Extra MSA inspires local
primary school students to
‘get green’ at Cobham Services

Students from Saxon Primary School and Walton Oak Primary School were granted a behind the scenes look into one of the UK’s favourite services this week, in an adventure to discover more about ecology and biodiversity.

Teaming up with social value specialist Ahead Partnership, staff members from Extra MSA helped to deliver the session for 29 local students as part of an ongoing collaboration between the organisations.

Volunteers from the Extra team shared their first-hand insights of working with ecology, while delivering an exciting programme of events to the participating class. The experiences on offer included a site-wide tour and a wildlife safari across Cobham’s scenic lakeside walk.

Students also had the exclusive opportunity to design their own biodiversity boosting feature for the site, which the management team is now looking to implement. This follows the success of a similar initiative at Extra MSA’s Beaconsfield site, which ultimately saw a proposed duck house and bug hotel, named “Bugingham Palace”, introduced on the site.

The day saw 100% of the attending students recording a positive experience of the event, as well as stating that the day’s activities helped them to understand more about the local environment at Cobham Services.

The day has followed the delivery of a further sustainability initiative delivered by Ahead Partnership at Extra MSA’s Leeds Skelton Lake site, which recently gave year 9 pupils access to a bespoke EV insights day. The event saw 85% of its participants leaving with an increased interest in pursuing a green job, in addition to receiving introductions to those working across the green transport and infrastructure sectors.

Michael Grantham, ESG Manager at Extra MSA, said:

“At Extra MSA, we’re committed to investing in a greener tomorrow, and recognise that the next generation have a huge role to play in achieving this.
100% of students said that the day’s activities made them want to protect the environment, which is fantastic to hear. It has been so encouraging to have seen this level of enthusiasm for ecology amongst the students who visited our Cobham site this week, and we’re proud to have played a part in bringing this energy out.
We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Ahead Partnership to share our passion for the planet with young people and look forward to investing in more initiatives of this kind.”

Megan Lipp, Head of Growth, at Ahead Partnership, said:

“In addition to their growing understanding of ecology, we have been really impressed by the strong teamwork, creativity and communication skills that we have seen the participating students develop.”

“We are so pleased to see the impact of our continued collaboration with Extra MSA, who are providing hands on learning experiences to enhance young people’s classroom understanding of ecology. Our young participants have gained valuable skills thanks to this experience with Extra MSA, which can be applied within their own education and beyond.”