Something a little bit special has been happening outside a church in Inverness this year.
It’s been years in the making actually. But if you’ve passed by Barn Church Road in Culloden lately, you’ve probably noticed it taking shape.
In the midst of a difficult time for families, a group of hardy volunteers have been rolling up their sleeves to fill their local community fridge.
And now, thanks to the creation of a new volunteer-led garden, it’s being packed with locally grown fruit and vegetables too.
For years, the land sitting close to the Barn Church was basically untouched.
Weeds grew thick in the spots where they weren’t being trampled by cars pulling up on the grass to park for the busy Sunday service.
When the overdue leap was finally taken in 2021 to build a car park on half of the space, a vision for a community garden was mooted for the other half.
It took another two years for the garden to begin to take shape but since then, the pace of change has been rapid.
Garden volunteers cover a wide range of ages
There was a big milestone along the way.
The project, by now called the Barn Fork to Fork Community Garden, scooped a £15,000 award from Scotmid after demonstrating what it could do for its local area if it won.
That cash has gone towards a pair of polytunnels, which will hugely help growing during the harsh winter months we tend to get in the Highlands.
It’s been a vital part of the garden’s development. But it still pales in comparison to another factor that’s been crucial to its success.
And that’s the goodwill and selflessness of the volunteers behind the project.
They’ve been giving up hours of their free time for months and are finally – pardon the pun – beginning to see the fruits of their labour.
There’s a core of around 20 volunteers – ranging from age seven to 80 – who have been digging, planting and grafting to make it work.
Mary Davis and Ian Henry are the joint co-ordinators of the project.
It’s been quite an undertaking. But they’re delighted to see it flourishing.
“It’s just great being outside doing something,” Ian said. “It’s good for your physical health, it’s good for your mental health.
“I’d just be sitting around the house otherwise, and my wife would be telling me to get out and do something.
“So why not give it a go?”
How does Barn Fork to Fork help the local community?
The church is already involved in a pair of projects aimed at helping local people in food poverty.
The community fridge, which you’ll find close to the Barn Church’s entrance, has grown in popularity since it opened in 2021.
And they also run Food4Good, a service that delivers supplies to people in crisis.
Mary said: “It’s a very humbling experience when someone phones up and says they’ve got four children and no food in the house.
“You can’t walk away – you have to help them.
“I really enjoy doing this. When you retire from work, you can sometimes feel like you’ve lost your purpose.
“If we can provide a little bit of help to people, it’s so rewarding for us.”
Although the projects have close links to the church, the volunteers come from all sorts of backgrounds.
They’ve built up a close bond already and they’re keen to see more people join the crew.
Community garden is a ‘sanctuary’
Douglas Low can see the community garden from his house and it didn’t take long for curiosity to get the better of him.
“Gardening is my hobby and I could see there was something going on here,” he said.
“I was up-to-date with gardening at the house and thought I’ll come down here and volunteer.
“That was four months ago and I’ve been here ever since.”
Douglas has struck up a firm friendship with John Milne, and the pair of them were working on turning an old wooden fence into planters when I arrived to chat.
The fence had been donated by a local who thought they’d be able to get use out of it.
The visibility of the community garden means they’ve received numerous donations like that to help them along.
John, touted by his colleagues as the DIY expert, said: “It was a blank canvas and I thought that was great. We’ve seen it come on so much.
“And the people are all lovely. This is a little sanctuary here.”
How to get involved in Barn Fork to Fork
You don’t need any gardening expertise to get involved either. The group are more than happy to share what they know.
Don Cameron said retiring from his career in the ambulance service had been a difficult transition – so keeping himself busy with projects like this was important.
“I really enjoy meeting people,” he said. “I get to use my hands and I’m learning too.
“Being here gives you a sense of achievement, a sense that you’re helping and you’re a part of the community.”
As well as providing food for the community, the project intends to offer a space for people to come and relax, socialise and just enjoy it.
There’s a lot of work still to be done – but so much progress has already been made.
Evie Henry said the goodwill that’s already been received from local people has been incredible.
She said: “You’re working with people you probably wouldn’t have met otherwise if we weren’t all out here in the garden.
“It’s good fun and it’s keeping us fit too, so what’s not to like?”
If you’d like to give volunteering at the Barn Fork to Fork project a go, they’ll be meeting every Monday and Wednesday morning from 10am through the winter.
And if you’d like to donate to their cause, they’d really like some topsoil.
Conversation