4/18/2012 Uncovering Barriers to Changing Homeowner Landscaping Practices Glenn D. Israel, Jessica L. Gouldthorpe, Sally A. Scalera, & Paul F. Monaghan University of Florida An earlier version was presented at the International Symposium on Society and Resource Management in Madison, WI, June, 2011. Please do not cite or circulate without the authors permission at the research is ongoing. Background • Project was initiated by HOA resident’s concern with water quality • Aligned with state and national concerns over surface and groundwater quality (e.g., IRL) • Collaboration to assess educational needs & opportunities for CBSM • Project environment contains considerable controversy Role of fertilizer county & municipal regulations EPA rules “Green” industry lobby UF actions & responses 1
4/18/2012 Example HOAs Methods • Convenience sample focused on HOAs • Unimode ‐ designed Web & Paper surveys • Items focus on fertilization, irrigation, attitudes & preferences, and demographics • Analytic sample is 489 2
4/18/2012 Decision Maker for Maintaining the Lawn and Landscape Respondent/Spouse 78.9% Respondent & HOA 5.7% Resp., HOA & Service 4.7% Respondent & Service 3.9% HOA only 4.3% Lawn Service 1.2% HOA & Service 1.2% n = 489 Respondent Profile Attribute Mean Std. Dev. Min Max N Age 56.7 12.4 21 89 449 Years in home 11.9 10.3 0 50 484 Years in Florida 27.7 17.4 0 74 483 Education (% with a 62.5% 473 4 ‐ year degree) Income (% with 53.7% 415 $75,000 or more) Home market value $169,829 $76,511 $34,410 $857,400 367 Environmental 4.32 .77 1.00 5.00 473 Attitude Index Use lawn service 45.6% 489 (%) Have irrigation 79.1% 484 system (%) Property abuts 26.1% 486 water (%) 3
4/18/2012 Environmental Attitude Index for 5 HOAs 5.00 5.00 4.00 4.00 3.00 3.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 WDF (n=29) IND (n=21) GEO (n=10) CAT (n=47) CHE (n=18) Factors in Fertilizer Purchase Decision 46.9% 21.8% 8.4% 22.9% Priority of BMP factors (*s) 59.6% Brand name Store location 49.7% Coverage area per bag 43.4% 33.7% Price *Amount of N in formulation 30.1% Another person's recommendation 30.1% *Amount of Phosphorus (P) 26.5% *Amount of slow release N 25.3% n = 166 4
4/18/2012 Information Read on the Fertilizer Bag 6.1% 20.7% All 6 ‐ 44.7% 5% 10.1% Count of topics read 5% 8.4% 87.6% Rate to apply 86.5% When to water 75.8% How often to use 74.7% Which grasses/plants suited best 68.5% Month/Season to use 64.6% Avoiding injury to plants/lawn n = 178 Fertilization Best Management Practices Matched setting Over to bag fertilized Nitrogen Application 16.3% 12.8% 55.8% 15.1% Used turf Not enough area on bag information To be updated 46.6% 5.7% 47.7% Use 30% slow release N Yes No Not enough information Avoided winter fertilization 55.8% Knew square footage of lawn 49.2% 5
4/18/2012 Respondents’ Knowledge of Lawn Service Company’s Fertilizer Practices 31.0% n = 210 29.0% 15.2% 14.3% 10.5% 1 2 3 4 5 I know nothing I know about what exactly what they do they do Irrigation Frequency by Season and Adjustment Status 100% Nearly every day 80% 3 ‐ 4/Week 60% Twice/week 40% Once/week 20% Less than 1X 0% Summer Winter Summer Winter Adjusted No Adjusted Schedule Schedule 6
4/18/2012 Fertilizer ‐ relevant Landscape Design For Homeowners with a Water Body 54.8% Lawn to shore, no buffer 29.4% Lawn to shore, with buffer Lawn not to the shore 15.9% n = 126 Landscape Attributes Discussion • Respondents were relatively well ‐ educated and affluent with pro ‐ environmental attitudes • Behaviors less consistent with attitude index • Considerable effort needed to move HOA residents from conventional norms driving fertilization and irrigation practices • Opinions about landscapes suggest need to emphasize environmental health theme in ways that don’t impact value and attractiveness 7
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