Management Strategies: Personalization Strategies

This category of strategies relates to comments and discussion related to making ecosystem services personally relevant to members of the public. Rather than leave ecosystems and their services as an abstract, scientific concept, these strategies focus on ways to connect people directly to the urban forest ecosystem by identifying how they personally benefit.

Tie Services, Benefits, and Values Directly to People

This strategy is based on the idea of WIIFM - what's in it for me? People are understandably interested in those things which have a direct impact or relationship to their interests. We are all more likely to get involved, pay attention to, and support (or oppose) actions and policies that we recognize as having some immediate effect on our personal interests and well-being. When considering policy or management actions, a rational person will conduct an informal cost-benefit analysis, asking what benefits might be expected and what will the costs be, to the individual and their family? This informal evaluation of personal costs versus personal benefits is particularly important to pay attention to when carried out by what is sometimes conceived of by natural resource managers as the "invisible middle." The invisible middle is a highly simplified model that categorizes members of the public into three broad classes: 25% of the population who will support, 25% who will oppose, and about half the population who are neither adamantly opposed, nor solidly supportive, of a particular proposed management action or policy. The "undecided" citizens represent a considerable pool of potential support, or opposition.

By connecting the values and benefits of ecosystem services directly to people, especially those who may be undecided about ecosystem management practices, you make the services immediately identifiable and recognizable to them. The "environment" becomes something real and beneficial, a source of tangible and direct benefits to individual well-being, rather than an abstract concept or abstruse collection of scientific data. The concept of having a "clean environment," for instance, sounds good, but contains no information with which people can directly identify. A "healthy urban forest" may imply a host of benefits to the trained urban ecologist or forester, but may be little more than a bland nicety to a citizen who has not received training and education in urban forest ecology. Concepts like "urban forest" and "ecosystem service" may be only partially understood by many members of the public (Appendix 3 - Figure 52-55). For example, in our study, our sample was most familiar with the term "ecosystem" and least familiar with the term "ecosystem service." Respondents were moderately familiar with the term "urban forest."

Given that people may not be familiar with ecosystem services, a strategy to communicate values of urban trees and green spaces might rely on simply telling people what a tree is worth, for instance, in terms of property value. The U.S. Forest Service, universities, and researchers from nonprofit organizations have carried out studies to estimate dollar values for the benefits trees and urban green space provide. Environmental and ecological economists have developed robust models for estimating monetary values for trees and ecosystem services. For example, Donovan and Butry (2010) conducted a study in Portland, OR, and found that the presence of street trees adds over $8,000 to a home's sale price. Understanding this kind of research and being able to communicate tangible and easy-to-recognize benefits to citizens in a clear and concise way will help to communicate real values to citizens about which they may be unaware. Thousands of dollars in added property value is a service any homeowner can understand and appreciate. Or, you might highlight for citizens that trees around their home can reduce their summertime energy bills. Donovan and Butry (2009) found, for example, that trees planted on the south and west sides of homes in Sacramento, CA, reduced summertime energy bills by an average of about $25. Of course, trees have maintenance costs too, which Donovan and Butry also estimated. They found that over a 50 year period benefits outweighed maintenance costs. And, of course, such estimates only capture a small portion of the contributions urban trees and urban green spaces provide. There are less easily quantified values that include such things as aesthetic and spiritual values. Highlighting the personal value (in monetary terms, for example) of the services trees and urban green spaces provide can help city natural resource professionals clearly identify ways that trees benefit citizen stakeholders directly.

Personal Connections: A Person versus "The Agency"

Recall from our discussion of social events for the community that a benefit of hosting them is the opportunity to form personal relationships with citizens. Developing rapport and familiarity through increased social interaction will tend to improve citizen attitudes about a service provider (DeWitt & Brady, 2003; Grenler, Gwinner, & Brown, 2001). Establishing personal ties between agency staff and citizens can play a powerful role in helping to promote citizen understanding and support for your agency. By creating opportunities for agency personnel to mingle in a relaxed atmosphere with citizens in the community, an agency can improve levels of understanding and knowledge between itself and community residents. This kind of familiarity creates conditions in which tensions or misunderstandings are less likely to occur. And if, or when, misunderstandings or tensions do arise, citizens are more likely to engage in constructive dialogue with agency staff that they know personally to achieve mutually satisfactory outcomes.

Committing time and energy to developing personal connections between agency staff and members of the public has costs. It would not be useful or professional for staff to set aside important responsibilities and services in favor of excessive informal social interaction with citizens. And it is also true that some staff members may be less comfortable engaging with members of the public in social settings. Indeed, some staff may not be well-suited to such engagement if they feel uncomfortable or ill-at-ease in an informal social setting. However, allocating some time and resources to work with staff and field personnel to help them learn stronger communication and networking skills could result in substantial returns on investment in terms of improved interaction and engagement with the public. Improved communication can lead to fewer misunderstandings about agency activities, fewer legal challenges, more support for agency actions, and greater responsiveness to public concerns. Given that agencies today are often working with smaller budgets, more targeted kinds of personalization might be worth exploring.

Agency staff and management could identify key members of the community, such as community or business leaders. By engaging with and developing personal relationships with community leaders, an agency can cultivate connections into their service area through these community leaders, who are commonly opinion leaders as well (Rogers, 1995). In order to develop contacts with them, an agency could host a special social event for local community and business leaders, for instance. Or, perhaps, an agency could host a recurrent meet-and- greet type of social event for community leaders. An event with a small number of specially invited guests is likely more manageable and affordable given the less complex planning involved. A positive experience at such an event in which pleasant and relaxed social interaction among invited community and business leaders and agency personnel occurs, can potentially result in community leaders carrying back a positive message to their constituents. Positive word-of- mouth "advertising" from trusted leaders in the community has the potential for considerable benefits to an agency. An even more informal option might be that agency staff could simply meet community organization staff and leaders to informally socialize after work. Such socializing is nearly costless to an agency and can create strong bonds between agencies and the communities they serve. Not only does this type of socializing help the agency with its outreach to the community, but it can help inform agency staff about what issues are of particular importance to the community.

Connect the Agency to Important Issues for the Public

The results of our study indicate that, among our sample, watershed health was considered the most important ecosystem service (Appendix 3 - Figure 11, and 14-16). Natural resource agencies in Oregon might benefit from identifying for the general public the ways in which an agency is working to improve or maintain a high level of watershed health. Agencies in Oregon's cities could engage in outreach and marketing efforts to highlight for their constituents the programs and activities they are conducting that directly impact their watershed. This strategy is tied to the concept of WIIFM (what's in it for me?) discussed earlier. Rather than simply report to people somewhat general activities, an agency can demonstrate to citizens that it is working on issues of particular importance to citizens. In this way, the natural resource agency will explicitly state in specific detail how it is serving public interests. The agency will clearly identify what it is doing for city residents.

Recreation was the second most highly valued ecosystem service among our respondents (Appendix 3 - Figure 11, and 14-16). This has positive implications for parks and recreation departments, many of whom are facing considerable budget reductions. If people in your service area highly value recreation opportunities, it is worth highlighting how the parks and recreation department is achieving excellent service provision. It may be, furthermore, worth explaining to area citizens that with impending budget cuts, many of these services may be in jeopardy. Elected officials and decision makers respond to public pressure and may be less inclined to slash park and recreation budgets if they are reminded by voters of the value voters place on the services parks provide. Naturally, public services that ensure public health and safety such as police and fire departments will likely be prioritized over parks. It is also sometimes the case that people's stated preferences may not completely agree with what they are personally willing to do or support financially. Citizens may voice an opinion that parks and recreation services are necessary, but may be less enthusiastic about paying for them. Still, that our sample reported that recreation opportunities were very important to them suggests that parks and recreation departments and other natural resource agencies may have somewhat more leverage with city decision makers than expected.

This strategy depends greatly on building personal relationships between agency staff and members of the public. By getting to know people's interests and concerns (Appendix 3 - Figures 6-16, 21-23, and 25-27), an agency can be a more responsive actor in the community. Knowing the community through direct social interaction permits agency staff to learn what is important to the members of the community and allows more proactive management. Of course, an agency cannot meet every demand. Agency staff will always have to work on balancing available resources with management priorities (dictated not only by social demands, but also agency mission and goals, and ecological needs and constraints). This means that some people will inevitably feel as though their interests and needs are not being fully met. However, by learning what issues seem to be the most salient and prominent in an area, by learning what citizens consider their highest priority services, agencies can demonstrate to the public how they are working to meet those needs as best they can. Or, if the agency isn't meeting those needs, they can at least show that they recognize the need, and would be willing to discuss ways to improve service delivery. Understanding community interests can also help an agency demonstrate how they work to provide other services desired by the public. In our strategy discussion groups, participants agreed that people like to feel they are being listened to. As simple an action as taking notes during a public meeting can show citizens that agency staff are listening, and are trying to work with the community. In general, agency staff make considerable efforts to be helpful and provide positive experiences for the public, but citizens may not always be aware of their intentions. When an agency's activities and policies indicate that staff are working to provide sites and services that are highly valued by the public, the agency demonstrates that it is actively listening and responding to the public.

Connection through Urban Green Space Visitation

Research suggests that direct experience has a significant effect on people's attitudes (Fazio & Zanna, 1981) perhaps due to a stronger emotional response to something directly experienced (Millar & Millar, 1996). In the context of the strategies we present here, researchers have found that outdoor recreation experiences in natural areas are positively related with pro- environmental behaviors (Larson, Whiting, & Green, 2011) as well as a sense of place attachment which has implications for stewardship, support for management, and fundraising (Ryan, 2005). These research results suggest that a potentially profitable management strategy for urban forest and green space professionals is to facilitate personal experiences with urban trees and green spaces for city dwellers so that they develop a stronger sense of attachment and interest in such areas through visitation. This may be particularly true for children, whose outdoor recreation experiences can have a lifelong effect on attitudes and support for environmental management (Wells & Lekies, 2006).

In order to attract visitors and encourage regular use, sites must be well maintained. Maintenance and upkeep activities are critical to ensuring parks and natural areas in your city are attractive destinations that people find appealing. Proper maintenance and upkeep also is a strong indication that a space is safe. Though limited levels of "wildness" are often appealing to visitors, parks and recreation departments should make sure that trees, underbrush, and ground cover are trimmed and neat. Departments should try to prevent accumulation of trash and litter, and ensure that facilities are clean and in good working condition. Seeing trash and litter on the ground and overflowing garbage cans will probably repel visitors. Bathroom facilities that are in poor repair or unclean will likely negatively affect a visitor's experience. Overgrown brush and dense, unruly groundcover may not only be considered unsightly by many park visitors, but may also make visitors feel fearful and unsafe (Kaplan, Kaplan, & Ryan, 1998).

Parks and other urban natural spaces must first appear well cared for by management if we expect them to be cared for by the local citizens. Jane Jacobs observed that the pattern of park deterioration often begins not with negative elements moving in and displacing ordinary park users from a vibrant park, but with ordinary people ceasing to use a park which creates a vacuum into which negative elements may enter (Jacobs, 1989). Parks and natural spaces that are well maintained and clean are spaces that are inviting to community members. Such a park or natural space creates opportunities for ordinary citizens to become more attached to the site, with the potential of becoming more interested and knowl- edgeable and supportive of natural resource manage- ment, including managing for ecosystem services. In addition to well-maintained landscape and facilities, park staff that are helpful and friendly create a welcoming environment.

The presence of helpful and friendly park staff who can provide assistance, information, or just a friendly "hello" creates a welcoming experience for visitors, and a noticeable deficiency when absent. Parks and recreation staff are first and foremost service providers who have a professional responsibility to ensure opportunities for positive recreation and leisure experiences (DeGraaf, Jordan, & DeGraaf, 2010). Just as in retail environments, friendly and knowledgeable staff are key to superior service and an excellent consumer experience in parks and other urban green and recreation spaces. All staff, from programs director to seasonal employees, can make a visitor's experience more enjoyable by taking a moment to offer guidance, directions, information, or just a smile. By engaging with the public, parks and recreation planners and managers can find out what programs and services are desired; provision of programming and services desired by the community is key to citizens valuing parks.

Regrettably, parks and other city departments are struggling with decreasing budgets. Suggestions concerning upkeep and maintenance may seem unrealistic when departments and government agencies are cutting costs. But there are some plausible responses to the need to maintain areas in an environment of shrinking budgets. One possible strategy is to look for redundant services among city agencies. School districts, for instance, may have grounds and maintenance personnel and equipment that go unused for much of the day or week. Area parks and recreation districts and other natural resource agencies could conceivably establish arrangements to share maintenance equipment and personnel with schools and other municipal agencies to save on costs. Turf equipment such as mowers and bedshapers, multi-functional equipment such as spreaders or ATVs, and larger equipment including tractors and back hoes may all already exist as part of a school district's equipment resources. Or, if such equipment is already part of a parks department's resources, arrangements could be made with other municipal agencies and school districts to share the costs of use and maintenance. The same arrangements could possibly be made regarding labor. Full and part time landscape maintenance staff for one department or agency could be shared with other departments, thereby reducing overhead and possibly saving jobs.

Another cost saving strategy is the use of volunteers who can often be found in citizen groups seeking public service projects. Groups such as the Boy Scouts, for example, often need public service projects for troops or for Eagle Scout projects. Under proper supervision, such labor resources can provide much needed help with maintenance and renovation projects at minimal cost. Neighborhood associations and other community groups are another potential source of volunteer labor. Community organizations and associations can provide a motivated and ready source of help for manual and semi-skilled labor for projects that may otherwise remain unfinished. Many cities and parks departments work actively with Friends-of groups that provide volunteers for special projects and for daily park operations. Volunteers from Friends groups can help with customer service, can provide valuable basic clerical and administrative assistance, and can help as docents for interpretative nature walks. Church groups and high schools may be another potential source of volunteer labor. Local universities are frequently seeking projects for undergraduate and graduate students in need of term projects and research opportunities. In many instances, graduate students are receiving funding through the university or other grants to carry out their work, but need local agency cooperation and assistance to carry out their research or student project. Graduate students not only bring their own energy and passion that will benefit a natural resource agency, but they will be under the supervision of an experienced and knowledgeable faculty member who can supply expert advice and networking potential with other experts. With urban natural resource agencies likely to continue facing challenging budgetary conditions for the foreseeable future, agency staff and decision makers need to think creatively about ways to stretch available funding. Developing new partnerships with community- based organizations or other community groups or institutions can conceivably supply previously untapped resources in terms of labor, creativity, and innovation.