Projects involving education, energy and music are to benefit from the latest round of grants from the Peak District Sustainable Development Fund.

The fund, managed by the Peak District National Park Authority and financed by DEFRA, supports local projects from community groups or businesses that improve the environmental, social and educational wellbeing of the national park and its residents. Among the grants are £16,500 to Groundwork Cheshire towards its Hearts, Hands and Minds scheme - which is designed to get special needs pupils involved with nature in the Peak District - and £15,500 to Great Hucklow's Nightingale Centre in a move aimed at helping reduce energy use and waste by 60 and 30 per cent respectively.

Elsewhere, the Glassball Audio Artworks project at Ashford-in-the-Water will receive £12,700 to help stage a pilot project to create five new pieces of acoustic music inspired by the culture and landscape of the Peak District National Park, while the Staffordshire Peak District Tourism Association will benefit from £1,500 to provide information about local eco-friendly accommodation, walking routes, attractions, a baggage-transfer service and public transport. At Bamford Mill, now converted into apartments, £750 will go towards a feasibility study into hydropower. This will build on the analysis provided in a recent Peak Power report - produced by Friends of the Peak District and supported by the Sustainable Development Fund - which identified 80 potential micro-hydropower sites.

John Herbert, chair of the Sustainable Development Fund panel, said: "What really impresses me about this latest list is how widespread it is across the whole National Park, and what a broad range of activities it represents. Some big, some small but all local communities trying to do their bit towards saving the planet for our children." The Sustainable Development Fund allocates around £160,000 a year to projects that help sustain community life and the environment, and promote awareness of the national park's special qualities.