A new nursery is hoping to give kids the chance to get their hands dirty by creating an outdoors mud kitchen.
The scheme, which has proved popular across the UK in recent years, converts outdoor spaces into nurseries where children can play and learn about nature.
And the new amenity could be coming to Maud after architecture firm Baxter Design lodged its plans this week.
Acting on behalf of a local and prospective nursery business, it wants to create accommodation near Aucheoch Cottage in the village which will be used to get toddlers back to nature “for an exciting new start-up business venture”.
In a supporting statement, submitted alongside plans for the project, a spokesman for Baxter Design claimed the nursery was in the perfect location.
If approved, accommodation would be built on the land to service the business for an initial five-year period.
The statement says: “There are currently no nurseries in the immediate area.
“Currently, local children would have to attend a nursery in the Peterhead, Fraserburgh or Ellon area. This site would cater for the local community and provide childcare in a more appropriate location.
“The design and layout of the interior will ensure that all children are safe and secure and that their needs are met to a high standard.”
The owners of the would-be nursery were last night unavailable for comment.
Documents available alongside the planning application suggest that it would initially employ two full-time members of staff with a view to becoming a “centre of child care excellence”.
Primary School Resources, a firm which provides equipment necessary to create one of the mud kitchens, described the scheme as “one of the greatest ways to improve children’s social and interaction skills”.