Having encountered several folks who wished they’d known we exist, and especially since becoming your President, I’ve wondered how we might help more people enjoy butterflies. In Seattle, we have great programs at our monthly meetings, but for people in the rest of the State, attending is usually impractical. Our field trips have greater reach, but their leaders and participants are still mostly from the Puget Sound region. Only our annual conferences really reach out to the whole State. So, how might we draw and serve more people?

Here are some possibilities we might consider. Perhaps you envision others. Arrange some feature stories. Wenatchee World reporter Rick Steigmeyer’s piece on our Annual Conference is a great example. Another might focus on our young people and their real passion for butterflies. One or more stories might focus on the real experts among us. (When describing WBA to others, I almost compulsively mention that our experts are not stuffy but are enormously enthusiastic and delighted to share their knowledge with the rest of us.)

Is there any point in having “chapters” or similar units that could have meetings, programs, field trips, etc. centered in other parts of the State? With or without such units, are there people in other corners of the State who could scout out and lead field trips that are perhaps a bit far away for most of us Puget Sounders but would serve local interests? Have some field trips specifically for beginners.

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