City of Columbus seeking funding for fossil park
The Jack Kaye Cretaceous Fossil Park is seeking grant funding for a walking trail, geological timeline, and a kayak launch.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Jack Kaye Cretaceous Fossil Park in Columbus is looking to make some improvements.
The city is seeking grant funding to get these projects started.
One grant applied for is the Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries recreational trails grant.
They plan to use this grant to pay for what they are calling the Cretaceous Walking Trail and Geological Timeline.
Another important grant being applied for is the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund.
This grant would go into building a kayak launch along the creek, allowing people to float down and find less-accessible fossil hunting locations.
Susan Wilder, the grant writer and administrator for the city of Columbus, said finding even the smallest fossil is exciting.
And can spark a curiosity in children like no other.
“It’s wonderful,” Wilder said. “I mean, if I find a little rock with a little bitty brachiopod thing, and I’m all excited. I’m like, yeah, I found something, you know? And children are going to be like that too. My grandsons, I’ve taught them how to look for fossils in rocks. So they might be playing outside at my house and find a rock in my driveway that’s got one, and they’ll come running and so excited. So even the tiniest little fossil is amazing.”
The city is also appealing to local foundations, organizations, and businesses to help fund it’s renovations, as well as doing it’s own fundraising.
