Planning

If you are planning a full-scale conservation education center, you are probably working with a government agency and will have the technical assistance as well as financial support necessary for this major effort.

The land selected for use by the conservation education center will probably be part of an existing reserve of government land. If possible, considerations in the selection of the center's site should include:

A desirable minimum site size for a full-scale center is 10 hectares. If a conservation education center is being considered within a city's limits, and a site this large is not to be found, it may be possible to use several smaller sites with each section assigned a different conservation education use.

Your site layout should be the result of careful preliminary planning to determine the kind of facilities you will offer. Will you be visited by school classes, by people in buses or cars, by hikers or picnickers? Will the nature trail be for general study only or will you want to include additional smaller trails which study a single feature, such as geology?

In its broadest form, a conservation education center could include not only the interpretive building and trail, but also a small-scale farm or natural resources management area where government technicians could demonstrate effective conservation practices for agriculture, such as:

Soil conservation practices	Compost pile
Forest management practices	Crop storage
Reforestation	Well with pump or windlass
Small vegetable garden	Smoke house
Pond for fish cultivation	Honey bee hive

Once you have decided what the conservation education center will provide for its visitors, you can then make a site plan to place each facility in the most desirable spot.

The Nature Trail (See Appendix B. Nature Trails) should link the most interesting natural features of the site.

The Interpretive Building should be located at the point of departure and return of the nature trail loop.

Picnic, Latrine and Parking facilities (see Appendix E, Public Facilities) should be located near the interpretive building.

Wherever facilities are provided, make it a point to do as little damage to the site as possible. Plan carefully to avoid cutting trees, to avoid excess earth-moving, to avoid unnecessary destruction of ground cover. Practice conservation techniques to reduce erosion, such as re-channeling water drainage, filling depressions with stones or gravel, rebuilding worn-away banks and planting ground cover.