Moors Valley buzzing this Easter as new Bee Hive play area opens
There’s a real buzz going on at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest this Easter with the arrival of a major new play area – the Bee Hive! Children can explore a network of hives and discover more about different types of bees and the jobs they do through a range of fun sensory activities and puzzles.
Designed to help children connect to nature and understand more about the important role of bees, the new play area is full of fun things to do. Children can help bees to collect pollen, learn about how the colony works, explore the network of different hives, and try out a whole range of bee themed puzzles encouraging communication and problem solving.
Created to be fully inclusive for every family, the Bee Hive has a range of sensory activities to hear, touch or see and features braille to help describe the experience. Other key features include a double slide to allow carers and children to use it together, ramps and level paths making it accessible for all. Located close to the Visitor Centre, the Bee Hive sits in the forest picnic area which is also home to the Gruffalo sculpture.
Bee Hive was created by the same team at Andy Frost Design who built the original play trail 35 years ago. It is hoped the new addition will become a firm family favourite like the ever-popular Hawk House, Snake Pit and Ants Nest play areas.
Natalie Crabb, Recreation Ranger for Forestry England at Moors Valley, said:
“There’s a real buzz about this brand-new play area. It’s taken over six months to carefully construct the colony and create all of the experiences it offers. During this time there’s been so much anticipation building! We are so pleased to now be able to open it up and it’s been brilliant to see so many busy bees enjoying it over the last few days!”
“We hope everyone visiting us at Easter will be able to join the colony and have fun trying out this new play area. There is so much to do on the Bee Hive whilst at the same time learning more about just how important these creatures are to nature and in protecting our environment.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Susan Smith
Media Officer, Forestry England, South District
susan.smith@forestryengland.uk
About Moors Valley
Moors Valley Country Park and Forest is jointly owned and managed by Dorset Council and Forestry England, working closely with a number of onsite concessions. The Park has previously won Gold for Large Visitor Attraction in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
Moors Valley one of the most visited attractions in the south with more than 750,000 visitors annually enjoying its lakeside walks and bike rides, innovative forest play structures, Tree Top Trail, steam railway, Go Ape, Segways, Nets Adventure and Golf Course. Prized as much by the local community as visiting tourists the park also offers stimulating play facilities, nationally recognised green exercise initiatives, locally-sourced restaurant food and an extensive year-round events programme.
Alongside meeting the needs of its visitors, Moors Valley remains a safe haven for wildlife. The Park is one of the best sites in the UK for dragonflies and home to a highly successful water vole reintroduction programme.
More information on the wide range of events and activities taking place at Moors Valley Country Park and Forest can be found at www.moors-valley.co.uk
About Forestry England
Forestry England manages and cares for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests, with over 363 million visits per year. As England’s largest land manager, we shape landscapes and enhance forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow. We are continuing the work we have already started to make the nation’s forests resilient to climate change and by 2026 we will:
- create at least 6,000 more hectares where we integrate wilding activities in our productive forests.
- increase the diversity of visitors to the nation’s forests and have one million hours of high-quality volunteer time given to the nation’s forests
- plant at least 2,000 hectares of new, high quality, predominantly broadleaf woodlands
For more information visit www.forestryengland.uk Forestry England is an agency of the Forestry Commission.
About Dorset Council
The Dorset Council Ranger team at Moors Valley are part of the wider Coast and Greenspace team; working across Dorset to provide, protect and develop open spaces. Visit www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk