More than a penny is being spent on creating a new environmental learning centre on the banks of a Fife loch.
A loo with a difference has taken its place in the new home of the Ecology Centre in Kinghorn.
Work has begun on creating a £350,000 new base for the charity which teaches children about nature and provides training and volunteering opportunities as its lease on buildings and land at nearby Craigencalt Farm expires.
The first building to spring up on the eastern edge of Kinghorn Loch is a rather unusual toilet in a quaint wooden shed, which will eventually help the rest of the site flourish.
Ecology Centre staff and volunteers have installed a dry composting toilet, similar to those used in third-world countries where there is no access to running water.
Instead of flushing, users deposit a scoop of sawdust and waste is collected in a giant underground tank to form compost.
Ecology Centre general manager Julie Samuel said: “It is proving very popular among people who come to the loch.”
A grant of £5,000 from the Kew Gardens Grow Wild initiative ensured an impressive WC could be constructed, decorated with glass tiles and overlooking a wildflower meadow.
Ms Samuel said: “It was the first building up so we wanted it to be quite attractive.
“All the waste is contained in an underground vault which will stay there for about a year. Once it is full it will be switched and left for a year to allow the waste to break down. We will then use the compost around the site.”
The land was purchased by the community in July and is to be managed on its behalf by the Ecology Centre. Three shipping containers have also arrived which will provide a temporary base over the winter months and eventually be linked to the new building, which it is hoped will start to take shape early next year.
Funding has yet to be secured for the key structure but it is hoped cash will come from the Big Lottery Fund and the Robertson Fund.
Ms Samuel added: “It is a very exciting time. It’s a whole new beginning for us.
“We have been here (at Craigencalt Farm) for 15 years and we always knew it wouldn’t be forever but it’s sad to see things like the willow tunnel and the rabbit warren being taken down.”