Students at Dundee University are set to swap notepads and pens for carrots and potatoes.
Bosses at the university are so keen to see students develop gardening skills and boost healthy eating that they are willing to demolish an entire building to make it happen.
The boarded-up former Biological Sciences Institute on Millers Wynd is the site which has been chosen to make way for a number of small allotments.
They would be used by both students and staff.
It is hoped they will prove a more pleasing addition to the local conservation area than the dated concrete building they are set to replace.
In recent years owning an allotment has been described as akin to having membership of Scotland’s most exclusive club, such has been the scarcity of available plots.
Villages, towns and cities across the country have, however, been working to change that with a wealth of new community schemes.
The university’s plan would ensure that Dundee students have the chance to join those lucky enough to secure a small place to work and relax.
It is confident that its proposal to level the BSI and landscape the site will find favour with Dundee City Council whose planning officers will now consider the application.
Bosses have said that the building, which sits on Millers Wynd, off Perth Road, has become redundant, is too outdated to reuse and too costly to retain.
In the future, the site could be developed further should a new educational need be established.
A spokesman for the university said: “The building has effectively become redundant in recent years.
“We have examined the possibilities of alternate use, but the nature of the structure makes it unsuitable for modern research or teaching requirements.
“It is also costly to maintain and keep secure, so the university is looking to demolish the building.”
He added: “The land may be available for future development, but the immediate plan following demolition, if approved, is to partially landscape the area and to provide around a dozen small allotment spaces for use by students and staff.
“These will include some raised beds to make them accessible to wheelchair users.”
Dundee University was last week named among the world’s top 20 universities founded in the last 50 years.
The Tayside institution, established in 1967, is listed equal 19th in the Times Higher Education’s ‘100 under 50’ rankings.