Today I sent out a letter Dr. Forsyth and I created to gather additional materials to give survey participants. These organizations include the Chesapeake Bay Program, The Chesapeake Bay Organization, Waste Management, the James River Association, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and numerous others. I'm currently awaiting response and will post as they come in. Here is the letter;
Dear ________:
My name is Garrett Schlein and I'm currently a rising junior at the University of Richmond. I am working with Don Forsyth in the Jepson School of Leadership on a research project titled, "Individual and Collective Environmentalism: An Application to Watershed Conservation". The goal of this research is to extend some intriguing initial findings about who is more likely express a willingness to get involved in protecting and enhancing the local watershed. Dr. Forsyth, in his earlier work, focused on the Upham Brook subwatershed, but in this project we are expanding our focus to consider the Richmond region. We are contacting you at this time for two reasons. First, as an organization that is extremely active in this area, we wanted to alert you to our project and its goals. Second, we are also seeking any information or public service materials you might have to distribute to the individuals we interview. We are conducting a small-scale door-to-door survey, asking residents 10-15 questions about their (a) knowledge of the watershed; (b) their behavioral intentions with regards to protecting the watershed; and (c) their sense of community identity. At the conclusion of the interview we would like to leave educational materials with the interviewees, and so are seeking any such materials you might have available.
Thank you for considering this request. I will contact you again in a week to answer any questions you might have. If it easier for you to contact me before then my contact information follows:
Garrett Schlein
UR 1838
28 Westhampton Way
University of Richmond, VA 23173
Also, if our project can in anyway be made more useful to you and your organization, please let us know.
Thank you for your assistance in my studies.
Garrett Schlein
"What Moves Us?"
What moves us to join with others to protect and sustain our environment? Are our motivations self-centered, originating only from indivdual desires, or are we sometimes motivated by group-level, civic concerns?
When asked "what moves us," it is imperative to understand the motivation of ones actions in relation to the environment. The very essence of life; the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the land we utilize is the very fabric of defining the role of society. Therefore the question this research plans to address is how group and community level dynamics affect relationships to the local environmental action and policy. It suggest that one answer to the question "What moves us?", is "our groups and communities".
About Me
- Garrett Schlein
- I'm currently a rising senior at the University of Richmond. This summer I will be doing research from May 12th-August 1st.
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