A Brechin man has returned home to a hero’s welcome at his local rugby club following a mammoth 17-day trek.
Volunteer Derek Harper visited community projects from Orkney to Dunfermline as part of the The Big Lunch Community Walk.
The organisers wanted to “shine a light” on the residents and projects bringing people together at the heart of their communities.
Derek was one of two Scottish walkers. Together with Edinburgh social enterprise founder Zakia Moulaoui, he toured projects across Scotland ahead of Big Lunch events on June 1 and 2.
Derek said: “Visiting communities across Scotland has shown me that the future is local and community-led.
“It’s clear food is a catalyst to engage and it has enabled communities to unlock the passion, skills and local knowledge to deliver a vision for their place.
“Local folk provide the social glue, local knowledge and passion to tackle the thorny issues,” he added.
The Big Lunch is an initiative run by the Eden Project communities team, which connects people and communities across the UK, encouraging everyday people to make positive change where they live.
Around 6 million people meet to share food and fun at events every year with £6m raised for community projects in 2018.
Derek’s journey ended with a lunch at Brechin Rugby Club, where he learned about its transformation over the past three years and the group’s plans for creating a community clubhouse.
Zakia said: “After spending so much time on the road, and putting up with me, I feel Derek deserved a nice celebration.
“I have learned so much from this experience. It has been a real privilege to be welcomed into various communities and invited to see what they do to create connections or make stronger ones.
“The whole trip has widened my understanding of community spirit and made me discover projects I wasn’t familiar with, like urban community gardens for instance.”
Sandra Brown, the project’s Scotland manager, said: ”Derek and Zakia took to the highways and byways of Scotland to learn about – and learn from – the amazing people and organisations at the heart of so much important work.
“It’s been wonderful to see them share what one community is doing with another community that could benefit from those ideas.”
