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Clean Water Summit
Chanhassen, MN September 12, 2013
Mary Blickenderfer U of MN Extension Educator
Additional funding provided by Itasca County Environmental Trust Fund
Erika Rivers and Mark Hauck, MN DNR
Karlyn Eckman, U of MN research fellow
Michael Goldberg, Action Media
Steve Henry, Otter Tail SWCD
Itasca County Itasca SWCD
Itasca County Lake Associations
Itasca Master Gardeners
Volunteers
Research lakes
Original Goal: Buffers on the shore!
5% Buffer “inclined”
5% Buffer “disinclined”
Target Audience
Bell curve
Know your audience “tools”
Gap analysis
Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey
Boat-by (evaluation)
Focus group
Casual conversation
KAP*: Where do lake owners go for lake information? (Indicate the top 4) Lake association Neighbor Internet Local contractor Realtor Itasca County Itasca Soil and Water Conservation District U of MN Extension Minnesota DNR TV Radio They don’t seek information
62%
63%
72%
60%
*results based upon 109 door-door and 116 mail-in survey responses of 340 total 10K property owners on 5 lakes in Itasca Co.
KAP: Owners on these lakes prefer which one of these three shorelines?
Replanted Lawn
Natural Other
68%
20% 6%
6%
KAP survey 2/3 are seasonal owners
Huge interest in fish & wildlife
ALL want to be good stewards of their property
KAP survey Incentives:
Detailed information and instruction (64%),
technical support (51%),
“how-to” workshop (48%),
input on design (48%),
financial support (42%),
labor assistance (37%)
KAP survey Constraints:
already have a natural shore (81%),
like shore the way it is (19%),
time (7%),
don’t know where to start (6%),
physical limitations (5%),
like lawn (5%),
cost (4%),
too much work (4%),
block view (2%)
Boat-by survey
MANY “natural” shorelines
“What more can we do to protect our lake?”
Understory? Run-off and
erosion issues
Accesses Run-off and erosion issues
Aquatic invasive species introduction
Riprap shores, ice berms breeched Run-off and erosion issues
Wildlife issues
Fire rings Nutrient inputs
A few lawn-to-shore
Resorts
Focus Group
More information on/assistance with buffers
Individual site visit by trained professional
ANOTHER brochure…really?
Casual conversation: Buffer installation overwhelming
Recognition for those with natural shorelines?
Those with natural shorelines want to know what more they can do to protect the lake.
Need to recruit younger stewards
So, we have all this information…now what do we do?
Community based social marketing •strategies
Scientific literature
Existing programs
Non-profit marketing •Analysis •Communication plan
Shoreland Owners
Anything, anywhere…
Peers
Lawn signs
Karlyn Eckman, U of MN Michael Goldberg, Action Media MN Energy Challenge project McKenzie-Mohr, D. and W. Smith. 1999. Fostering Sustainable Behavior. McGarry, M. et al. 2013. Seven habits of highly effective lake science communicators. Wright Morton, L. 2010. Pathways for Getting to Better Water Quality: the citizen effect.
Behavior Change Strategies
Community norms/modeling
Monetary and Non-monetary incentives
Crafting the message/Word choice (buffer vs filter)
Peer-peer delivery most powerful communication “Jacob” - respected local leader
Public commitment
Entry level options
Creating personal VALUE
Hands-on experience
Grandparent/grandchild connection
Revised Goal: Everyone does something to protect their lake and wildlife
Action “inclined” ~19% Action “disinclined” Target audience
Bell curve
Marketing for momentum
Target audience: Seasonal shoreland owners
Message: You can make your shoreline even better than it is by making it more natural…doing so will protect your lake (and wildlife).
Action Media, Itasca NSBI Marketing Plan
Phase 1: Owners on 5 research lakes Peer messengers
“How to do it”
Project buy-in by a few owners
Phase 2: County-wide shoreland owners Enlist shoreland owners and their success stories to
motivate greater buy-in Personal radio/TV interviews, presentations
(Long-term: Sustainable)
Action Media, Itasca NSBI Marketing Plan
Educational tool
Simple
Introductory – how to get started
Menu of options
Strategically presented (MN Energy Challenge)
Website and paper versions
Action Media, Itasca NSBI Marketing Plan
Extra Credit:
Measure rainwater run-off Frog survey
Fish survey
Beachcomber - AIS
Lake cache
Image library
Visual menu of choices
Aid peer messenger site visits
(local examples when possible)
Action Media, Itasca NSBI Marketing Plan
Example: Little Bass Lake
C = Cleared shoreland plants N = Native shoreland plants not cleared
= approximate pre-development shoreline
I took the Lake Challenge! (Hedge Your Edge and Green Armor Your Shore)
Before
Native plants... • soften the appearance of rock, • filter rainwater runoff, and • provide wildlife habitat.
Soft Rock
Step it Up! Gradual hill – zig-zag path with berms
Steep hill – elevated stairs
Shade – infiltration steps High traffic – stepping stones
Get with the Flow!
Water Bars Redirect run-off from hard surfaces to filter
areas
Who’ll Stop the Rain?
Rain Garden
Drip Trench
Rain Barrel
Recruit & train peer messengers
Phase 1: Students
Phase 2: Master Gardeners
Long-term: lakeshore owners
Ongoing support
Action Media, Itasca NSBI Marketing Plan
Recognition
Sign
Itasca County Shoreland Steward Award
(Media interviews)
Putting it all together
Initial promotion: newsletters, “Site visit skit” (No cost – no obligation)
Site visit: Peer messenger to interested shore owners
Action: Shore owners select Lake Challenge(s)
Technical assistance: Local professionals
Recognition: sign, award
Ongoing PR: participant interviews, presentations
KAP #2 Results after 1 year* Little change in Knowledge and Attitude
25 % knew of the Lake Challenge
78% of these via lake association or neighbor
15% engaged in lake- and wildlife-friendly behavior due to Lake Challenge (buffer, citizen research, frog survey, fish sticks, etc.)
Motivating factor to take Lake Challenge was opportunity to interact with professional (stewardship)
* Eckman, K. 2011. Itasca NSBI Social Research Report.
Other results First Year:
6 trained peer messengers
21 site visits
5 buffer projects (research lakes)
4 Extra credit options used
Second Year: 4 trained Master Gardeners
6 site visits
2 buffer projects (other lakes)
2 radio interviews
Next steps... Web version of the Itasca Lake Challenge
Next steps
Further program development
Tiered approach (Pine Cone Café)
“How to talk to your neighbor” workshop
Test program applicability to different regions? Different demographics?
Coordinator
Questions?
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