Landscape and Urban Planning: Marianne E. Krasny, Sarah R. Crestol, Keith G. Tidball, Richard C. Stedman

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Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Landscape and Urban Planning


journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/landurbplan

Research Paper

New York City’s oyster gardeners: Memories and meanings as


motivations for volunteer environmental stewardship
Marianne E. Krasny ∗ , Sarah R. Crestol, Keith G. Tidball, Richard C. Stedman
Cornell University, Department of Natural Resources, United States

h i g h l i g h t s

• Place meanings and memories motivated volunteer oyster gardeners in New York City.
• Meanings included ecological and social elements of oysters, the city, and estuary.
• Place meanings may be integrated with functional volunteer motivation frameworks.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: We conducted an exploratory study to determine the motivations of volunteer oyster gardeners in New
Received 15 November 2013 York City (NYC), and the memories, meanings, and sense of place they associate with their work. Oyster
Received in revised form 4 August 2014 gardeners are volunteers who place cages with young oysters at agreed upon locations, and monitor
Accepted 6 August 2014
the oysters’ growth and survival. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 10 oyster gardeners and
transcripts were coded to understand specific motivations, social–ecological memories and meanings,
Keywords:
and sense of place, and how these relate to oyster gardening. Oyster gardeners’ social–ecological memo-
Civic ecology
ries of and meanings related to oysters and the NYC estuary were tightly intertwined with their sense of
Volunteerism
Sense of place
place and motivations. These links suggest that whereas altruistic concern related to improving the envi-
Social–ecological memories ronment is an important motivation for environmental volunteerism, the specific focus of environmental
Restoration volunteerism may be driven by social–ecological memories, meanings, and sense of place derived from
Oysters experiences with and the features of local places and species. In some cases, this process may rise to the
level of creation or recognition of iconic species, which implies additional motivations for environmental
volunteerism, including ecological and socio-cultural meanings attributed to species as well as fascina-
tion and related aspects of biophilia. The results suggest that government agencies and non-profits might
consider a broader suite of functions that environmental stewardship serves for the volunteers, includ-
ing attachment and memories related to particular species and places and their ecological, historical, and
cultural values.
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).

1. Introduction (Andersson, Barthel, & Ahrne, 2007; Connolly, Svendsen, Fisher,


& Campbell, 2013; Haase, Frantzeskaki, & Elmqvist, 2014; NYC
Volunteer environmental stewards play an important role in Department of Parks & Recreation, 2011; Pataki et al., 2011; Wolf,
the collective management of small plots of land, streams, and Blahna, Brinkley, & Romolini, 2011), as well as to broader collab-
other natural resources. Whether allotment or community gar- orations of non-profit organizations and government focused on
deners, friends of parks or watershed groups removing invasive resolving environmental problems (Fisher, Campbell, & Svendsen,
species, or urban tree planting communities of practice, these vol- 2012; Hansell, Hollander, & John, 2009; Sirianni, 2009; Svendsen &
unteers contribute to the local provision of ecosystem services Campbell, 2008). Further, the social–ecological memories (Barthel,
Parker, Folke, & Colding, 2014), memorialization (Tidball, Krasny,
Svendsen, Campbell, & Helphand, 2010), and symbols and rituals
(Tidball, 2014b) associated with tree planting, community garden-
∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Natural Resources, Fernow Hall, Cornell
ing, and other community environmental stewardship, or “civic
University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States. Tel.: +1 607 255 2827.
E-mail addresses: mek2@cornell.edu (M.E. Krasny), src85@cornell.edu ecology” practices (Krasny & Tidball, 2012), may become a social
(S.R. Crestol), kgt2@cornell.edu (K.G. Tidball), rcs6@cornell.edu (R.C. Stedman). mechanism that contributes to resilience in cities and elsewhere

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.08.003
0169-2046/© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
M.E. Krasny et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25 17

(Berkes & Folke, 1998; Tidball, 2014a). Because of these outcomes, (NY/NJ Baykeeper, 2012). Similar to live oaks in New Orleans, which
understanding what motivates volunteers to engage in environ- are an important cultural and social–ecological symbol of the city
mental stewardship is critical. and play a role in sense of place of local residents (Tidball, 2014b),
Studies of motivations of environmental volunteers draw from oysters played a major role in the cultural, economic, and environ-
psychological studies of community service volunteerism (Clary mental history and were once iconic of NYC as a place, as detailed in
et al., 1998), which take as their starting point Katz’s (1960) func- the popular book The Big Oyster: History on a Half-Shelf (Kurlansky,
tionalist framework for the study of attitudes. Katz (1960) claims 2006). Today, a small but committed cadre of volunteers is working
that the same attitude may serve different psychological functions to restore oyster populations decimated by pollution and habi-
for different people, including instrumental or adaptive (satisfies tat loss. Volunteer oyster gardeners work with scientists to place
utilitarian needs), ego-defensive (aids in handling internal con- cages with young oysters at locations throughout the estuary, and
flicts), value-expressive (helps maintain self-identity and enhances to monitor the oysters’ growth and survival. Thus, the case of vol-
self-image), and knowledge (helps us understand and give mean- unteer oyster gardeners in the NYC estuary holds particular interest
ing to our surroundings). Others expanded on this attitudinal work as an example of urban environmental stewardship that potentially
to explain behaviors, including volunteerism, and showed how integrates social–ecological memories (Barthel, Folke, & Colding,
behaviors serve different functions for different people; thus a sin- 2010) and meanings (Tidball, 2014b) with the literature on vol-
gle observed behavior may have multiple causes. For example, Clary unteer motivations (Clary et al., 1998), including motivations of
et al. (1998) showed how volunteer activities that appear simi- environmental stewards.
lar serve multiple functions that address the various psychological More specifically, this study explores the following questions:
needs of participants, such as to express altruistic or humanitar- What memories and meanings do volunteer oyster gardeners
ian values or to improve career chances. Studies of environmental attribute to oysters in the NYC estuary? How are these memo-
volunteerism applying functionalist approaches have found that ries and meanings associated with sense of place? What motivates
participants rank wanting to improve the environment as their oyster gardener volunteers to participate in the oyster gardening
most important motivation for volunteering (Asah & Blahna, 2012; program? In answering these questions, we hope to integrate pre-
Bruyere & Rappe, 2007; Measham & Barnett, 2008), which is con- vious studies of environmental volunteers using a functionalist
sidered a values-based or altruistic motivation (Clary et al., 1998). approach, and work that has pointed to the importance of sense
Studies that measured actual engagement in volunteerism over of place in environmental volunteerism.
time found that frequency and duration of volunteer activities may
have different motivations than those for initial volunteering, with
motivations for prolonged volunteerism including personal moti- 2. Literature review
vations such as ego defense (e.g., wanting to feel less guilty about
human damage to the environment, Asah & Blahna, 2012) and per- 2.1. Studies of volunteer motivations
sonal enhancement (e.g., opportunities to use one’s expertise, Ryan,
Kaplan, & Grese, 2001). A springboard for many studies of volunteer environmen-
A smaller number of studies have focused on the role of sense tal steward motivations is functionalism, which is based on the
of place in driving or motivating environmental volunteerism premise that “people come with needs and motives important
(Amsden, Stedman, & Kruger, 2013; Andersson et al., 2007; Gooch, to them and volunteer service tasks do or do not afford oppor-
2003) or as a predictor of more general pro-environmental behav- tunities to fulfill those needs and motives” (Clary et al., 1998,
iors (Stedman & Ingalls, 2014; Stedman, 2002), as well as on how p. 1529, see also Snyder & Omoto, 2008). Clary et al.’s (1998)
a desire to recreate or memorialize the past (Tidball et al., 2010) Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) focuses on six psychological
coupled with biophilia (Tidball, 2012) spurs people to collective categories of purposes or “functions” served by volunteerism: Val-
tree planting and similar volunteer civic ecology practices partic- ues (expressing altruistic concern), Understanding (gaining skills or
ularly after disturbances or disaster. Other research has explored knowledge), Social (building relationships), Protective (assuaging
the role of individual species or groups of organisms in motivating negative feelings), Career (practical experience), and Enhancement
environmental volunteerism. These include flagship species, i.e., (personal development). While originally developed within the
charismatic mega-fauna used to generate broad public support for context of community service, the VFI has been applied and mod-
conservation (Campbell & Smith, 2005; Campbell & Smith, 2006), ified in studies of environmental volunteerism. Importantly, the
as well as iconic species that carry historic and cultural meanings Values category has been redefined as expressing concern for the
specific to a particular place (Maynard et al., 2012; Petter et al., environment and is the primary motivation found in studies of why
2013). people become engaged in environmental volunteerism (Asah &
Given the importance of sense of place, social–ecological Blahna, 2012; Bruyere & Rappe, 2007). Other motivations reported
and biophilic memories, flagship and iconic species, and other in the literature include socializing, giving back to and connect-
phenomena specific to environmental volunteerism, we wondered ing with one’s community, leaving a legacy for future generations,
how a consideration of such factors might add to existing studies learning about the natural environment, reflection or escape and
of environmental volunteerism. These factors may be particu- exercise, educating others, attachment to the environment, envi-
larly important in urban and disturbed systems, where people ronmental care ethic, and wanting to assuage guilt about human
have strong memories of past, seemingly more positive environ- damage to the environment (Asah & Blahna, 2012; Bruyere &
ments and a sense of loss that such conditions no longer exist (cf. Rappe, 2007; Gooch, 2003; Liarakou, Kostelou, & Gavrilakis, 2011;
Livingston, 1981). Measham & Barnett, 2008; Warburton & Gooch, 2007).
To expand our perspectives on environmental stewardship Bramston, Pretty, and Zammit (2010) formalized earlier efforts
volunteerism, we undertook an initial qualitative study of the moti- to apply Clary et al.’s (1998) functional approach in environmen-
vations of oyster gardeners in the New York City (NYC) estuary, and tal stewardship studies by integrating literature on environmental
of the memories, meanings, and sense of place they associate with attitudes, values, and behavior into a new Environmental Stew-
their work. We focused on the oyster gardening program under the ardship Motivation Scale (ESMQ). When testing this instrument
auspices of the non-profit NY/NJ Baykeeper, whose goal is to restore with rural residents and university students in Australia, three
oyster populations in the NYC estuary thus “allowing this keystone dimensions emerged that define the scale: caretaking the envi-
species to begin playing its natural role in cleansing our waterways” ronment, social belonging, and learning. These dimensions parallel
18 M.E. Krasny et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25

other environmental concerns and values classifications, which into why an individual with Values or altruistic motivations would
have focused on the biosphere, other people or altruism, and the specifically choose environmental volunteerism.
self (Schultz, 2001; Stern, 1994). Symbolic and emotional meanings developed through active
In addition to research focused on environmental stewardship experiences are important in developing sense of place (Pred,
more broadly, several studies have narrowed in on volunteers help- 1983), and social–ecological memories can be a means for stew-
ing to conserve particular organisms (e.g., sea turtles) or groups of ards to retain and transmit ecological practices and knowledge and
organisms (e.g., trees). In a survey of sea turtle volunteers in FL to generate ecosystem services (Andersson et al., 2007). Tidball
that was designed using the VFI, Bradford and Israel (2004) found (2014b) explored the importance of symbolic meanings to volun-
that concern for sea turtles was the primary motivator, reflecting teer tree planters in post-Katrina New Orleans. Most important,
a Values motivation with a species specific focus. In qualitative trees symbolized “survival, stability, strength, and longevity”, or the
interviews of Earthwatch volunteers engaged in sea turtle con- “rootedness” of the people of New Orleans and their will to survive
servation in Costa Rica, motivations similarly included a desire to and rebuild. Further, memories, even vague notions of the land-
help or contribute to turtle conservation, as well as those that were scape based on distant and transmitted information that may not be
unique to the Earthwatch experience including gain fieldwork or accurate, can be important in creating sense of place and motivating
research experience, and travel and learn about a culture, which volunteer stewards (Gooch, 2003). Again working in post-Katrina
would fall under the VFI Understanding and possibly Career cat- New Orleans, Tidball (2014b) found collective or social–ecological
egories (Campbell & Smith, 2005). In a related study, Campbell memories, defined as the “means by which knowledge, experience
and Smith (2006) applied Kellert’s (1997) classification of values and practice about how to manage a local ecosystem and its services
associated with wildlife in interviews of sea turtle conservation is retained in a community, and modified, revived and transmitted
volunteers and found that conservation, scientific, esthetic, human- through time” (Barthel et al., 2010), along with loss of the legacy
istic, and experiential values related to sea turtles predominated, of live oaks and associated social, cultural, and ecological values,
while intrinsic, existence, and spiritual values were less evident. spurred collective tree planting.
Values missing amongst the sea turtle volunteers included utilitar- Important to our study of volunteerism centered on oysters,
ian and ecological values; thus these volunteers were concerned Tidball (2014b) goes further to suggest that live oaks became
about poaching and other threats to turtle populations and were “social–ecological icons” or iconic species that reify and reconsti-
attracted by a charismatic species, but showed little concern related tute a host of meanings, memories, and place values specific to
to the broader environmental problems underlying sea turtle pop- New Orleans. Although similar to flagship species in that they cap-
ulation declines. ture the imagination of the public and become rallying points for
In contrast to Campbell and Smith’s (2005, 2006) studies of vol- conservation, iconic species are unique in that they can be flora or
unteers working in an exotic setting distant from where they live, fauna and they draw on local history, social–ecological memories
Gooch (2003) conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured and meanings, and sense of place.
interviews of volunteers working locally with Landcare, Coast-
care, and other stewardship organizations in Australia. Her results
2.3. Oyster restoration in the NYC estuary
revealed a motivation not reported in the earlier functionally-based
survey and “exotic experience” sea turtle qualitative studies – i.e.,
The case of volunteer oyster gardeners in NYC has ele-
a personal attachment to the local area. Recognizing the social and
ments suggesting that symbolic meanings attributed to organisms,
ecological aspects of place (cf. Amsden, Stedman, & Kruger, 2010),
social–ecological memories of past conditions, and sense of place
Gooch (2003) reported that the volunteers identified strongly with
could be important to volunteer motivations. Oysters played an
the biophysical and social settings, i.e., the places, where they were
important role in the cultural, social, economic, and environmental
volunteering. Similarly, Andersson et al. (2007) and Barthel et al.’s
history of NYC, starting with pre-European Native American inha-
(2010) qualitative studies of allotment gardeners found that sense
bitants of the island of “Mannahatta” and continuing through the
of place was an important driver for involvement, and Measham
decline of oyster populations and estuary health in the early and
and Barnett (2008) found that sense of place plays an important
mid-20th century. Before pollution and overfishing decimated its
role in multiple forms of environmental volunteerism.
populations, the Eastern oyster was such an integral element of
NYC’s culture and economy that the species become an iconic sym-
2.2. Memories, meanings, and sense of place
bol of the city as a place, lending it the nickname “The Big Oyster”
(Kurlansky, 2006). In the late 19th century, huge middens of oyster
Stedman (2002) defines sense of place as a combination of
shells were found along the NYC waterfront, oysters were cheap
place meaning, i.e., the symbolic meanings that people ascribe to
and plentiful, and oyster fishing was a major source of income;
settings, and place attachment, i.e., the bond between people and
hence New Yorkers were constantly reminded of the bivalves with
places or the degree to which a place is important to people. Place
which they shared the estuary. However, because the NYC oyster
attachment in turn may be broken down into place dependence,
fishery started to collapse in the early 1900s, few oyster garden-
i.e., the potential of a place to satisfy an individual’s needs by pro-
ers had direct social–ecological memories of oysters at the time we
viding settings for his or her preferred activities, and place identity,
conducted our study in 2012, and we were uncertain how familiar
i.e., the extent to which a place becomes part of personal identity
the oyster gardeners were with the history of oysters in NYC.
or embodied in the definition of the self (Jorgensen & Stedman,
2006). Should they be found in studies of volunteer motivation,
these components of place attachment could contribute to a more 3. Methods
nuanced understanding of functional volunteer motivations. For
example, wanting to restore a place that is part of one’s self-identity 3.1. Setting and participants
or on which one depends for recreation or spiritual restoration
might be considered as a subset of Enhancement motivations; This exploratory study took place within the context of the oys-
however, items Clary et al. (1998) included under this category ter gardening program of the non-profit NY/NJ Baykeeper, which
(feeling important, needed, or better about oneself, or increasing trains about 15–20 oyster gardener individuals or groups (e.g.,
self-esteem) may not fully capture identity and dependence. Alter- schools) each year. The oyster gardeners are provided with a cage
natively, sense of place related motivations may provide insight of 300 young oysters that they place at a mutually agreed upon
M.E. Krasny et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25 19

Table 1
Interview questions for volunteer oyster gardeners.

Interview question Purpose or study construct

Please talk about how you first became involved in the oyster gardening effort. Background information
What motivated you to become a volunteer oyster gardener? Motivation general
Please describe any childhood memories of relatives, friends, or community members Motivation oysters, memories
who were commercial oyster men or otherwise engaged with oysters. Please also
describe any general memories you have about oysters in your community.
(Follow-up question: If you can talk about any stories you were told or experiences
that were shared with you about personal or community involvement with oysters,
please do so.)
What do oysters mean to you? Do they carry any special meaning? (Follow-up Motivation oysters, meaning
question What do they represent? Or, what significance do they hold for you?)
Please talk about the role of oysters in New York City’s history or the history of your Motivation oysters, historical knowledge
neighborhood. (Follow-up question: What you have read or heard about oysters?
What do you know about oysters as a former symbol of what it was like living in the
city [or the borough an interviewee has identified with]?)
Please tell me about the past environmental health of the NYC estuary and the role Motivation oysters, ecosystem knowledge
oysters may have played in estuary health.
Please describe any interest you may have in learning about oyster biology and Motivation oysters, interest in oyster biology and ecology, fascination
ecology. with oysters
What can you tell me about the decline of oysters in the NYC estuary? (Follow-up Motivation oysters, knowledge about oyster decline
question: How did you acquire this knowledge [e.g., from reading, from oyster
gardener training]?)
What role do you see restoring oysters playing in restoring ecosystem health in the Motivation oysters, knowledge about link between oysters and
NYC harbor? (Follow-up question: How did you acquire this knowledge [e.g., from ecosystem
reading, from oyster gardener training]?)
Sometimes people engage in environmental stewardship as an act of defiance in the Motivation oysters, restoration as act of defiance of past and current
face of what they see as past and current attacks on the environment. Please insults to the environment
describe how any desire to defy what you see as attacks on the environment plays a
role in your decision to be an oyster gardener. As an oyster gardener, what role, if
any, do you see yourself playing in standing up for the environmental integrity of
the NY estuary?
How do you feel about the work that you are doing currently with oysters? What Motivation oysters, feelings of making a difference ecologically or
impact is your work having? On oysters? On the harbor ecosystem? On your culturally, via oyster restoration
community?
Of all the factors we have discussed that might relate to your decision to become an Motivation general
oyster gardener, which one(s) are the most important?
If there were a volunteer gardener program focusing on clams or mussels instead of Motivation general
oysters, would you join it? Can you explain why or why not? (Follow-up question:
Would the meaning of your volunteer work change for you if it was clams or
mussels?)
Do you volunteer in other conservation activities? If so, how do your motivations for Motivation general
volunteering in the oyster gardener program differ from your motivations for these
other programs?
We are trying to understand if oysters are an important factor in motivating you to Motivation general
volunteer for this program. Is there anything else you would like us to share?
In addition to oyster gardening, what role do oysters play in your life? For example, do Sense of place, role of oysters and memories of oysters
you eat oysters, collect them along the beach in another location, enjoy studying
them?
We are also trying to understand if oysters are an important factor in how people feel Sense of place, role of oysters and memories of oysters
about NYC. Is there anything else you would like us to share?

location in the Hudson/Raritan Estuary, and then monitor oyster eastern reaches of Jamaica Bay in Queens north to the Bronx. Inter-
growth and mortality for one year. During the 2012 season, 18 viewees were divided equally between men and women; ranged
individuals or groups participated in the oyster gardening program. in age from mid 20s to late 60s; and held diverse professions,
Requests for interviews were emailed to 12 gardeners who were including an attorney, a college professor, a psychologist, an Ameri-
participants in a separate study of oyster genetics; sites for the Corps environmental educator, a head of a marketing business,
genetics study were chosen to ensure a geographically representa- a NYC Parks Department natural areas manager, a director of a
tive sample of the NYC estuary. In addition to being geographically community-building nonprofit, and three retirees (including two
representative, these sites were used in this study for logistical former engineers). Half had lived in NYC since birth, with others
reasons (we were able to travel to sites with the genetics study having residency from 6 months to 30 years. Four of the interview-
crew). All of those contacted accepted participation in our study, ees had participated in the oyster gardening program for multiple
but we deleted two sites where a group (e.g., school) was con- years.
ducting the program rather than a single individual. Thus our final
study population included 10 oyster gardeners who were conduct- 3.2. Interviews
ing their volunteer work in sites geographically representative of
NYC’s estuary and five boroughs. The 17 open-ended interview questions were designed to gather
We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with the information about what drew the volunteers to the oyster gar-
10 gardeners in the vicinity of each participant’s garden site dur- dening program and what drives their feelings toward their work
ing July and August 2012. The selected sites maintained by the (Table 1). The interview included: (1) an open question about
interviewed oyster gardeners were distributed across the Hudson- what motivated them to become involved in the volunteer pro-
Raritan Estuary, from the southern end of Staten Island to the gram; (2) more structured questions that specifically addressed
20 M.E. Krasny et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25

how various aspects of oysters per se, including social–ecological 4.1. Memories, meanings, and sense of place
memories and meanings associated with oysters and oyster gar-
dening, might play a role in motivating oyster gardeners; and (3) Volunteers described memories and meanings attributed to oys-
questions to determine the role of oysters and the actions taken to ters and to the NYC estuary, as well as an attachment to NYC, its
restore them in the gardeners’ sense of place. The questions were waterfront, and estuary, and in some cases its oysters. Responses
designed specifically for this study based on our interests in apply- related to these constructs tightly coupled cultural/historical and
ing social–ecological meanings and memories and sense of place to ecological elements of the estuary and thus might be considered
understanding volunteer motivations. At the request of NY/NJ Bay- as social–ecological meanings and memories (Barthel et al., 2010),
keeper, the politically sensitive subject of seeking to restore oysters and are consistent with descriptions of sense of place as inte-
with the intent of consuming them or reinstating the oystering grating ecological and community elements (Amsden et al., 2010).
industry was not pursued, though participants were not forbidden Social–ecological memories included personal memories involving
from speaking about these motives. The interviews ranged from 30 a family member who had related stories about oystering, memo-
to 60 min and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. ries based on lived experiences of the estuary, and memories that
were the result of reading or hearing stories about past environ-
3.3. Data analysis mental and social conditions in the estuary.
Only two gardeners recollected childhood stories that directly
We employed supervised content analysis and used an itera- addressed oystering, both of which were transmitted by their
tive process to code all the interview transcripts using categories grandfathers. One of these gardeners, whose grandfather had been
related to what gardeners overtly or implicitly expressed as moti- an oysterman on Staten Island, recalled memories and meanings
vations for their stewardship behavior, as well as the meanings and related to a sustainable way of life.
sense of place they attributed to oysters, NYC, and its estuary. The I remember my grandfather telling me about the way the water-
second author coded all the transcripts with respect to the pres- men lived, their families. . . It was a really sort of closed system
ence or absence of support for a proposed motivation (e.g., whether where they repaired the boats, built the boats, . . . So there was
personal memories of oystering serve as a motivation), while allow- a whole way of life, if you would, and many, many thousands
ing motivations and meanings not specifically addressed in the of people, I think, were sort of employed by this and I guess for
interview questions to emerge. Going through the transcripts mul- many decades, sustainable.
tiple times and adding codes (simultaneous, nested or hierarchical
coding, cf. Saldaña, 2013) introduced more subtleties to broader He continues with more specific memories and insights about
motivation categories, such as adding culture, economic, and envi- shellfish, water quality, and marine habitat.
ronment subcodes to a broader code of history of oysters in NYC; or “. . . when I was a boy, the oysters had been gone for some time.
cleaner water, marine life, and childhood subcodes to the broader There was still a large clamming industry here and maybe a hun-
code of memories of oysters. The initial and additional codes were dred men made their living from clamming when I was a boy.
entered into Atlas TI software. And the water was much clearer; the bottom was covered with
After conducting the first rounds of coding, the second author sea grass and seaweed, alright. But today the ocean is clearer,
discussed initial categories with the other authors. Throughout the it’s sort of almost back to the cleanliness that I remember as a
subsequent iterations of the coding process, she regularly discussed boy but the bottom is still, the habitat, I don’t think has been
the coding with the first author so as to develop jointly agreed restored. I’m not seeing the grass and things like that that I
upon coding schemes. The first author then read all the trans- would see.
cripts as a check on the second author’s coding scheme, and offered
insights on additional codes, which were incorporated into the A second gardener, whose grandfather had told him stories
final coding scheme. Although we did not quantitatively tabulate about oysters, recalled how oysters were part of history and con-
numbers of responses due to the small number of study partici- tributed to water quality.
pants, we were able to readily discern common and less common . . . when you tell [others] that [Tottenville, Staten Island] was
responses and those that were discussed with greater richness of a thriving resort area back in the 1800s, they’re amazed, and I
details. think the oysters were a good part of that, keeping the water
clean at the time.
3.4. Validity
Another gardener articulated the historical connections
between the use of the waterfront and water quality.
Construct validity reflects how well the constructs (e.g., sense of
place, social–ecological memories) in a study reflect existing the- So I would say that the history of the waterfront and water qual-
ory. We used in-depth discussions and review of our interview ity in the estuary are hopelessly tied to each other. And they’re
instrument by experts in sense of place, symbolic meanings, and going to continue to be hopelessly tied to each other because
social–ecological memory to ensure construct validity. We also the usage of the waterfront a lot of times is going to determine
used an application form administered by NY/NJ Baykeeper that the quality of the river.
included questions about motivation as a means to triangulate the
Sometimes an awareness of how water quality had improved
results from the interviews. Finally, two individuals working with
over recent years provided a vision for the future, which gardeners
the oyster gardening program through NY/NJ Baykeeper reviewed
connected to the volunteer stewardship activities.
an initial draft of our results.
. . . when I worked on the Bronx River. . . I would read up on some
4. Results of the work that people did with Bronx River Alliance 20 years
ago. . . and 30 years ago on the river, and they were pulling like
Using quotes from the interviews, we first report on how the vol- cars out of the river and refrigerators, and it was a dump, and
unteers describe memories, meanings, and sense of place related I’m sure those people when they were doing that, they probably
to oysters, following which we report on other motivations for thought, “okay, we’re doing this to clean the river but maybe this
volunteering. river will never get cleaned,” and a few years [later] I’m working
M.E. Krasny et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25 21

on an oyster reef in the Bronx River, which . . . they never even about the oyster culture here in New York City definitely helped
thought possible. deepen my connection to the city. And I have found that really
interesting and intriguing, but it was also just a way for me to
Memories readily translated into meanings, which similar to
connect with the former role the city had as a seaport.
memories, included socio-cultural and ecological components.
Prominent among the meanings attributed to oysters was the In short, volunteers had distinct social–ecological memories,
notion of filter feeders that would remove pollutants from the meanings, and more broadly a sense of place related to oysters and
water, as reflected in a reference to oysters as the “liver” of the the NYC estuary. We turn next to the relationship of these and other
estuary. factors in motivating their volunteer activities.
If the East River, where we are, is a living organism. . .we used
to have the largest population of oysters, and we no longer have 4.2. Other motivations for volunteering
that. To me, that’s almost like cutting out the liver from the
human. And if we can rejuvenate the oyster population. . .and I just really enjoyed . . . learning about oysters, the history of
bring back some life to the East River, then I think that says a oysters in New York City. . . they provide so many ecological
lot for our own population. That’s why [oysters are] important services, I want to be involved in this because it seems like
to me, because I want the river to be healthy again. something that needs to return to New York City . . .
Other meanings reflected lost habitat and how those losses I just love the opportunity to be connected to the water
related to everyday life. One gardener pictured oysters as a “missing again. . .I’m not really gonna fish in Brooklyn, but [oyster gar-
link” between the city’s inhabitants and its natural habitat; another dening is] just a way for me to engage and connect with the
as symbolic of NYC’s “forgotten waterfront”. water.
They kind of symbolize this lost habitat and, and all the changes, Related to their memories, meanings, and sense of place, oyster
symbolic kind of changes that have happened to urban areas gardeners expressed a strong desire to recover, restore and connect
like New York City . . . people are afraid of the water, and just to a healthier estuary and waterfront in which oysters had played
these just terrible notions of the environment, and so for me a large role; thus a sense of loss related to what the city and its
they symbolize just this missing link that . . . New Yorkers don’t estuary used to be played a role in volunteer motivations. We also
have to nature anywhere. found specific environmental and other functions that restoring
I think they’re a symbol of New York’s sort of forgotten water- oysters would serve including as a means to filter the polluted estu-
front and an asset that one time fed and made incredible ary waters, and thus bring back the water quality and the thriving
incomes for a lot of people. . .You know, when you think about community of birds, fish, and humans that once depended on oys-
New York now you don’t think about the ocean. You don’t think ters. Educating others about oysters emerged strongly as another
about the Hudson River. You don’t think about the estuary. Peo- commonly discussed motivation, and additional motivations
ple used to think about that because of the oysters. included desire to contribute to research, fascination with oys-
ters, and recreation. We discuss these motivations in more depth
Similarly, comments about oysters as symbolic of a “growing below.
and bustling” city, as a regional cultural icon similar to lobsters, and
as representing the past’s food stand “hotdog”, reveal how oysters
had multiple socio-cultural meanings. For example, 4.2.1. Environment

. . . they were so plentiful that they were very inexpensive and All 10 interviewees were drawn to oyster gardening at least in
were essentially poor man’s food. And I love the fact that they part by a desire to use oysters as a means to improve NYC’s marine
were sold on carts the way they sell hotdogs today! And that it environment, thus expressing Values motivations. This focus on
was like street food. improving the environment also dominated answers oyster gar-
These quotes suggesting the importance of oysters to NYC deners shared on their application surveys (NY/NJ Baykeeper,
provide evidence of the role of oysters in the gardeners’ sense of unpub. data). Such functional motivations can be related to notions
place, including the identity component of place attachment. Mem- of place dependence, or how people use the estuary. As in their
ories that remerged as a result of oyster gardening also could lead statements about memories and meanings, the gardeners inte-
to identity-based notions of attachment, as in the comments of one grated ecological with social and economic functions of oysters
gardener who focused on the links between the ecological role of when talking about the importance of restoring them to the envi-
oysters and boyhood memories. ronment.

When I was a boy here there was a really large fishery here that You may not want to eat them for generations, but they’ll serve
depended somewhat on worm production. And the tidal flats to filter out many of the undesirable contaminants in our water,
where that was, are gone now. You know the big mud fields and and also serve as food for fish and other wildlife that might want
stuff? So I was kind of really surprised when I opened the oyster to come up our way, and there could be a rejuvenation of the
cages and could smell some of those aromas that I used to smell coastal areas of New York—hopefully.
from the mud flats; the sort of sulfur chemistry that can form. I think that if we restore oysters to Jamaica Bay. . .not only will
And, but also, to see worms and shrimp and things like that, that it clean the water, but then if we’re able to actually do some
I hadn’t seen up close in years now living amongst the oysters. type of a program where we could farm them. . .it will actually
The place dependence aspect of place attachment related to oys- create jobs.
ters was also evident in the gardeners’ responses, as for example The oyster gardeners were aware that their individual efforts
this gardener who talked about how learning about the former were small compared to the scale of the water contamination.
oyster culture helped her to bond to the city in general:
In the back of my head I don’t know about how an oyster garden
I’ve lived here long enough that I’m fairly connected, but not can make a big difference, but I thought it would take us a step
significantly connected. But I would have to say that learning in the right direction toward bringing the harbor a little bit back.
22 M.E. Krasny et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25

At the same time, they felt that they were part of a larger move- Gardeners also hoped they could influence environmental
ment that collectively could make a difference to the future of the and conservation behaviors, sometimes through enhancing place
estuary, even if they might not be present to witness that future. attachment that rested on ecological meanings.
I just tell [others] I’ve got a little oyster garden. . .and all we’re The more people you connect to [the waterfront and
doing is tracking them. But it’s part of a larger project to–to estuary]—that you bring to the park just to have basic recre-
eventually establish a billion oysters in the harbor. ation, to educate about the river, it’s going to make them care
about it. And that’s really what’s important. Because when you
I can someday see 50-foot oyster beds out here, and people
care about something you want to protect it.
being able to fish out of the harbor. Probably not in my life-
time, but I really believe there’s the potential for that to happen. In one instance, a gardener went beyond environmental behav-
And if they’ve been able to reverse what was going on in the iors to suggest that oysters might symbolize an “iconic” shift in the
Chesapeake Bay, at least, what I think has been going on, in my meanings people attribute to NYC and in the success of the conser-
lifetime, it certainly can happen here. vation movement, similar to how the return of beaver had been a
symbolic moment for the transformation of the Bronx River, thus
This latter quote in particular reflects our earlier statement
enhancing New Yorkers’ place identity.
about the conjoining of place identity and dependence-based moti-
vations: people want the ecosystem services that a healthy oyster I want New York City to succeed and I want it to be a place
population can contribute to, and they see that this healthy ecosys- where people come and not only say “oh look at all the pretty
tem then becomes part of the local iconography, with ecosystem buildings,” but they come to the waterfront and say “oh look at
health embedded in place meanings that underpin place identity. that beautiful, beautiful estuary. Look at that river. Look at how
Despite their memories and the multiple meanings they gorgeous it is. . .” You know I would love to see wetlands come
attributed to oysters, as well as the role oysters played in their con- back, and mud flats come back, and marshes come back, and to
necting to the water and the city, most gardeners, when asked if come to the waterfront and learn about the history which is oys-
they would join a volunteer program cultivating another bivalve ters and to have the oysters come back and have people not only
such as clams, answered positively because “any filter feeder” understand what that means but to celebrate it—to be excited
would do the same thing. about it. Because I feel like when that happens there is going to
be this huge iconic moment for conservationists everywhere, or
I think that oysters are, oysters are maybe charismatic, maybe
just people everywhere who love the environment or the love of
because they’ve got this really awesome history as a city and,
New York City to be like “look! Look what’s back!” Like. . .”yay!”
and they provide all these different ecological surfaces that
It’s like when otters, it’s like when the beavers came back to the
other shellfish don’t. Like they, they reef, the 3-dimensional
Bronx River. You know? People were like “oh my gosh!” So it
structure and they’ve got all these really neat things about them
was exciting. I want it to be that same excitement for people.
and they don’t really live here anymore. So they’re kind of like a
mystery and so they’re intriguing but, but I think I would defi- For some gardeners, attracting the attention and, ideally, the
nitely support other shellfish kind of work because mussels and support of the NYC government also served as an end goal.
clams, they still do same filtering as oysters do and they also
Habitat loss and environmental pollution. . .[I]f you can change
provide habitat and things like that. . .
that, you’re going to have a return of oysters. . .that’s doable and
who’s going to do it? We’re going to do it. How are we going to
4.2.2. Education and changing behaviors do it? We have to convince the City of New York to get involved.
The desire to educate others was a common motivation, inte- I mean we can do it on our own small scale like we’re doing over
grating teaching about cleaning the environment with the history here on this marina but it has to connect with the government
of the city and its reliance on oysters and other marine resources. because it’s very expensive to, to change the. . .infrastructure of
In addition, gardeners felt that by teaching others about oysters, the city so that you can keep that particular animal alive, and
they would be able to influence behaviors and even change city that requires the government to get involved.
government policy. Gardeners had multiple audiences for their
educational efforts, including inner-city children, school groups
and their parents, scouts, and the gardeners’ own children. For 4.2.3. Additional motivations
example,
I work with inner city kids and. . .most of them. . .don’t have Other volunteer motivations included contributing to oyster
exposure to nature and the natural world. [With hands-on expo- restoration research through monitoring their individual cages,
sure] they start to realize the link between the animal and what fascination with oysters, and opportunities for recreation. Con-
they’re eating and understanding that it is a native animal that tributing to research may help counteract what volunteers feel
used to live here and could be found in the waters around here is their small contribution to oyster restoration, given that oyster
and I think that’s pretty neat for kids. survival rates are often low.

Education extended to more informal settings. A recurring topic We’ll hopefully learn something from this project, and it’ll help
was using oyster gardening as a starting point for conversation in the long run, although this particular one may not be success-
about the ecology and history of oysters: ful.

I think that popularizing—publicizing restorative efforts, is In addition to a desire to gain a deeper understanding about
important, and educating people about the many things that oyster biology, ecology, and role in filtering the estuary, a more
can go on. And oysters. . .it’s sort of a catchy thing. I tell people general fascination with oysters motivated some volunteers.
that I have this. . .little cage of oysters out there, and they just I’m a huge invertebrate fan in general. Love ‘em!. . .their life
think that’s real cool. And then you can talk about restoring the cycles are just so alien to us. . .I think bivalves are so much fun.
estuary: what it used to be, and how it will be in the future. So They’re just really neat, like the whole way that they live their
it’s a positive—it’s a massive—it’s an educational vehicle to have lives, and how they’re mobile and then they’re sessile. And then
people become more aware and be supportive. just how they can change their gender throughout the year, I
M.E. Krasny et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25 23

think, right? It’s just really cool. And then the way that they just whereas sense of loss coupled with memories, meanings, and sense
know to settle near each other. of place might be a precipitating factor or selective motivation for
environmental volunteerism (cf. Liarakou et al., 2011).
Finally, several gardeners referred to recreation, including time
Another perspective is to consider memories and related mean-
for reflection and relaxation and spending time with family, as a
ings as elements of place dependence and identity, which are
motivation.
components of place attachment. Wanting to restore or bring back
. . .it’s not even work to me; it’s just a pastime. . .You can col- places that have been lost or altered, but that have meaning to
lect your thoughts and just relax for a while, so it’s very, very us, are part of our identity, and on which we depend (Tidball &
peaceful. Stedman, 2013) might be more related to ego motivations such as
Clary et al.’s (1998) Enhancement (e.g., increase self-esteem) moti-
It’s another way for me to engage with the water. My grandkids
vation category. Warburton and Gooch’s (2007) findings that elder
were here, and we took pictures with oysters, and I anointed
volunteers related environmental work to wanting to leave a legacy
them my research assistants.
for the land and for future generations also suggests an expansion of
Connecting to meanings, memories, and environmental motiva- the Enhancement motivation category to encompass place-related
tions discussed above, some gardeners spoke about oysters playing needs or functions.
a part in restoring waterfront recreation, a significant part of the Building on previous work that has expanded the VFI to encom-
city’s past. pass environmental concern (Asah & Blahna, 2012; Bruyere &
Rappe, 2007; Measham & Barnett, 2008), our study suggests further
I’m hoping that through this project and others like it, we can
broadening Clary et al.’s (1998) categories to capture fascination
rejuvenate our coastlines and bring back fish. I would love to
with oysters, or relatedly the biophilic connections and wonder
bring my daughter out here—well, we go fishing, anyway—and I
that are inspired by wildlife (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Kellert, 1997;
would love to bring her out here and be able to eat the fish that
Wilson, 1984). Direct contact with nature was the second most
we catch.
important motivation in a study of environmental volunteers at
a children’s camp in Greece (Liarakou et al., 2011), which sim-
5. Discussion ilar to nature fascination does not appear within the VFI scale.
Additionally, the finding of recreation as a motivation in this and
Our exploratory study of oyster gardeners supports the results other studies (Asah & Blahna, 2012) might be considered as an
of environmental volunteerism research drawing from a function- expansion of the existing VFI categories. For example, Enhancement
alist framework (Asah & Blahna, 2012; Bruyere & Rappe, 2007; might be broadened to capture the unique reflective, biophilic, and
Measham & Barnett, 2008), in that wanting to improve the environ- other nature-specific aspects of environmental stewardship volun-
ment was an important motivation, and several other motivations, teerism, which is closely tied to nature-related recreation (Krasny
including desire to educate others and contribute to research, & Delia, in press).
were ultimately for the purpose of improving estuary health. Fur- Whereas social interaction motivations have been found in
ther, our initial research suggests that using multiple domains other studies of environmental volunteerism (Asah & Blahna, 2012;
of place attachment, iconic and symbolic meanings, and memo- Bramston et al., 2010; Bruyere & Rappe, 2007; Measham & Barnett,
ries in viewing environmental volunteerism may add a depth of 2008), they were not widely discussed by the volunteers in this
understanding to past functionalist approaches. Finally, our study study, except in the context of educating others. This may be
points to several new lines of inquiry related to the integration of due to the fact that the oyster gardeners we interviewed gener-
social and ecological elements in memories, meanings, attachment, ally work alone tending “their” oyster cage, rather than gathering
and volunteer motivations associated with particular places and together at a common site such as in invasive species removal
species. at city parks and other stewardship efforts. We also did not find
The links between the gardeners’ motivations for volunteer- wanting to be on one’s own, as has been reported for some forms
ing and their social–ecological memories, meanings, and sense of nature-based recreation (Manfredo, Driver, & Brown, 1983;
of place related to oysters and the NYC estuary suggest a possi- Zeidenitz, Mosler, & Hunziker, 2007), to be a motivation in our
ble pathway forward in conceptual frameworks for environmental study.
volunteerism. In particular, this and other work suggests that The finding that the oyster gardeners embedded social meanings
whereas the VFI Values or altruistic concern related to improv- within ecological meanings in describing their motivations sug-
ing the environment is an important motivation of environmental gests a tighter coupling of social and ecological factors in research
volunteerism, the specific focus of environmental volunteerism on environmental volunteerism. For example, oyster gardeners
may be driven by social–ecological memories, meanings, and sense clearly identified the ecosystem service of water filtering as impor-
of place derived from experiences with and the features of local tant to their motivations and meanings related to oysters, but also
places and species. In some cases this process may rise to the level connected this ecosystem function to social, cultural, and eco-
of creation of new or recognition of existing iconic species, such nomic aspects of the harbor, waterfront, and city as a whole. In
as oysters or live oaks, which suggests additional leverage points that the gardeners were familiar with Kurlansky’s (2006) account
for environmental volunteerism. Supporting this view is research of oysters in NYC, which integrates environmental, cultural, and
demonstrating that seeing a decline in environmental quality of a economic history, it is possible that this and related sources of
place or species imbued with certain meanings and attachments information (e.g., their grandfathers’ stories, their memories of
predicts intentions to engage in environmental behaviors such an abandoned waterfront and polluted water) may have influ-
as voting or joining an environmental activism group (Stedman, enced their perceptions. Regardless of the origin of their integrated
2002), as well as more specific actions taken on one’s own prop- social–ecological memories or meanings, this integrative thinking
erty (Brehm, Eisenhauer, & Stedman, 2013). Similarly, authors have has not been emphasized in the environmental volunteerism liter-
described how sense of place and wanting to bring back a past envi- ature yet is consistent with social–ecological systems perspectives
ronment perceived as more healthy were important in motivating in natural resources and environmental management (e.g., Liu et al.,
environmental stewardship volunteering in Australia and the US 2007; Pickett, Cadenasso, & Grove, 2004) and with Amsden et al.’s
(Gooch, 2003; Hull, 2014). Thus, altruistic values centered on the (2010) study demonstrating that individuals integrate aspects of
environment may be an underlying factor or primary motivation, their social community into their sense of place.
24 M.E. Krasny et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 132 (2014) 16–25

5.1. Limitations derived from studies of non-nature related activities? Do we main-


tain the VFI categories and use our findings and those of others
The generalizability of this initial study is limited by the small to suggest that sense of place and related elements explain spe-
sample size and the uniqueness of oyster gardening as a case cific types of volunteerism within the VFI categories? Or do we
of volunteer environmental stewardship. Further, the interview expand the number of functional motivation categories, or even
questions focused heavily on oyster meanings and memories and develop a new conceptual framework for viewing environmental
knowledge of oysters’ social–ecological role in NYC and its estu- volunteerism that incorporates past work on functional motiva-
ary, in addition to the more general questions about motivations; tions, nature connectivity, memory, meanings and symbolism, and
thus the results may be biased in favor of an over emphasis on oys- sense of place? Our exploratory study of oyster gardeners serves
ters. Finally, we did not distinguish between initial motivations and to provoke thinking about these questions, which future work may
reasons for continued or more frequent volunteer activity. address to provide understanding that can be applied to supporting
community environmental stewardship, including in cities.
5.2. Applications
Acknowledgements
The results of our study suggest that government agencies and
non-profits wishing to leverage volunteer efforts for ecosystem The authors thank Meredith Comi, Kerstin Kalchmayr, and vol-
services production might consider a broader suite of functions unteers of the oyster gardening program at NY/NJ Baykeeper, and
that environmental stewardship serves for volunteers. For exam- Matt Hare for introducing us to the oyster gardening program.
ple, knowing that volunteers are often motivated by wanting to Funding for this research was provided by USDA National Institute
restore a particular species or place, or by a desire to leave a legacy for Food and Agriculture administered through Cornell University,
for the environment and future generations, organizers of such multistate project NECC1011.
efforts might consider specifics of the species and places that are
the subject of volunteerism. Species and places that hold particular
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