UE001
Adult Stewardship in 25 Natural Areas in the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area from September 2011 through June 2012

CREATOR(S): Marion Dresner, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Steven Braun

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S): Marion Dresner, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Steven Braun

ORIGINATOR(S): Marion Dresner

OTHER RESEARCHER(S): Larissa Figley, Kerissa Fucillo, Vanessa Rose

DATA SET CONTACT PERSON: Steven Braun, Corinne Handleman

ABSTRACTOR: Marion Dresner

METHOD CONTACT: Marion Dresner

DATA SET CREDIT:

ULTRA EX-PDX-VAN .. NSF BCS #0948983

METADATA CREATION DATE:

1 Feb 2013

MOST RECENT METADATA REVIEW DATE:

16 Feb 2013

KEYWORDS:

attitudes and perceptions, public assessments, public participation, surveys

PURPOSE:

To understand what motivated volunteers in natural area stewardship, and to better understand the range of motivations and associated behaviors associated with work in natural areas.

METHODS:

Experimental Design - UE001:

Description:

We designed a survey in order to understand what motivated volunteers in natural area stewardship, and to better understand the range of motivations and associated behaviors associated with work in natural areas. The survey was based on the Puget Sound Green Cities Research Alliance survey of stewardship [1,2]. Several open-ended questions allowed participants to comment further on their restoration experiences There were different sections for first time participants and for frequent participants. Altogether, the questionnaire contained 48 questions, and included questions to solicit demographic information including gender, income, and age, and asked about travel time to the site.

Citation: [1] Asah, S.T., Blahna, D.J. 2012. Motivational functionalism and urban conservation stewardship: implications for volunteer involvement Conservation Letters, August 2012 [2] Ryan, Kaplan, Grese 2001. Predicting Volunteer Commitment in Environmental Stewardship Programmes. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 44(5), 629–648.

Field Methods - UE001:

Description: We decided to sample every different event that was held during the period of time between February and June of 2012. Portland often had multiple events at the same site, we chose to sample each work site only once during that period. In Vancouver, there were many fewer volunteer events. Our sampling technique included a means to sample volunteers without bias. At the start of the event, each work crew leader would make an announcement about the study we were conducting, and would indicate who we were in the group. After about an hour of work, we would begin the survey; we would approach every other volunteer in each working group and ask if they would be willing to answer the questions on our survey. Every volunteer responded affirmatively. We would ask if they wanted to fill out the survey while we continued doing the specific task they had been engaged in or if they would prefer us to ask them the questions orally and fill it out ourselves. Altogether, we sampled a total of 18 events (131 individuals) in Portland and 7 events (44 individuals) in Vancouver.

Statistics - UE001:

Description: A principal component analysis was performed on the attitude measures and the behavior measures to group items and understand how they varied with frequency of volunteering and whether PDX or Van was the site for volunteering. To explore the relationships among the variables, a Pearson correlation analysis was performed on the scores for environmental attitudes and behaviors. A regression analysis was conducted examining how the site of participation (Portland or Vancouver) in stewardship might impact the motivation of participants. T-tests were conducted to understand whether the attitude or behavior measures used were good predictors of volunteer participation. A generalized linear model was conducted examining how frequency of participation in stewardship might impact the motivation of participants.

Processing Procedures - UE001:

Description: Each score was given a numeric value.

Quality Assurance - UE001:

Description: After the data was input to a spreadsheet, it was reviewed by a second researcher.

SITE DESCRIPTION:

Portland, OR sites: Tideman Johnson Park, Holman Lane, Forest Park, Terwilliger Wildlands, Powell Butte, Butterfly Park, Marquam Park, Forest Park, Springwater Corridor (near SE 128th), Springwater Corridor (near SE 82nd), Powers Marine Park, Forest Park, Upper Macleay, Woods Memorial Park, Forest Park, Dogwood Trail, Sellwood Riverfront Park, April Hill Park, Errol Heights Natural Area, Mt. Tabor, Ross Island Vancouver, WA sites: Hockinson Meadow Park, Frenchman's Bar Park, Columbia River Mental Health Community Garden, 172nd circle by NE 29th, Luke Jensen Park and Sport Multiplex, Downtown Vancouver, Sorenson Park

TAXONOMIC SYSTEM:

None

GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT:

We sampled 18 different public parks in the city of Portland, OR and 7 different parks in the city of Vancouver, WA.

MEASUREMENT FREQUENCY:

Each site was visited once.

PROGRESS DESCRIPTION:

Complete

UPDATE FREQUENCY DESCRIPTION:

notPlanned

CURRENTNESS REFERENCE:

Observed