Visitors to the Starke County Forest will soon be greeted with an informational kiosk. The Starke County Park Board last week agreed to let Forester Bruce Wakeland build it out of wood from the forest itself.
“This is a piece of oak that I’m talking about that’s rough-sawn off the saw mill, and it’s just sanded and then exterior stained,” Wakeland told the park board. “And I thought that would be kind of rustic but nice. But it could be plain-down smooth like furniture and stained, as well.”
He previously explained that two large trees blew down within the past year, and while the wood was a good quality, there wasn’t enough to try to sell.
Wakeland said he’d based the design off of a kiosk in the Culver Town Park. The kiosk could be used to display a property map and other information. A Plexiglas cover could be added to protect the fliers.
Meanwhile, park board member and highway superintendent Rik Ritzler said the Highway Department was in the process of making directional and informational signs to help guide visitors to and around the forest.
