Three Mearns churches are among the 12 groups who have been awarded a share of £85,000 from a community wind turbine fund.
Bervie, Arbuthnott, and West Mearns parish churches were each allocated between £5,000-£10,000 to carry out repairs on their buildings.
The cash has been allocated from the Tullo and Twinshiels wind farms community fund.
Rev Dennis Rose, of Bervie Church, said their £9,000 would be spent replacing the boiler in the church hall, which is used by various groups throughout the week.
He said: “We’ve got the job club, the day care centre for the pensioners and various other groups so it’s essential we can heat the hall properly in the winter.
“We’re really pleased that we have been given this grant. The hall is used not just by the church but the wider community, practically every day of the week, so I’m sure everyone will be pleased.”
The other groups and projects to benefit were the Arbuthnott Community Association, Fettercairn Public Properties Committee, Friends of the Grassic Gibbon Centre, Johnshaven Village Hall Committee, Laurencekirk Gala Committee, Laurencekirk Christmas lights fund, Marykirk Hall Management Committee and Mearns FM.
And for the Benholm and Johnshaven Heritage Society, the award could not have been granted at a better time – as tomorrowsat they will officially open their “heritage hub”.
The heritage society was given the lifeboat shed in Johnshaven to store and display their growing collection of photographs and artefacts.
Chairman Donald Marr said: “Our grant has allowed us to buy blinds. We’ve got the heritage hub in the village, and because we’re putting in artefacts and old pictures, we wanted to protect them from the sun. The roof of the lifeboat station is glass and so the sun can get very warm so this will protect everything.”
Mr Marr hopes the museum will bring more tourists to the area, and said it would double up as an educational facility for school pupils looking to find out more about Johnshaven’s past.
During the winter months, the shed will be used as a venue for art shows, film nights and talks.
Various entertainment has been lined up to mark the opening, including performances from Lathallan Pipe Band and folk group Stonekist, a wildlife photography exhibition, net-making demonstrations, local history talks and kite-making. The fun runs from noon-4pm.