A new information board will soon greet visitors to Manuel F. Correllus State Forest due to the hard work of community environmental representatives and volunteers Saturday morning.

Putting up the board, along with removing storm debris around the state forest headquarters off Barnes Road was the Vineyard’s first participation in Park Serve Day, an annual day created by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation in 2006. The roughly two dozen people in attendance included state forest employees, fire control officers, volunteers and the newly formed Friends of the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, a nonprofit.

State forest superintendent Chris Bruno organized the event and spoke about the value of the forest to the group before work began. Calling it one of the jewels of the state, he said the 5,300-acre forest includes many hiking and cycling trails and is full of biodiversity, with 40 to 50 species of plants alone.

And it's up; visitors to the state forest will soon be able to learn more about its history and ecology. — Landry Harlan

He also said visitors are often confused about what areas of the Island are part of the state forest, what is in the forest and where they should park. Mr. Bruno said the information board, built by woodshop students at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, will help point the way for visitors by providing helpful information, maps and ecology explainers.

“We want to make it the focal point for people curious about the massive tract of land in the middle of Martha’s Vineyard,” he said.

Friends of the forest co-chairman Bob Woodruff helped raise the heavy, wooden beams into place next to a trail just outside headquarters. He said the wood used to make the information board came from trees that fell during the March storms.

Mr. Woodruff said he and co-chairman John Best decided to start the friends group after watching the forest suffer from lack of attention and funding over the years. He said plans call for upgrading four other state forest entrance points so visitors can understand the history of the land that among other things was the last habitat for the heath hen before the species went extinct in 1932.

Chris Bruno, Manuel F. Correllus State Forest superintendent. — Landry Harlan

“It’s all about education and a story, and the Island’s story is endless,” Mr. Woodruff said.

While one group put up the information board, another cleared tree debris and tossed it into a roaring wood chipper. Rob Kendall worked through a pile of branches as the sun shined overhead. His wife Patty Kendall laid out a spread of oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies she baked for the event.

“I love green, everything green! I think it’s important to preserve the forest,” said Mr. Kendall.

“We have to preserve it as open space,” added Mrs. Kendall. “If we didn’t have the forest, people wouldn’t want to visit the Island.”

Mr. Bruno said he expects the board to be finished in the next few weeks. As more volunteers filed in throughout the morning, he said it was inspiring seeing so many people care about the future of the forest and want to get involved.

“It’s an amazing amount of momentum having different parts of the community come and want to help out,” Mr. Bruno said. “It’s a fantastic feeling.”