Adult Stewardship in 25 Natural Areas in the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area from September 2011 through June 2012

We designed and conducted a survey of volunteers who work in city parks in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington to understand natural area volunteer commitment and motivation, as well as the effect that volunteering has on participants’ behavior and attitudes toward the environment. We contrasted volunteer motivation, attitudes, and behaviors between the two cities to better understand the role of governance in organizing volunteer efforts. Participants were sampled over the course of late winter and spring of 2012 during 25 different events. Volunteers’ motivations ranged from environmental reasons to those of personal health. Portland volunteers indicated that helping the environment was their primary motivation, more often than Vancouver volunteers. Portland area volunteers had significantly higher tendency to indicate that their primary gain from volunteering was helping the environment, while Vancouver area volunteers tended to indicate that they were helping their community. Frequency of participation was significantly different between Portland and Vancouver, with 35% in Portland volunteering more than 10 times per year; 21% of Vancouver participants engaged more than 10 times per year. Those engaging in the highest participation level were more likely to engage in public environmental behaviors, such as contacting local officials about environmental issues. Portland volunteers were more likely to feel connected to their volunteer site, and consider themselves environmentalists.
A total of 131 Portland volunteers and 44 Vancouver volunteers were sampled during the 9-month study. They were asked 48 attitude and behavior questions, including other questions to solicit demographic information including gender, income, and age, and asked about travel time to the site.