintenance Classes

Learn all about taking care of your bike, so that it rides smoothly and parts last longer. These classes are delivered by local social enterprise The Bike Station, in their dedicated training workshop on Causewayside.

This course covers:

• Safety Checks (before you ride and detailed inspection)
• Maintaining your bike (washing, general upkeep)
• Lubricating and cleaning
• Puncture repair

Staff will be issued with a discount code to reduce the cost to just £10 (normal advertised price is £40). 

About the Active Pollock Halls project

This project is being jointly delivered by the University's Transport Office, Active Lives team, and Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Funding for the project comes from SEStran's People and Place 2024/25 grant.