The Entomological Society - keeping the lights on

The Entomological Society, Rembrandt via Gemini AI

I'm troubled by the ongoing demise of traditional wildlife groups, the sort that (used to) meet in a village hall once a month. I observe them gradually blinking out, one by one. I don't have any magic solutions for this (maybe there are none), here I'm just whistling in the dark to console myself and using this as a sketchpad for ideas.

What is keeping local natural history groups alive? Mostly, talks on "I jetted off to an exotic location buring tons of carbon to photograph wildlife". Ironic, isn't it? 

Characteristics of thriving wildlife groups:

• Tend to have an active website or Facebook group, frequently maintained by one or a few individuals. Facebook is probably not the best platform for this, but speaks to the demographic which dominates wildlife groups. Bulletin boards, which might be an obvious alternative, seem to have mostly died, being eaten by Facebook for the elderly, and Discord or WhatsApp groups for the young. 
• Some wildlife groups may have an active website, maintained and driven by an individual who has the time and skills to support this (dangerous, can become fossilized as technology changes, single point of failure). Interestingly I'm not aware of any thriving wildlife group based around an email list or newsletter (which is odd considering the penetration of this technology into the demographic). Maybe I'm missing something?
• Tend to have synchronous face-to-face meetings in addition to online activities. This can be based on geography - local groups, or field meetings, etc, for taxon interest groups.
• And?

But: 

Communities don't live forever, they have lifetimes (particularly since most are maintained by a small number of enthusiasts). Individual members' life circumstances change, so communities evolve (rather than die). This is a tough process for individuals - natural selection - but inevitable. 

So where do we go now? DOBS

• Daylight: Daytime sessions exclude some, but given the demographic, fewer people are active after dark (except for online meetings). 
• Online: works for some, not all. Neither better nor worse than the traditional organizations, but different. 
• Go Big: national societies e.g. BENHS, BAS, etc - not good for carbon footprints.
• Go Small: local face-to-face meetings arranged directly between participants. Accept scheduling problems - everyone is too busy to do everything. Quality of interaction counts, not numbers.
• And?

Please insert your thoughts here: