23A - Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. My wife Morgan. She finds things. Things big and small. Far and Near. She is the best guide I could ever hope for on a hike. She points things out that are on my radar for the day. 
1. V: Priceless
2. Rare: There’s only one Morgan.
3. Inimitable: Many others, I’m sure, have the gift of sight, but this factor rests on how they use their gift.
4. N: Definitely non-substitutable.
2. Tom and Cheryl Bell. These are local gardeners (horticulturalist, really) who volunteer at the local city park. They spend countless hours outside working with the land and have an encyclopedic knowledge of flora and fauna of the area. They are field experts on botany, ornithology and are very good students of entomology. 
1. V: Priceless
2. R: There are not many septuagenarian couples who are subject experts on natural history as they are.
3. I: I know nobody that comes close to their expertise.
4. N: As people, we are all substitutable— or so that’s what we’re told of ourselves at work! 
3. Tim Kimmel
1. V: Priceless
2. R: I’ve not come into anyone else with the knowledge of local native plants like Tim has. 
3. I: To imitate his knowledge and expertise would take decades of learning.
4. N: He and the Bell couple have similar areas of expertise.
4. Stephen Russell 
1. V: Priceless
2. R: He is a professor and expert of mycology. Very rare here in our area.
3. I: Again, takes years and decades of learning to match his level of knowledge.
4. N: Not very.
5. Tom and Nancy B. They are expert birders and adventurers who love natural history.
1. V: Priceless
2. R: They have lots of land they are kind enough to show off and allow new friends to use to study and learn. This can be a great resource for a group of studying naturalists. 
3. I: Their love for life and the road is inimitable.
4. N: I do not know anyone that could take their place properly. 
6. Asherwood Environmental and Science Learning Center
1. V: Asherwood is like a Petri dish for great naturalists. It has property and classroom buildings for learning inside of. 
2. R: There are no other private places like this in the area. Others are state owned.
3. I: Not to this degree. This is a large tract of land designed for pleasure and study. 
4. N: No.
7. The Wabash River and its lesser rivers (Mississinewa and Salamonie)
1. V: Priceless
2. R: The Wabash is the largest non-navigable river in the country. It has much to teach any student of it and it supports much of the life that we here in north central Indiana enjoy. 
3. I: Not.
4. N: Not.
8. Mississinewa Bird Club
1. V: Priceless
2. R: Very. This is an Audubon organization of people who love birds and other areas of natural history. They’re have a nice foundation of people are are always looking to expand. Many of these people would enjoy other natural history hikes and lessons. 
3. I: Can be imitated.
4. N: Not really in my estimation.
9. The surrounding community
1. V: Priceless
2. R: Not at all
3. I: Yes
4. N: Yes. The benefit here is that from talking to people in this community, they are (many of them at least) all open to discussion and learning about the natural world in their own backyard. Like any other American, they enjoy going out on distant vacations but also love to learn about what is here at home. This is critical to the body of any natural history organization. 
10. Me. Tony Lara.
1. V: Is it egotistical to say priceless?
2. R: I haven’t found anyone equal to my own mental powers yet. Ha. 
3. I: Very. 
4. N: Yes. Anyone with a love for natural history could easily take my place as the mover of such a project.