Poppies Day Nursery has become little eco-warriors after noticing their outdoor forest school classroom had become awash with litter.
THE WOMBLES OF KNUTSFORD HEATH
Children from Knutsford’s Poppies Nursery were out on the Heath litter picking this week. With its many magical places to explore, The Heath, just a few minutes toddle down their quiet lane, is a giant outdoor classroom for Poppies children. Spending much of their time there has clearly inspired a love of nature. The children noticed recently that other users had dropped litter in some of their favourite spots. They felt that it looked horrible, the animals could be hurt, and the trees could be damaged. So, with approval from Friends of the Heath, Poppies children and parents used litter pickers, loaned from Knutsford council, to collect INSERT HOW MANY bags of litter. Poppies little wombles had great eyes for spotting rubbish and the litter pickers challenged their fine motor skills. The children were excited to join in, and super delighted with the results. They could be Knutsford’s youngest litter pickers.
One Poppies Parent said ‘My child is a great advocate for keeping environments clean and tidy and loved getting involved in litter picking! I think Th
e Heath is a true asset to Knutsford and this idea may encourage others to keep it clean’.
One of the Poppies children said ‘Forest school is my favourite thing to do on the Heath as we build nests for the birds to keep them warm and cosy and we also built a bug hotel which I showed to my mummy’.
Friends of 
the Heath’s Kevin Griffiths said “I believe children should gain appreciation of nature from an early age and Knutsford Heath provides just the place for them to do that. The Heath is a Common in the middle of Knutsford, it is a nature reserve, making it the perfect place to learn about nature. It uniquely includes three habitats in one location: grassland, heathland, and woodland.
Multi award winning, Poppies Day Nursery and Nursery School is located on Knutsford’s Sugar Pit Lane. With much of their time spent outdoors, they inspire happy, healthy lifelong learners.
Poppies idyllic location, near to the Heath and Tatton Park, enables much of their time to be spent outdoors, sharing magical experiences, such as going on a deer hunt, creating a woodland musical or Forest school, developing children’s confidence, wellbeing and love of the natural world.
Their child-led activ
e learning environment stimulates little imaginations. Extensive play resources excite and inspire children to play and learn to
gether or independently. With an abundance of adventures and experiences including music, dance, art, design, cooking, sport and imaginative play, every child can learn naturally through enjoyment, play and socialising with others.
Poppies nurture life-long learners with the creativity to grow and adapt, whatever the future holds. Their curriculum is developed by qualified early years’ teachers following the EYFS framework, ensuring that learning is fun, rewarding and effective. Their highly qualified team, who all hold early years qualifications, use creative approaches indoors and out to develop key skills such as numeracy, literacy, or fine motor skills, working towards school readiness.
Adapting to new settings can be challenging. Poppies award-winning team offer incredible warmth and understanding to the little ones in their care and their families. Children are individually supported to reach their full potential, with activities tailored to their stage and learning style, nurturing confidence and happiness.