EASLEY — The board of trustees of the Nalley Brown Nature Park have embarked on a strategic planning and business design formulation process in preparation for a feasibility study to determine community support for a state of the art Environmental Education Center on a 38-acre site in Easley.
The facility will be a key feature of the site housing labs, meeting rooms, lecture and interpretation spaces. The 38 acres is currently a mixed scrub of small saplings, overgrowth of exotics and some exceptional hardwoods.
The general scope of the project is to restore the landscape based on natural plant community models and various stages of succession. Planned program elements include the Environmental Education Center, parking for visitors and buses, a picnic area with restroom facilities, themed areas such as a Native American settlement and a European settlement that will be designed to resemble functioning villages and farms, nature trails that will accommodate outdoor classrooms, exercise stations, observation decks and educational signage.
The central theme in the landscape is to practice the art and science of restoration ecology. The plant communities within the site shall consist of mature hardwood forests, early succession meadows and prairies, historic Piedmont landscapes, granitic outcrops, and native plant gardens showcasing the plants indigenous and unique to Pickens County.
The center will become a state of the art teaching facility for environmental education through audio/visual capabilities, wet labs, computer modeling, and exhibits while providing the local community with a modern hall for city, school, and community events.
Members of the volunteer board of trustees are: Adger Brown, John Bucy, Linda Bucy, Cynthia Bunton, Kent Dykes, Henry Hunt, Gloria Knight, Catherine Ladnier, Fox Simons, and Angela Viney.
For more information on the project, please contact Easley city administrator, Fox Simons at (864) 855-7900 or fsimons@cityofeasley.com.