diff --git a/changelog/0.10.0_2020-09-19/.gitkeep b/changelog/0.10.0_2020-09-19/.gitkeep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29bb..000000000
diff --git a/changelog/unreleased/.gitignore b/changelog/unreleased/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..236421961
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/unreleased/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# this file is here so the unreleased/ directory is tracked within git, even if
+# no other changelog files are present.