The National Trust's Enid Rowell Education base, at St Catherine's, near Windermere, Cumbria, is due to be built next year in a �435,000 project.

With a foundation of recycled tyres, it will be roofed in wooden shingle, clad in lime render, insulated with sheep's wool and heated by on-site timber.

The grant comes from the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA).

The scheme was approved last year by the LDNPA's development control committee and the money is from its Sustainable Development Fund.

This is not just a stepping stone towards sustainability but a massive and visionary leap forward National Trust grants and trusts manager Ross Mackintosh

National Trust grants and trusts manager Ross Mackintosh said: "The base, named after the benefactor Enid Rowell, will be a venue for learning and seeing sustainability in action, where we will lead by example.

"The building will be the finest demonstration of what can be done using renewable or recycled materials and community involvement.

"This is not just a stepping stone towards sustainability but a massive and visionary leap forward."

Work is expected to start in the Spring next year.

LDNPA development control committee chairman John Hayton said: "As a modern and non-traditional development in fairly open countryside, this was a major decision for us to take.

"The sustainable qualities of this building, along with a good and sensitive design won through and I will watch the centre develop with interest."