Friends of Bluff Lake becomes "Bluff Lake Nature Center"

During a special meeting in March 2000, the Board of Directors approved changing the name Friends of Bluff Lake to Bluff Lake Nature Center.

One key problem with the old name, established in 1994, is that friends implies a group that is an adjunct or accessory organization to something else. The Friends of Bluff Lake has always been the sole provider of education programs at the site, but the name has been misleading and confusing to the public.

This signifies a transition from a grassroots organization into more of a community-based, community-supported organization, said Executive Director Sarah Mooney. It means we're growing up. We're becoming a fully-fledged operational non-profit.

Several members of the Board expressed concern that there is no physical center, as such, yet. Eventually, Bluff Lake may have a visitor's center. The new name will allow for expansion in this direction in the future.

We're trying to ask people to look beyond the box that says center means bricks and mortar, said Mooney. We will be a center of a new community and a center for ecological understanding. We want to be a center in the sense that people can find not only volunteer activities here but also stewardship and restoration-related activities. Center in this definition means that we intend to become a focal point for community activity.   

Top of page

 

Copyright 2000 Bluff Lake Nature Center

Design by Jody Chapel
Hosted by Ecentral, Inc.