Dennis to the Rescue inspires over 1,000 Milton Keynes pupils
The initiative saw the Milton Keynes SUEZ team deliver engaging environmental education sessions at five schools across five days, including Global Recycling Day, helping young people understand the importance of waste reduction, reuse and recycling.
Peter Marshall, Contract General Manager at SUEZ, said: “We are proud to bring ‘Dennis to the Rescue’ to Milton Keynes and reach so many pupils in such a short space of time. By making recycling fun, interactive and relevant to their everyday lives, we are helping young people build positive habits that can make a real difference at home and in their community. Education is key to improving recycling rates and protecting the environment for future generations.”
The Dennis to the Rescue programme brings sustainability to life through interactive activities, including quizzes and a hands-on recycling beanbag game, where pupils learn how to correctly sort different types of waste. A key message delivered during the sessions is the importance of keeping batteries out of household bins to prevent fires and environmental harm.
The programme is delivered in partnership with educational specialists Skips Educational. Earlier this year, local pupils were invited to submit a poster themed around ‘Save the Planet’ which showed what protecting the environment means to them. Pupils whose posters were selected won the chance to have the Dennis Eagle mobile classroom visit their school.
The winning schools were: Cold Harbour Primary School (Bletchley), Portfields Primary School (Newport Pagnell), Broughton Fields Primary school (Broughton), The Premier Academy (Bletchley), and Brooksward School (Neath Hill).
Pupils also received classroom booklets to take home, helping to extend the impact of the sessions beyond the school gates and encourage positive recycling
habits at home. This included an online crossword competition, with the winning pupil receiving an amazon fire kids pro tablet which was presented earlier this term.
Head of Key Stage 2 at Broughton Fields Primary School, Helen Thomas said: “Our pupils were really inspired to think more carefully about recycling. It was a fantastic project to take part in, and we loved seeing families getting so involved at home as well."
Last year, Milton Keynes rocketed 76 places up national recycling charts into the top ten thanks to the efforts of local people to recycle more. In the city, recycling is processed using state of the art methods to create energy, some of which powers the waste and recycling collection fleet. Almost no waste is sent to landfill. Cllr Jennifer Wilson Marklew, Cabinet Member for Waste and Recycling, said: “It was brilliant to see how much knowledge Milton Keynes children already have about how to recycle. The sessions made it easy to understand, and it’s great to know children are taking these ideas home. Small changes add up, and this project shows everyone can help make MK a greener city.”