Karen DuBose
Pollution Identification and Correction Coordinator, Skagit County Public Works
- 1800 Continental Pl
- Mount Vernon, WA
- US
3 Comments
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Re: Do people 'read signs'?
2023-12-04 20:13:15 UTC
I think it depends. I can't direct you to research, but I can say that our roads folks always balk at signs because drivers notice them when they first go up, but after that it just blends into the background unless it has critical information on it (like STOP). I avoid signs for the same reason. But there are times when there's no other option, a well-designed sign with as few words as possible can at least catch some people. Our colleagues one county south managed to reduce the amount of dog poop left on the ground in a small park with just one, well-designed sign. Time will tell if the improvement sticks for more than a year.
In this case, I'd go with a small sign the size of maybe one of those home security signs stuck in the planter and interfering with where they'd usually put their butts with a very few words - just a few words like "please place butts in the receptacle" with an arrow pointing to it would likely work. A clever little pun or joke (again, few words) would probably catch attention too. You'll never get everyone, but it'll help train folks where the receptacle is and build a new habit of putting it there. -
Re: Stand Against Corona Pledge and Study Results on Prosocial Messaging to Motivate Collective Action
2020-06-01 23:31:53 UTC
I haven't seen any studies, but this reflects what I saw as a social media manager for our county during the 8 weeks I was working on COVID messaging. All I have is impressions from my experience, but I think they're right that people were likely self-selecting.
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Re: Dog Poop Citizen Science Examples?
2020-05-26 13:30:54 UTC
I don't have any citizen science examples for you, but this is a great start! If you have a GIS Department, or if you can set up a Survey 123 app yourself, you could take the data collection online. Our neighboring county needed the ability to track where wildlife is in order to find wildlife poop to sample for a DNA project, and they made a map that could allow members of the public and staff to submit where they saw different wildlife. You could easily do this with piles of dog poop to see if you can track hotspots. And then you'd have maps that may look scandalous enough to show the public to cause some level of outrage. Make sure the media gets a copy of the map, and be ready for an interview!
Do you have any volunteer groups that would be willing to take poo-tracking on for a weekend? Student groups would totally work too. Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. I'm thinking a short, intensive survey would be handy. That way, you'd know you weren't double-counting piles. You could even combine it with flagging each pile for a week or two like Springfield, MO did. https://fox4kc.com/news/is-this-your-turd-springfields-cleanup-flags-dog-poop/ I've really, REALLY wanted to imitate this program in some of our more popular areas with a scout troop, just haven't had the time. And I suspect our problem has a lot more to do with lazy yard pickup rather than walks.
Anyway, I hope that helps! Good luck!
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