Construction on Phase II of improvements at the James Farm Ecological Preserve in Ocean View is underway.
James Farm is a 150-acre nature preserve located along the Indian River Bay, managed by the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays for Sussex County,
It’s open every day and is the hub of the Center’s environmental education programming.
This second phase focuses on infrastructure to better accommodate environmental education, restoration, research and community recreation activities.
Center for the Inland Bays Director of Development Mark Carter says these upgrades are needed.
"Basically, the amount of students coming through we needed areas that would provide safety in case of inclement weather. We needed shade and those kinds of things,” said Carter. “So Phase II was the construction of a three season classroom that would allow 70 seats for students or other folks participating in programs and also some tech capabilities."
Other enhancements include a habitat restoration staging area, expanded storage and new integrated interpretive and wayfinding signage.
Carter says there’s more.
"We also are going to be putting in a maintenance building for taking care of the Preserve. We're realigning and fixing some of our trails to account for sensitive areas, ecosystems and things, and also to try to make them work easy for folks to get to. Not all the trails are ADA compliant," said Carter.
Groundbreaking took place two weeks ago. Carter notes this second phase work is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
First phase work included a parking lot for school buses and the general public as well as restrooms.
The Preserve had over 33,000 visits last year.
