Teachers, naturalists needed

Lake Martin — The Nature Conservancy’s visitor center here should be open for business by mid summer, according to Kacy Kobrin, program manager of the nonprofit’s Cypress Island Preserve.

There will be an immediate need for volunteers to help staff the facility, which will include an interpretive center, picnic area and restrooms, she said.

“To have the public areas open during regular hours, we will need the help of volunteer docents,” Kobrin said.

“We will need people interested in staffing the center itself and providing information on the local area,” she said.

“Besides fielding naturalist questions, I am sure there will be inquiries as to places to eat, visit, stay overnight. We will need people to lead school programs, probably involving outreach to get the education program started. And we will possibly need people interested in keeping the grounds, although we are hoping to hire someone for that.”

A 20-foot viewing tower at the edge of the lake’s famous rookery will be connected to the center via a boardwalk to make guided field trips more convenient for visitors, Kobrin said.

“I think that anyone that has experience as a naturalist, birder, and/or teacher, would be a great fit (as a docent),” she said.

The center is being designed by Breaux Bridge architect Edward Cazayoux, renown for his “area-appropriate, sustainable architecture” featuring a blend of old Acadian design with such modern technology solar panels and geothermal heat pumps.

The centerpiece of Cazayoux’s plans will be an Acadian-style house that will serve as office and classroom.

Anyone interested in volunteering should e-mail Kobrin at kkobrin@tnc.org.