Yalgoo LDAT turns dumped bikes into connection for young people

The Yalgoo Local Drug Action Team (LDAT) is based in Yalgoo, a small town 200 km inland from Geraldton. It took the problem of old bicycles being dumped in the area and turned it into a chance for school-aged First Nations children to learn new skills and connect with their community.

Adrian Bartlett is a Yamatji man, Executive Officer at Geraldton Sporting Aboriginal Corporation (GSAC), and lead of the Yalgoo LDAT. He has a long involvement in sport, recreation and wellbeing programs in the mid-west region of WA, and knows the area well, as a parent of four and through his work.

“There’s not a lot out there for youth in these towns. They’re mining – lots of fly in, fly out workers,” Adrian explains.

“Young people can have a sense of being forgotten about, because they’re so far away from the cities. Some towns have community development officers, some haven’t.”

Feeling disconnected from community, and having few recreation, education and employment opportunities, are all risk factors for alcohol and other drug (AOD) harm. The LDAT set out to build the opposite: connection, skills and a sense of belonging.

A simple start in Mount Magnet

The idea began in Mount Magnet, about an hour further east of Yalgoo.

“The LDAT history goes back four or five years with GSAC and the bike program in Mount Magnet is where we originally started as a bit of an experiment,” Adrian explains.

“There’s one elderly local volunteer, Warren, who had contacts with resource centres that had old bikes. They were just going to be chucked at the tip. Instead, he got trailer loads of bike parts and bikes out to Mount Magnet for the kids to fix their own bikes.”

In the sessions, Warren taught the young people the basics, such as changing tyres, and the LDAT supplied toolkits, tubes and other supplies. The program grew, and Mount Magnet now has a site with a full-time worker and casual staff.

Expanding to Yalgoo

For its fifth Community Action Plan (CAP), the LDAT expanded the program to Yalgoo. In weekly sessions, participants were given their own bikes and taught to repair and maintain them. Trained facilitators led the sessions, which included a meal so the young people could socialise and have fun in a safe environment.

Sessions were split by age group: children aged 6 to 12 on Fridays after school, and 13 to 17-year-olds on Saturdays.

The sessions were also a chance to include AOD education. For the older group, staff from the Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (GRAMS) co-facilitated two sessions, sharing information and resources about cannabis, alcohol and other drugs. Staff from Tackling Indigenous Smoking co-facilitated two more. Local cultural leaders and sporting champions visited some weeks for both age groups.

What the program achieved

The LDAT ran 20 bike maintenance sessions in Yalgoo from October 2024 to March 2025, reaching 35 local children, more than the target of 32. Participants reported an increase in their self-confidence, sense of purpose, and connection to each other and their community.

The children were proud of fixing and maintaining their own bikes, and of helping others.

“There was a great chance for leadership. The older kids were helping the little ones, which doesn’t necessarily always happen other times,” said Adrian.

He says it has been life-changing for the young people, who now have more connection, freedom and independence. “I think most kids in Yalgoo have two bikes each at least. They’re good quality bikes that’ll last a while. They’ve all got a tool kit. They know how to change a tyre, and they know where to go for bigger repairs.”

The benefits reached the wider community too. GSAC aimed to run two workshops to train staff from other Yalgoo organisations to deliver the program themselves. They ran four, double the target, and 90% of the staff who attended reported more confidence to deliver the sessions.

The whole community has embraced the program. Shopkeepers have installed bike racks for the kids, and tourists use the bikes to go out and see the wildlife. The Shire supplied a small works depot to store tools and bikes, plus a couple of workers, and the school has come on board. Local police come to sessions to talk with the kids about road rules and safety.

“For the whole community, there have been no negatives. The parents I’ve spoken to are stoked,” said Adrian.

The program has now expanded to Cue, 80 km from Mount Magnet, and other small towns in the region are keen to join.

“From a fairly simple start, it has turned into a really good quality community program, particularly out in these remote and rural areas, which is fantastic.”

Advice for other LDATs

Adrian’s advice is to talk to your Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) Relationship Manager to develop your CAP and get support, if needed, with the templates on the LDAT platform.

The next step is getting community buy-in and making sure potential participants know about your program.

“Having those local contacts and showing that you have a vested interest and really want it to work helps to get support around it,” he said.

“We’ve had barbecues that the kids enjoy, they’ve got something to look forward to after school. That initial contact is the important thing, without a doubt. Get them into the program and then watch it grow from there.”

What’s next

The Yalgoo LDAT is working on its sixth CAP, with sports leaders, including former AFL players with local ties, visiting every second week to run two-hour sports clinics with the kids.

Last reviewed: 3 November 2026