How can residents protect and promote pollinators? The diffusion of residential pollinator-friendly gardening.

Urbanization and land use change are leading causes of declines in pollinator abundance and diversity. However, researchers in different regions of the world have found that some pollinators can thrive in urban landscapes, depending on land use practices, environmental conditions, and species traits. Residential landscapes constitute a significant portion of urban green space and thus, residents' adoption of landscape practices to promote pollinators can play a central role in addressing the global pollinator challenge. Yet, although residents' willingness and intention appear strong, adoption of pollinator-friendly gardening remains low. The present study - guided by the Diffusion of Innovations theory - aimed to build empirical understanding by surveying 1598 [State] residents on their experiences and perceptions related to pollinator-friendly gardening to determine the most salient barriers and opportunities to engagement. Key findings suggest making the practice more widely observable and reducing perceived complexity in learning to do the practice are critical to promoting adoption. This demonstrates, in practical terms, that: (1) targeted efforts to build residents' actionable knowledge about pollinator-friendly gardening may significantly reduce uncertainty and boost the likelihood of adoption; and (2) examples of active pollinator gardens need to be more widely showcased and popularized (e.g., through experiential or virtual demonstrations). We also found most residents living in homeowner associations (HOAs) believed HOA policies on pollinator-friendly gardening were restrictive or the residents were unsure whether they are allowed to practice pollinator-friendly gardening. Given these perceptions strongly associated with residents' low intent to engage in pollinator-friendly gardening, a major opportunity exists to diffuse the practice and increase adoption by working with HOAs and community leaders to become promoters of - rather than barriers to - pollinator-friendly gardening.

Evaluating connections between personal well-being and adoption of landscape best management practices: An audience segmentation study.

Integrated pest management and outdoor water conservation comprise key practices encouraged by nonformal educators who work with the public to address significant issues related to water quality and availability. Disconnects among diverse audiences and educational programs pose challenges in achieving the goals of these types of programs. To discern a potential nonformal educational programming strategy, we conducted audience segmentation research incorporating residential environmental landscape best management practices and compared resulting subgroups' characteristics. We explored this paradigm through the context of Extension education and used a nationally-distributed electronic survey instrument to measure well-being and landscape management perceptions and practices in the United States. We collected 2601 complete survey responses and employed cluster analysis to divide the respondents into homogenous subgroups, followed by analysis of variance and chi-square analyses to identify differences among the subgroups. The group that indicated the highest level of engagement with water conservation and IPM practices also had significantly higher well-being, demonstrating the potential to align IPM education with more commonly promoted conservation practices. Membership in the highest IPM and water conservation group was related to several socio-demographic characteristics, including age, homeownership, and homeowners' association membership. This group was also most likely to engage with educational programs. Understanding these indicators of engagement in landscape best management practices and nonformal education, along with higher well-being, may be useful in determining target audiences and potential engagement with nonformal education programs.