Research PaperIntegrating off-site visitor education into landscape conservation and management: An examination of timing of educational messaging and compliance with low-impact hiking recommendations
Introduction
Nature-based recreation activities are part of the anthropogenic forces that constantly alter natural landscapes. The environmental impacts of recreation on soil, vegetation, water, wildlife, and other elements of ecosystems may seem trivial at the individual level, but when these impacts are multiplied by the volume of visitation to recreation settings and repeated over time, they can interact with each other in complicated ways that alter ecosystem functioning (Marion, Leung, Eagleston, & Burroughs, 2016). For example, if hikers choose to avoid steps on steep trails, their trampling of soils along the trail will likely cause soil compaction and erosion (Moore & Driver, 2005). This soil compaction and erosion, in turn, may cause increased run-off and sedimentation in streams at lower elevations. Over time, the landscape will be marked with deep-cut wide barren trails, damaged vegetation, and decreased water quality. The consequences are degraded aesthetic, natural, and recreational values of the landscape.
To protect landscapes from negative recreational impacts while providing recreation-related and ecosystem services benefits to the public, land and water managers often try to educate recreationists about behaviors to avoid or reduce the negative environmental impacts of recreation with on-site activities and resources such as education programs and signs, posters, interpretation, personal contact and other communication tools (Marion & Reid, 2007). However, with steadily growing visitation levels at many outdoor recreation destinations, it is becoming increasingly difficult for on-site visitor information and education programs to reach rapidly growing numbers of visitors (Jacobi, 2003). As a result, proactive off-site visitor education may serve as an efficient and effective approach to educating recreationists about the negative environmental impacts of recreation, subsequently improving the ability to sustainably manage landscapes used for recreation. Outdoor recreationists who are poorly informed about responsible recreation behavior before they arrive at their destination are more likely to be either ill-prepared to recreate in an environmentally-responsible manner (e.g., not bringing the gear necessary to dispose of waste properly) or simply be unaware of what responsible recreation behaviors are. Either of these situations are likely to lead to high-impact recreation behaviors (Hayes, 2008, Reigner and Lawson, 2009). It is unlikely that on-site signage alone will dissuade recreationists from visiting sought-after parts of destinations they have traveled long distances to experience (Hayes, 2008). Some previous studies suggest visitor information and education programs are more effective when delivered early in the overall recreation experience such as during trip planning (Manning, 2011, Marion, 2014). Off-site visitor education programs may be able to proactively target and communicate with prospective outdoor recreationists, leading to more sustainable landscape management.
Reaching visitors before they arrive at a destination is not a new concept for outdoor recreation planners, resource managers, or environmental educators (Bromley, Marion, & Hall, 2013; Daniels and Marion, 2005, Doucette and Cole, 1993, Manfredo and Bright, 1991). Web-based technologies, such as social media and emails, provide fast and potentially cost-effective avenues for communicating with large and diverse audiences (National Parks Conservation Association, 2009). Electronic communication can deliver educational messages with images and videos that directly demonstrate responsible recreation behaviors. Natural resource managers, such as the National Park Service, have shown growing interest in reaching out to constituents through online communication channels such as emails and social media (National Parks Conservation Association, 2009). Through online pre-trip registration and permitting efforts, such as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s voluntary long-distance hiker registration system, natural area managers do have the ability to directly target and communicate with prospective visitors. Off-site education programs can also help reduce the need for on-site infrastructure and materials, such as signs or brochures, as well as personnel, such as rangers and interpreters, tasked with educating the public about responsible recreation behavior (labor costs are often among the most substantial and significant in terms of providing outdoor recreation opportunities; Siderelis, Moore, Leung, & Smith, 2012).
Despite the potential for using web-based technologies to educate visitors about low-impact recreation behavior prior to their trips, questions remain about how to successfully plan and design an off-site visitor education program. One important question is how the delay between when individuals receive an educational message and when they arrive on-site and face situations where they must choose to comply with low-impact recreation recommendations influences the educational message’s effectiveness. This study set out to examine the relationship between visitor education messaging timing and behavioral change using a theoretically-grounded laboratory-based experimental study.
Section snippets
Theoretical background
There are two well-documented lines of research regarding the potential effects of educational messaging timing on individual compliance with low-impact recreation behavioral recommendations: 1) the forgetting-curve hypothesis based on Ebbinghaus’ classic memory theory; and 2) the stable-attitude hypothesis based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (cited in Eagly & Chaiken, 1993a).
The forgetting-curve hypothesis suggests the longer the time between when a
Study design
This study used an intervention-based experimental design with two treatment groups and a control group to test the effects of the timing of an educational message on: 1) individuals’ compliance with low-impact hiking recommendations; 2) their knowledge level and retention of information received through the educational message; and 3) their attitudes towards low-impact hiking behavior. Data were collected via a pre-survey, a lab-based simulation, and a post-survey. The pre-survey, administered
Participants’ profiles
Of the 47 participants included in the analysis, the majority were female (61.7%), white (93.6%) and had an average age of 21.6 (for details of participants’ profiles see Supplementary Material B). About half (51.1%) of participants indicated they hiked, walked or ran on unpaved trails between one and five times a year, followed by 31.9% of participants who indicated hiking, walking or running on unpaved trails more than 10 times a year. On average, participants rated their level of backcountry
Discussion
This study tested the potential of integrating proactive off-site visitor education into landscape management and planning by examining whether or not the timing of an educational message influences compliance with low-impact hiking recommendations as well as associated knowledge levels and attitudes. We found receiving an off-site educational message increased participants’ compliance with two specific low-impact hiking recommendations: 1) walking through puddles, mud or rugged spots; and 2)
Conclusions
We found an educational message using video and written statements significantly improved participants’ intentions to hike responsibly through muddy and wet trail areas and to stay on steps rather than walk around them, as well as improving their knowledge levels and attitudes toward such low-impact recreation behavior. A relatively short time interval between the educational message and the behavior measurement (24–72 h) did not change the effects of the educational message on behavioral
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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