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Puget Sound Indicators
Engagement in stewardship activities
Basics
Vibrant Human Quality of Life
Sound Stewardship
Indicator
Engagement in stewardship activities
Vital Sign Indicator
Index Value (index value)
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No targets are currently set for this indicator.

Kelly Biedenweg
Kelly.Biedenweg@oregonstate.edu
Oregon State University
Contributing Partners
Last Updated
8/8/2023 10:10:49 AM
Map
New_MeanStewardship_Layout_JPEG.jpg
Mean Sound Stewardship response by Puget Sound county in 2022.
Description
This indicator is a measure of the extent to which Puget Sound residents engage in environmental stewardship activities that they perceive as meaningful to themselves, their community, and the environment. Because of the importance of intrinsic motivation to sustaining behaviors and overall human wellbeing, it also provides a measure of the degree to which engagement in stewardship activities contributes to wellbeing.
Vital Sign Indicator Chart
Engagement in stewardship activities
 

Index of Stewardship Engagement based on frequency of engagement across a five-point scale (where 1 is never and 5 is frequently or almost every day).

The indicator measures stewardship actions that are intended to improve some aspect of environmental health, and that the individual perceives as meaningful to themselves and their community. Data from this indicator can be used to inform outreach strategies and to identify potential predictors of observed change in environmental health.

Key Vital Sign Indicator Results
  • We measure Sound Stewardship by asking respondents how often they engaged in stewardship behaviors or activities for different reasons.
  • 3.36 was the average response in 2022, which equates to participants engaging in stewardship activities at least once a month, or “occasionally” based on a five-point scale.
  • Motivations for stewardship engagement are equally spread across communal, personal, and environmental motivations. See Interpretation of Results for more information.
Methods
Monitoring Program

Oregon State University's Human Dimensions Lab

Data Source

Oregon State University Human Dimensions Lab

Human Wellbeing Vital Signs Survey 2022 Summary Report

Data are collected every two years via paper survey and online response option to a random sample of Puget Sound households. The population is a clustered random sample of Puget Sound residents across 12 counties, with an initial sample of 9,000. Due to undeliverable addresses, the total sample reached was less than 9,000. In 2022, the response rate was 20.8 percent, with a total of 1,271 responses. In 2020, the response rate was 25 percent for a total of 1,843 respondents. In 2018, the first iteration of the survey, the response rate was 28 percent for a total of 2,323 individual responses.

The engagement in stewardship activities indicator is based on one question in the survey that asks respondents to identify the frequency of engagement in environmental behaviors from never to almost daily due to three different motivations: communal, personal, and environmental. These responses are then combined to form an index of stewardship engagement.

For more information on the survey, see Appendix A. Detailed Methodology and Appendix B. 2022 Survey Instrument in the 2022 Summary Report.

Critical Definitions
Interpretation of Results
We measure Sound Stewardship by asking respondents how often they engaged in stewardship behaviors/activities for different reasons using a five-point Likert scale. Chart shows 2022 survey results.

There are no significant differences in stewardship engagement since 2018.  This lack of change is expected, as we don’t anticipate measuring large changes in human experiences until several years of monitoring and large ecological or social influencing events.

Harrington, K., B. Leach, Z. Antenucci, and K. Biedenweg. 2023.  Human Wellbeing Vital Signs Survey 2022 Summary: A report on subjective human wellbeing indicators prepared for the Puget Sound Partnership.

Justiniano, I., C. Avendano, C. Lozano and K. Biedenweg. 2021. Vital Signs Latinx Survey. Report to Puget Sound Partnership.

Fleming, W., H. Kehoe-Thommen, B. Katz, J. Hart  and K. Biedenweg. 2021. Vital Signs Survey Summary 2020: A report on subjective human wellbeing. Report to the Puget Sound Partnership.

Fleming, W. and K. Biedenweg. 2019. Visualizing Human Wellbeing in the Puget Sound (Vital Signs Survey Summary 2018). Report to the Puget Sound Partnership.

Human Wellbeing Vital Signs Interactive Web-interface (2018, 2020)

Datasets

The Puget Sound Partnership believes in the transparency and accessibility of the data used to address puget sound indicators. These data are provided by contributing partners to the Partnership and are made publicly available through the Puget Sound Info site. These data are available on an "as is" basis and the Partnership is not responsible for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. Please acknowledge the monitoring program and data source when using these data and obtain permission from the Vital Sign Indicator Reporter to use these data in a publication.

Human Wellbeing Survey Results (all years)
Uploaded On
8/11/2023
File Type
Excel (XLSX)
Description
Survey results are provided for the subjective Human Wellbeing Vital Sign Indicators. Data were collected via survey to the general population of the Puget Sound Region in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Please acknowledge the Oregon State University Human Dimensions Lab and Puget Sound Partnership when using these data.
Reporting Guidance
Reporting Instructions
Subcategories

No Subcategories for this Puget Sound Indicator.