Thanks to Park Holidays UK, pupils at an East Sussex primary school are learning that recycling isn’t just good for the planet – it can also bring them a new pal to play with.

The major holiday parks group has teamed up with Robsack Wood Primary Academy in St Leonards on Sea to help youngsters understand the importance of reducing waste.

And children coming top of the class by showing a commitment to recycling are being presented with a cuddly Loopy rabbit, the eco-friendly mascot of Park Holidays UK.

The toys were donated to the school by the company which has its head office in nearby Bexhill-on-Sea from where it operates 40-plus holiday parks throughout the UK.

The donation was the brainchild of Louise Evans who works as a holiday sales support manager at the group, and whose two children attend the 420-pupils school.

Louise is also co-chair of the academy’s board of governors, and said she knew how much importance the school attaches to raising environmental awareness.

She persuaded her bosses to make a gift of the 75 rabbits to Robsack Wood, and spoke to pupils in two school assemblies about how essential recycling was to the future of our planet.

Louise also explained that youngsters that by showing how they really cared about cutting down on waste, both in and out of school, they would be rewarded with their own loveable Loopy.

In addition, she arranged for a surprise visit to the school from their Loopy mascot whose antics brought smiles to the faces of everyone present.

Louise was among a team of volunteers from Park Holidays UK who recently helped gather litter from Bexhill beach as pert of the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean.

She believes that creating zero waste is a challenge everyone needs to take on:

“If we can get this message across to children in their early years, environmental responsibility will naturally become part of their lives in the future,” said Louise.

“Loopy helped us to show that it’s perfectly possible to take recycling seriously while still having fun, and the feedback I’ve received from the school and parents has been really positive.

“All of our parks take action to protect the natural world, and we like to think that both children and grown-ups will take home a bit of inspiration from what we do,” added Louise.

There is more information about the English, Scottish and Welsh parks in membership of Park Holidays UK on its website at www.ParkHolidays.com