Recent improvements at the Kewash Trailhead area in Keota seek to attract visitors both human and insect.

Keota Unlimited installed a 24 by 24 foot hexagon-shaped shelter in May which has benches, tables, lighting, and electrical outlets for visitors to enjoy. Keota Unlimited board member Denny Lyle says they also seeded a pollinator area east of the trail, “Right now we’re working on interpretive signs for our pollinator prairie area that we seeded last fall. It’s approximately a one third acre and right now it looks like a patch of weeds but it usually takes a couple of years for that to come to fruition so by next year we’re hoping that quite a few pollinator wildflowers will be visible along with some prairie grass areas.”

Other trailhead projects include installing a permanent entry sign, paving the first 800 feet of the trail, and improving drainage and lighting in the area, for which Keota Unlimited is applying for grant funding. They also hope to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony later this summer to celebrate the progress they’ve made on the trailhead over the last few years.