--- title: the one question that gets people to care about a place canonical_url: https://ensurance.app/guide/the-one-question-that-gets-people-to-care-about-a-place markdown_url: https://ensurance.app/guide/the-one-question-that-gets-people-to-care-about-a-place.md subtitle: "not \"save nature.\" just: what place on earth is most special to you, and why?" category: how-to --- # the one question that gets people to care about a place *not "save nature." just: what place on earth is most special to you, and why?* Ask people to care about nature and you get a nod. Ask them which place on Earth is most special to them and you get a name, fast, and usually a story right behind it. That is the whole method. The rest of this post is how to ask it so the story comes out, and what to do with the answer. A waterfall, a fjord, a sea, or the meadow behind a house already exists and already works, whether or not anyone names it. Ensurance is how the place someone names gets funded to keep working. It is not the place. The idea owes a debt to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's [This Place Matters campaign](https://savingplaces.org/this-place-matters), which since 2009 has asked people to photograph themselves in front of a place that matters to them. Theirs asks it about historic places. We ask it about anywhere on Earth. :::johnson **ask for a place, then ask why.** One place, in their words. Then, as its own question: what makes it special? [name yours →](/place?from=guide) ::: ## why "nature" gets a nod and a place gets an answer Nature is everywhere, so it is nowhere in particular. Nobody wakes up responsible for "biodiversity." People wake up near a creek, or miss an island, or still think about the swimming hole they went to as a kid. We asked the same question for four years, worded several ways, in DMs, in Telegram threads, in a form, and in public posts. More than a hundred people answered. Almost nobody answered "nature." They answered a place. Most versions asked for a place, so this is what people say when asked for one, not a test against a "protect nature" ask. That fits what we keep seeing: care is specific, not general. We wrote that up in [people don't care about nature. they care about theirs](/guide/people-dont-care-about-nature-they-care-about-theirs?from=guide). This post is the practical half: the exact question, and what to do next. ## what the wording did The question changed shape over four years, and the answers changed with it. This is what came back: | how we asked | what came back | |---|---| | "Send lat/long of a place that you care deeply about" | Dozens of replies, almost all bare map pins with no reason | | A form field: "A place you care deeply about" | 82 pins and no reasons. There was no field for one | | "…any spot on Earth, what would it be **and why?**" | Fewer replies, most with a reason | | "A place that you **hold dear**" | The richest replies we got | | "The most **special** spot?" then "What makes it **special**?" | A name at once, then the story | | "What do you want to **ensure**?" | Very few place answers. It is a good question for later, once someone has named a place | Ask for coordinates and you get coordinates. Ask "why" and you get the story. Ask what someone wants to ensure before they have named anything, and few answer at all. Names come first. [What do you want to ensure?](/guide/what-do-you-want-to-ensure?from=guide) is the question that comes next. ## how to ask it: six steps ### 1. ask for one place, not "nature" "What place on Earth is most special to you?" One place. Anywhere. Some people freeze on "most," so give them a way out: "or just one you love." ### 2. let them answer in their own words A name is enough. "The waterfall below town." "My grandmother's farm." "Colombia." Do not ask for coordinates: that is the map's job, not theirs. ### 3. ask why, as its own question "What makes it special?" Asked separately, it lands as curiosity, not a form field. This is where the story is. See [the waterfall that asked a question back](/guide/the-waterfall-that-asked-a-question-back?from=guide). ### 4. accept far away A place they haven't seen in years still counts. Distance doesn't disqualify a place: [far away is still specific](/guide/far-away-is-still-specific?from=guide). ### 5. respect the scale they give you If the answer is a home, they may not want the exact spot public. Keep it at the scale they chose, a town or a watershed: [the home you won't pin](/guide/the-home-you-wont-pin?from=guide). ### 6. hand their words back, then offer one next step Repeat what they said before you add anything of yours. Then one step: see what the place depends on, see who already looks after it, or keep the page. ## what happens when you answer here On [ensurance](/place?from=guide), the two questions are the whole first screen. You type a place or tap the map. The map flies there. Your answer files the place and starts the research on what it depends on and who already looks after it, and you can keep the page by leaving an email. Nothing is sold on that screen and nothing is minted. If the place already has an account, an address that can receive funding for it, you will see it on the map. ## using the question in your own work Foundations, land trusts, and regional groups can use the same two questions before any campaign copy is written. Ask them of the people you work with. Keep each place at the scale the person gave it, then group the answers by place. You will find the creek, the reef, or the ridge your community already cares about, and the people who already look after it. If you want to use it in your own work, [talk to us](/contact?from=guide&topic=place-question). The [foundations page](/solutions/foundations?from=guide&topic=place-question) shows how we work with funders. ## frequently asked questions ### how do you get people to care about a place? Ask them which place is most special to them, then ask what makes it special, as two questions. People already care about specific places. The job is to ask in a way that lets them say so. ### why not just ask people to protect nature? Because "nature" is general and care is specific. A general ask gets agreement and no action. A named place gets a story, and a story has a next step. More in [a general cta is a guilt trip](/guide/a-general-cta-is-a-guilt-trip?from=guide). ### what if someone can't pick one place? Let them pick any one they love; "most" is an invitation, not a test. And if their answer is a whole country or a whole ocean, ask where, and why. The second answer is usually specific. ## the series 1. **the one question that gets people to care about a place** (read first) 2. [the waterfall that asked a question back](/guide/the-waterfall-that-asked-a-question-back?from=guide) 3. [far away is still specific](/guide/far-away-is-still-specific?from=guide) 4. [the place that's mostly gone](/guide/the-place-thats-mostly-gone?from=guide) 5. [the home you won't pin](/guide/the-home-you-wont-pin?from=guide) Related: [this place matters to me](/guide/this-place-matters?from=guide) · [what do you want to ensure?](/guide/what-do-you-want-to-ensure?from=guide) · [how to pick the specific thing](/guide/how-to-pick-the-specific-thing?from=guide)