What on Earth does "Catacleta" mean?

In Spain, not many people use bicycles to go to school or work, that is why, last March, our school PE Department began a new and exciting project, called "Impulso Catacleta" (I couldn't figure out a proper translation), to enhance sustainable mobility among the pupils. The project registers how many kilometres someone rides by bike and therefore calculates how many CO2 kilos have we avoided emitting. After every month, there is a classification that sums up everyone's results. We interviewed Carlos Orea, one of the PE teachers; and presumably, the mastermind behind this project. Let's see what he has to say!

Question: What is the Impulso Catacleta, and what is its objective?

Answer: It aims to promote sustainable mobility, whether on foot, by bike or on an electric scooter. In addition, you exercise and curiously, when you ride a bicycle, you have a feeling of being better, happier. It also is economical, does not take up much space, and helps to keep the streets more silent and calm.

Q: How did the idea of the Impulso Catacleta come about?

A: It is an idea I had a long time ago, and I wanted to put it into practice one day. It is something that I do for pleasure and for all the benefits it has, which are many.

Q: Are you satisfied with the results? How did both students and teachers receive the project?

A: Yes, generally very pleased. The reception has been good, it is working, and the idea has potential.

Q: Who organises it and is in charge of it?

A: It is organised by the Department of Physical Education, which is assisted by volunteers who help to register the bikes for each month's classifications. One of the objectives is to involve and encourage the students to develop the project themselves through some small prize, such as the official project t-shirt. In addition, some teachers have also been very involved in the project, which is also very positive.

Q: What are the next steps of the project?

A: First, we must continue to promote the use of the bicycle. We want to reach 100 members by next year, currently being 65. Another idea is implementing a bike shop at the school, where students could fix their bikes. And we also want to have school bikes ready to leave for students who do not own one to do some activity outside the school; and to start recycling bikes, pick them up here and make the most of them as we can.

Q: Anything to say to our readers and international colleagues?

A: Yes, I have something to tell them. In Spain, we are usually more reluctant to go by bike. That is why I would like to ask them why they think it is like this for us, despite having a better climate and being able to carry out more outdoor activities. That is something that I can not understand, and I also wanted to ask what advice they would give us to fill our bike parking lot in the future.

Q: Thank you so much for answering our questions.

A: Your welcome, thanks for the interview.

Since we like to have as many opinions as possible, we asked some of the students that are taking part in this project. Here are their answers:

Itziar (12 years old): I was not used to cycling to school until this year, this project made me realise that going to school by bike is a likeable solution for me and for my classmates that live near the school because it is an easy method of transportation and it saves time and CO2 emissions.

Sergio (15 years old): I have been going to school by bike since I was 12. In my opinion, this project could help others to start this healthy habit, such as some of my friends that have started because of the prize but keep coming to school by bike because they enjoy it. I would totally recommend it to anyone who knows how to cycle and lives near enough to make this a significant change.

Julia (17 years old): This project is an amazing solution for people like me who care about the environment. From my point of view, this project encourages students to have a healthier life; and teaches us all that by making small changes in our day a day life, these changes can have a huge effect on our community and hopefully on the world.

Juan Puimedón, Julia Fernández & Inés Anguiano, MEGA Club Spain