Publication Details
Why count trees: assessing volunteer motivations in participating in New York City's 2015 tree census
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Year Published
2017
Publication
Queens, NY: New York City Urban Field Station; New York City Parks. 63 p. [white paper].
Abstract
We present the results of an assessment of participants in the TreesCount! tree census initiative, which occurred in New York City during 2015 and 2016. We posed questions to volunteers about their motivations and experiences of the program and their feelings on how they or their neighborhood may have been changed by the experience of counting trees. We sent the assessment to all TreesCount! volunteers that had taken the training and signed up for events (n=2,348). The assessment opened on May 11, 2015 and closed on January 1, 2016. The assessment contains 34 questions, including yes/no, multiple choice, and open-ended questions and took approximately 10 minutes to complete. We received 661 responses, for a response rate of 27.2%, and excluded individuals under 18, for a total sample of 636. Comparing early and late respondents for nonresponse bias suggests our sample may underrepresent men and younger individuals, but that for other demographic variables, our sample represents the TreesCount! volunteer population.
Citation
Johnson, Michelle; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika. 2017. Why count trees: assessing volunteer motivations in participating in New York City's 2015 tree census. Queens, NY: New York City Urban Field Station; New York City Parks. 63 p. [white paper].