Thursday, April 28, 2005
"Name the Nature Park" Contest
Many of you are familar with the public wildlife education facility we are currently developing; if you're not, check out the Scales Nature Park link on the left side of this page! Scales Nature Park has been our working title for quite a long time, but we're not convinced that it is the best name for what we're doing. We like it because it covers the range of wildlife we'll be focused on: reptiles, amphibians and fish. A couple of issues that we've noticed though: some people seem to associate the word scales with the "balance of nature" concept instead of scaly reptiles and fish, and there is a reptile facility in Saskatchewan with the name "Scales Zoo" (
www.scaleszoo.com) which could lead to some confusion. The first issue isn't necessarily bad, as we are very concerned with the balance of nature, and a good logo could steer people towards thinking about reptiles. And the second isn't necessarily a problem, as Saskatchewan is really pretty far away, and the general public isn't very likely to get them confused, or even to have heard of both places! Confusion amongst the on-line community is more likely but less concerning.
So as we get closer to completing this facility, we'd better come up with a good name, and we're hoping that some of you might be interested in helping! The idea of the "Name the Nature Park" contest was born about a year ago, and it's time has come! Whoever submits the winning name will receive a lifetime free pass to our park, and the satisfaction of knowing they've contributed something that will hopefully make a difference for wildlife conservation. We may be able to get some other prizes donated as well, but we'll have to wait and see.
Some things to keep in mind:
- the name should be concise so that it is easy to catch at 120 km/h as people go by on the highway
- the name should lend itself to an easy-to-remember web address
- the name should not have the word "zoo" in it. We really are more of a nature centre within a park; this is partly by our own intent, and partly by design as nature centres are expressly permitted under our municipal zoning, while zoos are not
Some things to know about us, in case you've missed them elsewhere on the site:
- we will focus on reptiles, amphibians and fish of Ontario, and the rest of Canada, with selected exotic species as well to highlight specific issues related to conservation and animal welfare
- we also hope to cover topics such as sustainable living, alternative energy, and climate change
- we have the most complete live collection of Ontario herpetofauna in the province, and probably the most complete Canadian collection in the country, which should only get better as we progress
If I think of anything else important, I'll add it later.
Contest rules:
Pretty much anything goes. One of the nice things about being a private entity is that we don't have to set and follow any specifc rules for something like this! Rest assured, though, that we're very fair people. Please submit entries by email. I haven't set a contest closing date, so be patient. We're not even sure when we'll be opening yet, so there is a lot of time for us to collect names in the hope of discovering the one that is perfect! And, of course, we reserve the right to just stick with Scales Nature Park if nothing we like better comes along.
Good luck, and we hope to hear from you!
Posted by Jeff Hathaway at 9:43 AM | Comments (2)
