"The idea is to be able to connect a lot of the cultural sites together and provide opportunity for people to get educated about the community they live in in a more meaningful way," said Herb Lee, a member of a community advisory board that is working with a consultant on the project.

The preliminary selections of locations will be made at a meeting from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Windward Community College, in Hale 'Akoakoa's room 101.

The whole process could take up to 20 years, but this stage should result in signs for the sites.

Lee, who is with the Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society, said Kane'ohe and Kahalu'u, which make up the 96744 ZIP-code area, were haphazardly designed, with pockets of disconnected developments. The trail system is an attempt to tie these areas together.

"I'm really supportive of things that help to link a community better, creatively and without concreting everything," he said.

In February and March, a draft report will be presented at Kane'ohe and Kahalu'u neighborhood board meetings that will be followed by a public meeting before a final plan is drafted, said Jim Wood, a member of the advisory board.

Wood said the list now is pretty comprehensive and that sites that are omitted were for reasons such as being too fragile for heavy traffic or in areas that are difficult to access.

The project used $50,000 in Vision Team money, and Wood said he had wanted the planning to be open to the greater community, but that having an advisory board proved productive.

"The people who have been participating have been very knowledgeable, not just casual community members," Wood said, adding that representatives came from Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden, Windward Community College, Kualoa Ranch and the Waikalua Loko Fishpond group.

Once public input is collected, the plan will be finalized and signs created for the sites, he said. The Hawai'i Tourism Authority has money for the signs and the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation has expressed interest in helping as well, Wood said.