THE sun shone brightly for a special day of fun, laughter and food in Thurso at a harvest festival event.

A community garden behind Ormlie industrial estate drew in a steady stream of local people who delighted in the various activities on offer and even had a chance to sample some of the produce grown there.

The body behind the initiative, Thurso Grows, is run by Thurso Community Development Trust (TCDT) and funded by the Scottish Government Climate Challege Fund. The aim of the project is to encourage "community growing and food waste minimisation".

Jacqui Barclay, admin and marketing officer with Thurso Grows, said at Saturday's event: "We're turning this area into a community garden. There will be a kitchen space and we're building a cob oven next Saturday. We're growing produce and doing composting and we're also going to be doing workshops."

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From October 4 there will be a 16-week Eat Well dinner club from 5.30pm to 7.30pm at Thurso Community Café which will inform the public about how to reduce household food waste and save money.

"We will be cooking a meal together and discussing ways to reduce food waste, cook with seasonal ingredients and make your food go further. While we would love people to come along for the full 16 weeks, drop-ins would always be welcome too."

Sharon Dismore is the project officer for the garden and explained that there were some serious issues being addressed with the project. "I'm a gardener to trade and work in community projects," she said. "We're getting people involved in growing food and talking about climate change."

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Lots of vegetarian and vegan food was available at the event and a few wasps had to be avoided as they sought out the tasty plant-based cakes and flapjacks.

Joan Lawrie of TCDT said: "This is just one of many projects that Thurso Community Development Trust does. At the moment there's just the garden but we hope, through the Town Centre Regeneration Fund, to put planters in Thurso precinct filled with edibles containing fruits, herbs and vegetables. The idea is all about sharing."

This weekend the group is holding a cob oven building workshop from 10am to 4pm both days, costing £80. Places can be booked at www.thursocdt.co.uk/buy/cobovenworkshop

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