The Muddy Bunch
Andrea Keer, the creator of The
Muddy Bunch & qualified primary teacher
Andrea Keer is the creator of The Muddy Bunch. As a qualified primary teacher, with a love for gardening, Andrea wanted to put these areas of interest and expertise together to develop a business that inspires children to get outside and experience the wonder of nature through gardening.
Andrea said: ‘Having made the decision to start my own business, I lacked the knowledge of how to go about setting it up. The SWIFT course came at a perfect time for me to develop the skills and confidence I needed to continue progressing my new business. I now feel I can move ahead knowing that I can make better informed decisions”.
Using some of the funny characteristics of her own dog she created Wellington, a retired sheepdog and Digger, a lurcher who loves to dig holes! They are joined by a group of lovable creatures who all have special roles in the garden and together make up ‘The Muddy Bunch.’ They come together to save a garden from being taken over by weeds, slugs and snails.
Taking inspiration from watching the creatures that come into her own garden, Andrea makes them come alive in a new book: ‘Wellington the Gardening Dog’, which is illustrated by her talented sister-in-law Lucy Keer. Andrea is hoping to release further books and products from The Muddy Bunch to inspire children to become more active and aware of their environment.
Andrea was extremely excited when the TV gardener, Chris Collins endorsed her new book. ‘Wellington the Gardening Dog captures the simple joy of being outside and connecting with nature. The garden is a magical place for children full of things to discover and our hero takes us on a journey into this. I highly recommend you go with him’ said Chris.
Andrea is now selling her book locally and also on Amazon. Her aim is to reach a wider audience through introducing her book into bigger retailers. She is also offering local primary schools the chance to be visited by their local children’s author where it is hoped they will be inspired to become authors themselves while also being introduced to the very appealing Muddy Bunch characters.