Rural skills Eco Centre in Wirksworth opened
A £1.4m centre to promote and teach traditional rural skills in Derbyshire has been opened.
Eco Centre in Middleton-by-Wirksworth near Matlock will offer courses on skills such as dry stone walling, roofing and stone masonry.
It also aims to help people live sustainably by giving ideas on recycling and reducing energy use.
The county council said the centre will help people gain both experience and maintain the area's infrastructure.
Councillor Mike Longden said: "It is going to be designed to help people learn the skills and then adapt them to 21st Century life in a way that is both inspiring and fun.
"So these skills are skills that will be required in the future."
The centre includes environmentally-friendly features including a grass roof, rainwater harvesting to supply toilets, solar panels to heat water, and under-floor heating driven by an air source heat pump.