On a wet and snowy December morning, Ari and Kyler braved the cold and headed out to Sharon Hills Preserve. After almost two years of planning, designing, and prepping, the preserve signs were ready to install on the new trailhead kiosk. And even in unfavorable winter working conditions, stewardship work never stops.

“We had been looking forward to this moment for a long time, so waiting a minute more was not an option,” Preserve Stewardship Manager Kyler Moran said. “We were excited to get it up, and we were even more excited for our visitors to use it.”

Equipped with a ladder, two drills, a box of screws, and adrenaline keeping them warm, they eagerly attached the new signs to a 6’x6’ kiosk at the preserve trailhead.

“I think we underestimated Mother Nature a little,” Ari Henson said. “It was so cold, we broke the drill bit attaching the last of the English-version signs. But it was so worth it!”

A few weeks later Ari and Kyler went back and successfully installed the Spanish-version signs.
It’s all part of a larger Preserve Accessibility Project–to welcome more visitors and eliminate barriers to enjoying the beauty of our preserves–that we began in 2021.

The first barrier to the outdoors is often access. Unkempt trails can be unsafe and uninviting for users, especially those with mobility challenges and families with children. Unclear signage and trail markers can make users feel unwelcome and be a confusing challenge. We want everyone who visits our preserves—whether they’re a seasoned birder, a senior looking to spend some time outside, or a college student taking a respite from mid-terms—to feel welcome, safe, and free to be their authentic selves while experiencing our natural world.

With a goal of expanding preserve stewardship and maintenance to ensure a positive, inclusive, and educational experience for everyone, the team has already made great progress on implementing pieces of the plan. Over the last few years, they’ve continued our accessibility push by adding more boardwalks, removing hundreds of pounds of invasive species, and adding trail blazes to all our preserves.
And now the addition of thoughtful signage, wayfinding, maps, and easy to understand information is another piece of the plan making our preserves more accessible so our community members feel welcome to return over and over again.

Although the kiosk signs have taken longer than we anticipated, the extra effort to get them just right has been an important part of the process. And now that the first preserve one is done, we are looking forward to installing the rest of them throughout the summer!