Officials broke ground recently on a visitor / educational center at Mountain Island Educational State Forest in Gaston County, which upon completion will open the forest to public use.
The 2,000-acre Mountain Island ESF, one of seven Educational State Forests in North Carolina, has existed in southwestern North Carolina since 1998 but has always been “under development” and open only to small groups by appointment.
Educational State Forests are designed to teach the public – especially school children – about the forest environment. Once developed, they feature self-guided trails that include exhibits, tree identification signs, and a forest education center, plus picnic tables and shelters that may be reserved.
N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and local officials broke ground on a 6,000-square-foot educational center for Mountain Island at the end of October that will feature classroom spaces, exhibit spaces, administrative offices and restrooms. There will also be parking and outdoor classroom spaces. The project will cost about $3 million and take about two years but there is no timetable for completion, according to the Gaston Gazette.
Once the center is open, construction on trails can begin, including one of the educational state forests’ famous talking trees trail, seen above right in Clemmons Educational State Forest near Clayton.
“The purpose of Mountain Island is to teach children and adults about the complex interdependent ecosystems that make up the forest,” the State Forest Service’s Brian Hicks said during the ceremony. “When the center is completed, it will allow us to fully open this forest.”
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