Kim Shorts: Ring that bell!

By: Kim Dixon June 5, 2026 152

The sound of the bell ringing 27 times in two hours brought smiles to a lot of faces attending the Kincardine Environmental Action Network (KEAN) Repair Café event earlier this spring.

It meant the people volunteering to repair items for free for members of the public, were successful.

For me it was quite an education. Several repair tables were set up, ranging from sewing repairs to fixing household electronics such as toasters, cameras and games. There was also a spot for bike repairs.

A friend and I each took a small electrical item that no longer worked, to the Spark Fair and Repair Café at the beautiful Kincardine Beach Pavilion, April 18. The event was hosted by Active Living 55-plus and KEAN.

One of the repair volunteers, Brian Schroeder, an electrical system engineer, informed me that my lithium battery was dead. There was no bringing my item back to life. However, my friend, Renée Bronkhorst, got to ring the bell since Schroeder was able to fix her broken item.

KEAN called the event another success with 27 items fixed. (One of its goals is to keep them out of the landfill.)

The cool thing is that you can sign up on-line for the repair café which will ensure a spot for you to get your item looked at. The event is well-organized and a lot of fun. One of the neat things was that we were asked to pay close attention to the repair work so that we could learn how to repair it ourselves in the future.

I also took my bike to KEAN’s Bike Repair and Tune-Up, May 23. While I try to keep my bike in good condition, with the chain oiled and bolts tightened, I was hoping the volunteer repair representative could check my front brakes and help me move the seat – all those bolts under the seat simply intimidate me.

Again, the cool part. Gwyn Mitchell, who worked on my bike, showed me how to do the seat adjustments, and gave me great tips on taking care of the bike, including the amount of air pressure that needs to be in the tires.

This was the second annual Bike Spring Tune-Up and KEAN’s volunteers repaired 15 bikes.

The Repair Café is based on the one in Amsterdam, and there are now several in Canada, including Owen Sound. These are volunteer-run events. If you’re interested in volunteering, you can send an E-mail message to KEAN at kincardineean@gmail.com. These events are free and you can also make a donation to KEAN.

KEAN’s mission is to help build an environmentally-sustainable Kincardine community. The Repair Café’s goals are to build local repair skills, promote wise use of resources, and reduce waste by keeping reusable items out of landfill.

KEAN has several other key goals, including expanding the Blue Box program; supporting the installation of a larger network of outdoor bottle-filling stations; promoting yard naturalization; strengthening community partnerships to advance shared environmental goals; and promoting a circular economy to reduce wasted resources.

The next Kincardine Repair Café is planned for July 18, from 1-3:30 p.m. (The location is not yet identified.)