Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 904-923 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Environmental Planning and Management |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue number | 5-6 |
| Early online date | 21 Jun 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
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Keywords
- volunteering
- motivations
- functionalism
- invasive species
- habitat restoration
Cite this
The dynamics of volunteer motivations for engaging in the management of invasive plants : Insights from a mixed-methods study on Scottish seabird islands. / Pages, Marie; Fischer, Anke; Van Der Wal, Rene.
In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Vol. 61, No. 5-6, 2018, p. 904-923.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The dynamics of volunteer motivations for engaging in the management of invasive plants
T2 - Insights from a mixed-methods study on Scottish seabird islands
AU - Pages, Marie
AU - Fischer, Anke
AU - Van Der Wal, Rene
N1 - Acknowledgments The authors thank the SOS Puffin volunteers and the Craigleith Management Group for their support in this research project. We also thank John Hunt (SOS Puffin), Anja Byg and Kerry Waylen (The James Hutton Institute), Norman Dandy (Plunkett Foundation), Michelle Pinard (University of Aberdeen), and four anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier versions of this paper. We acknowledge funding by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland. (NERC).
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Volunteers play an important role in the management of natural habitats. Understanding what motivates volunteers to join conservation initiatives and how motivations change over time is essential to enhance the environmental and social benefits of their engagement. Using a repeated qualitative survey and semi-structured interviews, we explore volunteers’ initial and sustained motivations in the management of the invasive tree mallow (Lavatera arborea) on Scottish seabird islands. Caring for nature, the performance of volunteering activities, and social interactions were the main drivers of involvement. Over time, motivations were shaped by the interplay between individual expectations and experiences with the social and ecological context. They changed from identifiable functions to more complex attachments to the place and the group. We discuss the limitations of functional methodologies in making sense of these attachments and of the performative nature of environmental volunteering. We then explore the practical implications of the dynamics of volunteering motivations.
AB - Volunteers play an important role in the management of natural habitats. Understanding what motivates volunteers to join conservation initiatives and how motivations change over time is essential to enhance the environmental and social benefits of their engagement. Using a repeated qualitative survey and semi-structured interviews, we explore volunteers’ initial and sustained motivations in the management of the invasive tree mallow (Lavatera arborea) on Scottish seabird islands. Caring for nature, the performance of volunteering activities, and social interactions were the main drivers of involvement. Over time, motivations were shaped by the interplay between individual expectations and experiences with the social and ecological context. They changed from identifiable functions to more complex attachments to the place and the group. We discuss the limitations of functional methodologies in making sense of these attachments and of the performative nature of environmental volunteering. We then explore the practical implications of the dynamics of volunteering motivations.
KW - volunteering
KW - motivations
KW - functionalism
KW - invasive species
KW - habitat restoration
U2 - 10.1080/09640568.2017.1329139
DO - 10.1080/09640568.2017.1329139
M3 - Article
VL - 61
SP - 904
EP - 923
JO - Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
JF - Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
SN - 0964-0568
IS - 5-6
ER -