What's In A Name?

What’s in a name? Well, actually more than you might think. And over the course of the next year or so we will be slowly transitioning to a new one, becoming Butterfly Ridge Pollinator Conservation Center.

Why change a single word? We work very hard to manage expectations. We are a very unique facility, in that we view our role in the world as being a demonstration site to help give people ideas how they can help their local populations of butterflies and other pollinators. There are very few businesses/organizations like us in the country. The only other that immediately comes to mind is the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas.

However, many of our visitors are struggling understanding that role, driving into our driveway with some preconceived misconceptions. One of the struggles we have had over the years is too many people, when they see our current name, read “Butterfly Conservatory”, not “Butterfly Conservation”. We had one of these misunderstandings just yesterday. Through signage and educational materials, we have tried to head-off this misunderstanding before it can get started. But unfortunately, people misread (or don’t read at all) our signage and choose to skip past our educational materials. People enter our site expecting clouds of butterflies descending onto fields of lantana, jatropha, and their fingers. Our visitors are far more familiar with butterfly conservatories than butterfly conservation. Therefore, we need to disconnect the words “butterfly” and “conservation”.

Over the years, our focus has not steered away from butterflies, but has come to include other pollinators in addition to butterflies. Many of you know we have a spectacular mothing program through our Mothing Zone events. And we not only have documented lepidoptera sightings at Butterfly Ridge over the years, but have quite a collection of photos of bees, flies, beetles, and other pollinators hard at work.

Double-banded scoliid wasp

margined leather-winged beetle

Another change you will notice in support of this name adjustment will be the conversion of our classroom/workroom in the nature center to an exhibit space, which will showcase our different pollinators as well as have videos available to help teach visitors about the history of the site and strategies for finding more butterflies on the grounds.

What will not change is how we manage the property itself, the butterfly transects we conduct, now twice a month, the butterfly-themed merchandise in the gift shop, the native plant seeds we share, the talks we give about attracting butterflies, etc. We will still very much be a butterfly place; we are simply trying to manage expectations a bit.

We hope you will continue to walk beside us and support us as we tinker with who we are.