Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 44(6): November 2018 self-identifying as an environmentalist. Indeed, a recent study of how strongly students in STEM fields identify with four identities (scientists, environmentalist, conservationist, and environ- mental-justice practitioner) found that, for mi- nority students, environmentalist identity was intertwined with their identity as a conserva- tionist, environmental-justice practitioner, and to a lesser extent, scientist (Taylor 2017). The findings from the current study, in conjunction with the work of others (Heinz 2005; Taylor 2017; Gupta et al. 2018), suggests that how the literature has conceived of environmental iden- tity and what it means to be an environmentalist may not be representative or sufficiently encap- sulate the complexity and intertwining of identi- ties in minority individuals’ environmentalism. Other variables that predict individuals’ will- ingness to engage in stewardship: individuals who like to be outdoors, individuals who think science research is important, individuals who feel envi- ronmental issues are important, and individuals who believe their actions have an impact. This last finding aligns with previous literature inves- tigating individuals’ sense of agency. An indi- vidual’s sense of agency refers to the feeling or attribution of their actions having an effect on external events (Chambon et al. 2014). As a part of this sense of agency, individuals believe that their actions are important and that, when they take action, it will be effective (Bandura 1997). It is not surprising that people who are willing to partake in stewardship are those who also believe that their actions will have an impact on the broader community. When recruiting com- munity members to participate, this finding high- lights the importance of identifying community members who not only enjoy being outside, are knowledgeable, and care about the environment, but are also creating opportunities for engagement that are clear actionable steps that allow partici- pants to see how their actions will make a differ- ence in their community. Research on collective agency shows that groups who share the belief that their collective action can produce desired outcomes can foster commitment to the group mission, resilience to adversity, and performance (Bandura 2000; Reese and Junge 2017). In con- nection to this, it is also important to note that 275 broader individual personality metrics may pre- dict persistence in projects, particularly in the face of setbacks (Morris and Staggenborg 2004). In terms of demography, in the findings, it was older individuals who were most likely to identify as stewards, although there was no relationship between any of the demographic metrics and the willingness to participate in stewardship projects. Anecdotally, many traditional civic science proj- ect demographics are dominated by older, highly educated adults (predominantly retired individu- als), rather than younger individuals (school age through working age) or individuals with lower educational attainment. The results indicate that while many older individuals may identify as stewards, they are not more likely than the younger respondents to be willing to participate in the stewardship activities highlighted in this survey. A study of individuals in the participa- tory science project “TreesCount!” in New York City found that the majority of its contributors were older, more educated, and more affluent (Johnson et al. 2018). Recent work evaluating individuals’ sustained motivations for engaging in civic science programs found that older indi- viduals (55+) participated because the projects were an avenue for inclusion in a community (S. Petluru pers. comm.). For developing projects, the relationships between identity, demograph- ics, and motivations for the highest likely users (i.e., age and desire for community) is important for project managers to consider and understand. As this study is one of respondents’ behav- ioral intent to engage in stewardship activities of the restoration plots, it is important to note how intent translates to action. However, the literature on how behavioral intent translates to action is mixed. A meta-analysis on stud- ies of intended behavior and actual behavior showed that the strong intention drove small to moderate actual changes in behavior (Webb and Sheeran 2006). However, there is also literature showing that reported behavioral intent is different than actual behavior (Barr 2004). More specifically, recent work look- ing at the intention of individuals engaging in pro-environmental behavior and their actual behavior indicates that people are susceptible to believing they are behaving more positively ©2018 International Society of Arboriculture
November 2018
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