Sand Springs Business Makes Donation For Keystone Ancient Forest Project

A Sand Springs business is making a donation to the Keystone Ancient Forest to help kickstart a new project.

The Keystone Ancient Forrest in Sand Springs will soon be home to one of the largest butterfly savanna’s in the state thanks to a $10,000 donation from Webco Industries.

"With the recent information about the monarch and the decline of it due to climate change, we hope that this is going to contribute to trying to maintain that species and its activity here in Oklahoma," said Sand Springs Park Director Jeff Edwards.

He said about 10 acres of the forest will be transformed into a native natural grassland for migrating monarch butterflies.

"We want people to see nature, we want people to see and experience why this property is here," said Edwards.

When Webco first decided to make the $10,000 donation, the company didn't know what the funds would be used for, but leaders were excited to find out it would be used for the butterfly savanna.

"You have no idea what drives you to do things, sometimes things just come together and you don't know why and it's obviously meant to be," said Webco CEO Dana Weber.

She said the donation was inspired by Irv Frank who donated the Keystone Ancient forest to the city and who also invested in Webco back in 1969.

"We thought that's another great way to honor our original investors by making a donation to the Keystone Ancient Forrest in honor of those original founders," she said.

The butterfly savanna will take about a year to complete.