Coastal Rivers Panels

A Coordinated Trailhead Signage System for Four Maine Preserves

Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust manages preserves with distinct landscapes, trail systems, and stories, but visitors benefit from a consistent experience as they move between properties. The organization needed a family of trailhead panels that could strengthen wayfinding and interpretation while reflecting its existing visual identity. Green Goat Maps created interpretive kiosk panels for Keyes Woods, Castner Brook Community Forest, LaVerna Preserve, and Round Top Farm in Maine's Damariscotta–Pemaquid region.

To meet the needs of Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, Green Goat Maps was contracted to refine GIS data and trail alignments, develop site-specific maps, integrate visitor guidance and interpretive storytelling, apply the Trust's established style guide, and create a visual system that could serve as a foundation for future preserve signage.

Four preserve-specific kiosk panels combine cartography, interpretation, visitor information, and organizational branding. The designs share a recognizable visual language while responding to the character and content needs of each property.

The primary challenge was achieving consistency without forcing four different preserves into an identical template. Green Goat Maps established common typography, map conventions, hierarchy, and graphic treatments while retaining enough flexibility for each location's trail configuration and interpretive story.

The project gives Coastal Rivers a cohesive trailhead communication system that can be extended to future properties. Visitors gain clearer orientation and a stronger understanding of the landscapes they are entering, while the Trust gains a reusable design approach rather than beginning each future sign from scratch. The project was developed in support of a Community Outdoor Recreation Assistance grant from the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation.

Looking for a Similar Solution?

If your land trust manages several preserves, Green Goat Maps can create a signage system that gives your organization a recognizable identity while still allowing each property to tell its own story.