Cara Senn | Gardens & Grounds Assistant
If you spend enough time in Myrick Park and the La Crosse River Marsh- hiking, biking, running, playing, or simply observing- you begin to notice patterns. There’s the seasonal movement of migratory birds and the steady presence of the trees through a harsh winter. Here at The Nature Place, we’ve been noticing a cheeky pattern: butts. Butts are everywhere.
What is a butt?
Biologically, it’s flesh and bone. An intricate structure that our bodies often rely on for activities; everything from hiking the Wood Duck trail to sitting through a community meeting. It’s a point of contact between people and the space they’re interacting with. But at The Nature Place, butts represent something more significant than just a body part: butts represent people choosing to show up and use what we provide. A choice to show up, engage, and connect with the natural world.
When it comes to community impact, we aren’t afraid to get to the bottom of things. No ifs, ands, or… well, you know.
Where are the butts?
Yes, we keep track of our butts. You can find them:
- On participants attending programs in our building
- On tired hikers resting on our chairs and couch
- On trail users stopping in to use our public restrooms
- On staff members working hard
- On volunteers donating their time
- On board members helping us make decisions
- On donors who support what we do
- On dogs wagging their tails when they go for a walk
- On painted turtles sunning on logs out in the marsh
- On bugs buzzing around in our gardens
- On birds diving for fish in the water
…and so many more places!
Every butt reflects utilization of community resources: our facilities, our programs, the park, and the marsh.
Consider our camps and structured programs: Each participant represents someone deciding to invest time, trust, and resources into what we offer.
Community members rent our spaces for meetings, celebrations, and events, extending our reach beyond nature programming. Visitors stop in while traveling through the area, often encountering our organization for the first time. Trail and park users rely on our restrooms as an accessible resource.
Why do we care?
Some butts may only be here for a brief moment, but those moments are not insignificant. Every butt in our community space helps further our mission, whether it’s a first-time visitor using the restrooms or a family trusting us with their child’s summer camp experience. Butts represent use of a community resource, and these points of contact plant the seeds for further connection with nature.
While butts indicate facility usage, program participation, and community reach, butts alone don’t indicate meaningful experiences. Presence itself does not tell us if we are fulfilling our mission or meeting community expectations. Every butt who enters our space forms a perception. This perception shapes our reputation and encourages visitors to return. Our responsibility is to ensure that even brief encounters further the connection between people and nature.
But What’s the Point?
It’s what the butt represents: someone choosing to engage with our organization, even briefly. Our responsibility is to ensure that this engagement can become something more meaningful, whether it be learning something new, connecting with nature, registering for a program, a recommendation to others, or simply a strengthened perception of the value of The Nature Place within the community.
Success is not defined by how many butts are in our space. It is defined by how effectively those interactions advance our mission to cultivate meaningful connections. Whether you’re here to attend a meeting, enjoy a program, or rest your glutes after a hike, you belong here.
Next time you’re in the area, don’t be a stranger. Stop on in and help us keep this community asset well-rounded.