Take a hike around Dundee’s Riverside Nature Park and, as you approach this tiny cabin, you would be forgiven for initially thinking it was a quaint wee wooden hut, complete with window box and net curtains. However, step a little closer and you will quickly discover it is in fact a rather utilitarian metal shed, in disguise.
The clever paint job, which features a bee, butterfly and ladybirds, plus some sprouting undergrowth, is the work of graffiti artist Paco Graff and has transformed the composting toilet that provides welcome relief to park visitors as they explore the estuary site at the end of Scotland’s longest river.
Until recently, the shed, which sits adjacent to a cluster of picnic benches overlooking Invergowrie Bay, was covered in less attractive daubs and scrawls and, thanks to Building Stronger Communities funding secured through Dundee City Council, the Friends of Riverside Nature Park were able to commission Paco to brighten it up. He also painted a skylark – one of the park’s most prolific ground-nesting breeders – on a metal tool shed within the car park from where the trails radiate over this former landfill site.
Paco’s work, which draws heavily on nature and frequently features birds, can be found on walls and businesses all over Dundee and at locations in Perthshire and Fife and further afield.
A haven for wildlife, Riverside Nature Park opened in 2011 and, bordering the Firth of Tay, provides a range of habitats for birds, animals, plants and insects, ranging from inland ponds and wildflower meadows to mudflats that attract waders. Its fields are also home to the city council’s herd of Highland cows.
The land, like much of that along Riverside Avenue, including the site of the city’s airport, was reclaimed over time from the river. For decades – prior to the more widespread adoption of recycling – Dundee’s waste was simply dumped into a municipal landfill tip here. Once full of rubbish, it was capped and covered with topsoil and has since been planted out with trees and wildflowers, allowing nature to claim this new ground.
Access to the park is from a small car park at the end Wright Avenue, which branches off Riverside Avenue and leads to Riverside Recycling Centre. If you don’t feel the need to use the toilet, the nearby picnic benches are a fine place to sit, catch your breath and enjoy the view over the water.
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