Grundon and Viridor staff at its Lakeside energy from waste (EfW) facility near Slough, are taking part in a 12 week mentoring programme with local schools.
Last week, the two waste management companies joined forces to focus on providing STEM education to the students at the Colnbrook Lakeside facility – a joint venture project between the two companies.
The visit, which welcomed five schools to the site, was part of an event managed by the Engineering Development Trust.
Part of the activities include a tour of the plant (picture: Rob Lacey)
The event included tours of the EfW facility and was designed to encourage Year 8/9 students to consider a range of career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Among those taking part was Neil Grundon, deputy chairman of Grundon Waste Management. Talking to pupils, Mr Grundon – who is part of the third generation of the Grundon family to be actively involved in the business – said: “When I WhatsApped all my daughters and asked them what they had learned at school about science – they all said ‘nothing’. However, the eldest two have jobs which mean they use science every day – and they hadn’t even noticed.”
STEM
The visitors heard from Johanna Wilson – head of talent and learning at Viridor – about the significance of STEM subjects to both UK and worldwide businesses.
“The resource management industry keeps the lights on and the water clean, sustains the planet and offers new ways of doing things,” Ms Wilson said. “Understanding STEM subjects also helps with new developments such as robotics.”
“Companies like Viridor, Grundon and Lakeside offer job opportunities in engineering and maintenance, business development, human resources and new technologies – at entry levels including apprentices and graduates,” she explained.
The students were split into groups so they could take part in recycling games and tour the site. The recycling games used practical experience to demonstrate why it is important to put the right materials in the right bin to maximise recycling.
After lunch there was a group engineering challenge, where each school had to construct the tallest tower they could. The winning tower, with a height of around 35 cm, was built by the five students from Trevelyan Middle School.
‘Opportunity’
Their teacher, Emma Hayes said: “This was a tremendous opportunity for all our students to understand how, by working as a team, they could share a challenge between them – and build the highest tower from the five competing schools.
Viewing the grate
“The site tour, the recycling game and the team competition also started to introduce the idea that STEM subjects form the basis of understanding many of the everyday challenges of daily life.”
Grundon and Lakeside are now providing mentors for all the schools which attended during a 12 week programme. Over that time, pupils will concentrate on one of two projects.
‘Business of Recycling’
Working with Grundon mentors, Magna Carta College, Trevelyan and Upton Court Grammar School will focus on the “Business of Recycling”, while Beechwood and Holyport College will work with Lakeside mentors on an “Energy and Your School” project.
In January, all five schools will return to Lakeside, where their projects – including presentations and displays – will be judged by a panel of independent professionals.
Danny Coulston, operations director of Lakeside, said: “The entire training day was very helpful to both our mentors and the students.
“It was exciting to hear all the students talking so positively about what they had learned – and what they were hoping to learn – as they move towards a wider understanding of how STEM subjects can change not only their daily lives, but also offer very real career and job opportunities.”
Lakeside
The Lakeside energy from waste facility currently receives around 450,000 tonnes a year of non-recyclable waste from a number of local authorities including Slough, Berkshire and the West London Waste Authority. It also accepts waste from Heathrow Airport and surrounding businesses. The plant exports 37MW of power to the National Grid.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
