Educational Trail
Zenklava, 2024
Designing a Trail That Teaches Us to See
We often walk through landscapes without truly seeing them.
We know the path and where it leads, yet we overlook the small stories hidden in trees, stones, viewpoints, and local history. This idea became the starting point for the design of the educational trail in Ženklava. The project was never intended to be just a series of information panels placed along a route. Instead, the goal was to create a journey that encourages visitors to pause for a moment and experience the landscape from a different perspective.
The trail connects several significant locations within the village – the pond area (1a), the birthplace of local native Kristián David (2), the football field (3a), and viewpoints overlooking the surrounding countryside: Fojtův Hill (1b), Škarkův Hill (3b), and the viewpoint by Kristián David’s memorial lime tree (4b).
Each stop offers a different perspective on Ženklava and its story.
When a View Becomes an Exhibit
When visiting a gallery, we usually know what we are supposed to look at. In a landscape, it is often less obvious.
For this reason, a simple wooden frame was proposed at the viewpoint on Fojtův Hill. At first glance, it appears to be an ordinary object, yet it functions as a kind of magnifying glass. It frames the centre of Ženklava, transforming an everyday view into a picture.
Why Is There a Swing on an Educational Trail?
It may seem like an unusual question.
While considering how to encourage visitors to truly stop at the viewpoint on Škarkův Hill, we realized one important thing: people remember places through experiences.
The swing is not an attraction in itself. It is an invitation to slow down. For a few moments, visitors can put away their phones, observe the horizon, feel the wind, and become aware of the surrounding landscape. It is precisely in these moments that a genuine connection with a place begins to emerge. And perhaps it is also when visitors become curious enough to read information they might otherwise have passed by.
When Information Becomes an Experience
Contemporary approaches to environmental education show that people remember best what they experience themselves. For this reason, several elements of the trail were designed to be interactive.
At the memorial lime tree, for example, visitors can use a large wooden measuring rail to compare themselves with the tree’s circumference or with the dimensions of selected animals and trees typical of the local landscape. Children are not playing despite the educational trail—the play itself becomes part of the learning process.
Inspired by the Local Landscape
A key objective of the design was to ensure that the new elements would not appear foreign to their surroundings.
Inspiration was found directly within the landscape itself: in the local stone, in simple timber structures, and in natural materials that will age gracefully over time. Stone thus becomes not only part of the orientation system but also a reminder of the region’s geology and cultural history.
A Trail as a Conversation with the Landscape
For us, the design of the educational trail in Ženklava was much more than a small-scale architectural project.
It was an opportunity to demonstrate how even subtle interventions can change the way people perceive their surroundings. An educational trail does not have to be merely a sequence of information boards. It can become a journey that connects stories, viewpoints, history, and personal experiences.
Because sometimes all it takes is a reason to pause for a moment.
And then the landscape begins to tell its own story.