Busy Bees are delighted to announce that the winner of Disney’s ‘Winnie the Pooh’ Gardening Competition is Busy Bees Nursery in Quedgeley.

Last month, Busy Bees exclusively joined forces with Disney to develop ‘Winnie the Pooh’ themed garden areas in our nurseries. Disney produced specially designed packs for each nursery, offering guidance and support on designing the best possible garden areas and creating great learning and fun outdoor opportunities for the children. The pack included a selection of seeds, design ideas, tops tips from Gardener and TV personality Charlie Dimmock, and a ‘Winnie the Pooh’ story book with a sound effects CD.

As part of the collaboration with Disney, each of our Nurseries entered their garden designs into a national competition, giving them the chance to win a visit from Charlie Dimmock, who will be replicating the winning garden in a central London location, as well as receiving a whole host of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ goodies!

Disney announced Busy Bees in Quedgeley as the winners of the competition, after narrowing it down to ten finalists. Disney faced a difficult decision, as the nurseries had worked hard to create some wonderful designs. Busy Bees in Quedgeley were the chosen winners, as the nursery included themed areas designed to simulated all of the children’s senses and make the most of the outdoors. Charlie Dimmock will be visiting Busy Bees in Quedgeley this month to give tips and support on developing their ‘Winnie the Pooh’ garden.

The partnership with Disney is the next step in Busy Bees’ efforts to encourage children at our nurseries to lead a healthy lifestyle, with large play areas in many nurseries, new adventure playgrounds in recently refurbished gardens, and partnerships with organisations offering activity play sessions, such as baby yoga, dance classes, and football.

Busy Bees’ efforts follow recent campaigns and research, which have highlighted the importance of outside play, including the Government’s Change4Life campaign and the new government framework, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The EYFS recognises that outdoor play is a key part of developing children’s knowledge of the natural world, as well as their movement and imagination.

Operations Director, Marg Randles, said “Teaming up with Disney was a fantastic chance for us to create great learning and fun outdoor opportunities for the children at Busy Bees to enjoy. It was an opportunity to involve children and parents in the development of their nursery, and for everyone to work together on further improving our nursery gardens.

Busy Bees hope to work with Disney on similarly exciting projects in the future.”