Most people are not aware that the movement of firewood can spread invasive pests, according to a recent study from the collaboration between the Nature Conservancy’s Don’t Move Firewood campaign and Clemson University. In response, this study sought to pinpoint the most effective strategies for increasing awareness about the issue of invasive forest pests.
As its name suggests, the Don’t Move Firewood (DMF) campaign was implemented in 2008 to prevent the spread of pests harboured in firewood. Prior to this, educational outreach efforts were sporadic and limited to state-based agencies. DMF provided a consistent, national approach to educating the general public on firewood movement. Over the 11 years since, the Nature Conservancy has also focused on conducting regional and national surveys to demonstrate the public’s attitudes and knowledge towards various environmental issues.
For this study, the researchers conducted five surveys between 2005 and 2016, in which 4,840 people were interviewed. They initially found that over half of the participants had not seen, heard, or read any information encouraging people to avoid transporting firewood, with awareness still remaining relatively low by 2016. Most people were also not aware of state laws or regulations on the movement of firewood between locations. This indicates that lack of awareness is the most prevalent psychological barrier that prevents people from taking action to prevent firewood movement.
On a promising note, over 90% of participants had some level of concern about the detrimental effect of invasive pests on trees, with a significant increase in concern from the first and second surveys. The researchers also found that awareness did in fact increase after the DMF campaign, which was accompanied by an increase in willingness to support measures to prevent forest pest dispersal. This further supports the finding that lack of awareness is an important psychological barrier to overcome within the public, as more action followed improved awareness. So, what are the best ways to overcome this psychological barrier? The study concluded from their surveys that the two most effective ways of educating the public about invasive forest pests and firewood transport were: 1) handing out flyers at the entrance of state and national parks and sending emails after campsite reservations and 2) conveying information through state forest agencies, which were the most believable sources of information about forest health issues according to participants.
The researchers also found that participants preferred positive messages that are more promotion-focused such as “buy it where you burn it,” as well as messages that highlight the importance of public support such as “you have the power to protect forests.” Future communications materials should avoid negative messaging.
Convivence and cost are also major influences on willingness to take action, with many participants indicating that they cut down firewood near their house or believe that buying and then transporting firewood is cheaper. Changing behaviours may then necessitate increasing the number of places to buy firewood near parks and at lower costs.
Action from the public is integral to preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species. This study answered important questions on how to encourage everyone to do their part to keep our forests healthy and free from invasive pests.
