Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 44(2): March 2018 Studies of citizen-scientist motivations have identified similar motivations. Avian research volunteers were motivated by (in order of impor- tance): recreation or nature-based values, personal values, personal growth, social interactions, and project organization (Wright et al. 2015). Moti- vations for participation in UK citizen-science programs included altruistic, personal develop- ment, personal, to share knowledge, someone else wanted me to do it, and other/don’t know/ can’t remember (Geohegan et al. 2016). Bell et al. (2008) identified another motivation type, whereby volunteers were motivated by wanting to share their knowledge with others. From these studies, citizen scientists have oſten identified knowledge or sharing knowledge as a common motivating factor, but this factor was not always identified in studies of urban forestry volunteers. Motivations to initiate an activity are not always the same as those that inspire continued participation. Initial motivation has often been the research focus, but a few studies have also looked at continued engagement. In a study of stewardship volunteers, helping the environment and learning were important initial motivations, while social factors and project organization sig- nificantly predicted volunteer commitment (Ryan et al. 2001). Asah and Blahna (2013) found simi- lar results, where volunteer commitment to urban conservation was motivated by personal, social, and community functions to a greater extent than environmental motivations. In their study, the environment was a significant motivator only when volunteering met these other goals. Frequency of volunteering is motivated more by personal and social benefits rather than by environment- related reasons (Asah and Blahna 2012). Similar results were found in a study of volunteer satisfac- tion; initial motivations for volunteering included value-driven motivations, but over time there was a stronger correlation between self-related motivations and the amount of volunteers’ con- tributions (Finkelstein 2008). This suggests that understanding the motivation factors of partici- pants can assist with volunteer-retention efforts. Participation and motivation also can be affected by program structure. Motivations of volunteers in previous studies have included project organization (which can refer to a well- 61 organized project), clear expectations, and work- ing with a good leader (Ryan et al. 2001; Bruyere and Rappe 2007). Volunteer experience has impli- cations for future volunteers; satisfied volunteers likely will communicate positively to others about the program, contributing to recruitment and social capital (Wright et al. 2015). Con- versely, in some contexts, formalized reward structures can act as a disincentive for continued levels of volunteering, by undermining intrinsic motivation (Lepper et al. 1973; Deci and Ryan 1985). In general, intrinsic motivation is more important to outcomes when incentives are not directly tied to outcomes, and less so when incen- tives are tied to outcomes (Cerasoli et al. 2014). However, this “crowding out” effect is subject- dependent; health behaviors are not moderated by the same factors as observed in psychology and economic studies (Promberger and Marteau 2013). Volunteer Demographics Volunteerism is affected by individual character- istics and social structure. In the United States, social characteristics like education level, income, gender, and race can affect who engages in volun- teer activities. Overall, volunteers tend to be com- posed of more women than men, although women and men also volunteer in different domains. One study found that white Americans are more likely to volunteer than African Americans, even aſter controlling for social class, and Hispanic Ameri- cans and Asian Americans are the least likely to volunteer (Foster-Bey 2008). Differences in the racial composition of volunteers are supported by other research (Rotolo et al. 2010; Taniguchi 2012); but it is also likely that volunteer data from minor- ity groups are underreported (Boyle and Sawyer 2010). Age and available time are also other fac- tors affecting volunteer rates (Wilson 2012). In a study of tree-planting volunteers in New York City, Fisher et al. (2015) found tree-planting indi- viduals to be more politically liberal, have higher levels of educational attainment, be slightly more female than male, and to be more white, al- though they note differences may be due more to the intersection of class with race and ethnic- ity. A study of tree inventory volunteers in NYC found volunteers were predominately white, middle-aged, well-educated, and with middle-class ©2018 International Society of Arboriculture
March 2018
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