60 Johnson et al.: Why Count Trees? Volunteer Motivations and Experiences with Tree Monitoring answer a research question. Through research on other citizen science projects, there are impor- tant social outcomes and implications of engage- ment with tree monitoring, most notably for the volunteer participants themselves (Wright et al. 2015). Effective data collection and monitoring can also contribute to stewardship outcomes by enabling stewards, managers, and researchers to track the effects of their efforts. Monitoring is an important aspect of stewardship, in addition to conserving, managing, advocating for, and educating people about the local environment (Svendsen and Campbell 2008; Fisher et al. 2012). This paper focuses on understanding tree- monitoring volunteer demographics, participa- tion motivations, experiences, and interactions between these factors. Previous research on volunteer tree planters in New York City has increased understanding of the relationship between urban greening and civic participation, pointing to tree planting as an on-ramp to other forms of civic engagement (Fisher et al. 2015). Does this relationship extend to monitoring efforts by citizen scientists, and if so, how? It is also important to understand whether and how members of the public are mobilized to engage with tree-monitoring efforts, as these campaigns and practices continue to proliferate across cit- ies and towns. Researching participation motiva- tions is essential for understanding, recruiting, and retaining participants in citizen-science activities (Wright et al. 2015; Merenlender et al. 2016), as well as stewardship activities (Fisher et al. 2015). Finally, understanding whether motivations vary by demographics is criti- cal to ensuring recruitment efforts are effective and inclusive in appealing to multiple publics. Volunteer Motivations for Environ- mental Engagement and Citizen Science Volunteering, like any activity, can be motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic motivation refers to being motivated by enjoy- ment of the behavior, while extrinsic motivation can be influenced by internal and/or external fac- tors, to avoid negative consequences, or achieve positive consequences (Ryan and Deci 2000). Motivations are often studied because of their ©2018 International Society of Arboriculture links to direct, observable behaviors. According to the functional approach in psychology, dif- ferent individuals may participate in the same activity with different needs, goals, and purpos- es (Clary et al. 1998). Six functions identified for volunteering in Clary et al.’s (1996) Volun- teer Function Index (VFI) are: understanding, social, values, protective (e.g., volunteering as a means of coping with internal conflicts, stresses, or guilt), career, and enhancement. The VFI has been applied to later research studies focused on environmental volunteering, which have iden- tified additional functions (Bruyere and Rappe 2007; Bramston et al. 2011; Wright et al. 2015). A number of studies examining motivations of urban forestry volunteers and citizen scientists have noted variations of the functions identi- fied in Clary et al. (1996). Motivations reported by Chicago TreeKeepers included emotional, aesthetic, or spiritual values (Westphal 1993). Desire to improve one’s neighborhood, desire for education, and social interaction were the three most important factors motivating urban forest volunteers in New York City, New York, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. (Still and Ger- hold 1997). Tree-planting stewards in NYC’s Mil- lionTreesNYC program predominantly stayed involved because of their care for their city and for their personal connections with other people in the city (Fisher et al. 2015). A separate study examining NYC’s MillionTreesNYC program identified varied motivations, including environ- mental benefits of trees, community service, ben- efits to youth, enjoyment from planting trees, the need for more trees, and attending the event as part of a school class (Moskell et al. 2010). Most highly rated motivations from volunteer tree planters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., included working with nature, helping their neighborhood, creating something, giving back to their communities, get- ting to know people in neighborhoods, and good exercise (Austin 2002). Through a factor analysis of survey responses, Grese et al. (2000) identified four types of benefits to urban forestry volunteer- ing: helping the environment, exploration, spiri- tuality, and, finally, personal and social benefits. These studies identify a wide variety of motivat- ing factors for urban forestry volunteers, relating to both personal and community-level benefits.
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