Authors: Ms. Erin Bennett
Organizations: Blue Water Baltimore
Contact Person: Ms. Erin Bennett, ebennett@bluewaterbaltimore.org
Blue Water Baltimore proposes a behavior change project to increase the adoption, installation, and use of rain barrels in Herring Run and Direct Harbor watersheds to decrease stormwater runoff in Baltimore City and County. The project will test a pilot program on specific blocks in one Baltimore City and one Baltimore County neighborhood. We will shape the pilot program and address the audience's barriers and benefits as determined by the focus groups and surveys from Phase I. The pilot program will be adjusted according to evaluation results before the program is broadly implemented throughout areas of those neighborhoods.
Behaviors: Rain barrel installation and use
Behavior Pattern: Continous
The proposed project supports BWB’s broader mission of restoring the quality of Baltimore’s rivers, streams, and harbor to foster a healthy environment, a strong economy, and thriving communities. Increasing the adoption, installation, and use of rainwater harvesting systems will help control the volume of stormwater runoff entering the storm sewer system. In addition to fulfilling BWB’s mission, this project is driven by watershed plans which respond to the 2025 water quality goals established by the Chesapeake Bay Program. Increasing the adoption and use of rainwater harvesting methods will help meet the goal, “Implement a public education campaign for residents and businesses to encourage reduction of stormwater pollution,” identified in the Healthy Harbor Plan for Baltimore, MD. Additionally, this project would address Baltimore County’s Bear Creek/Old Road Bay (Direct Harbor) Small Watershed Action Plan which seeks to, “Promote and increase the use of rain barrels, rain gardens and bayscaping in upland areas.”
1) get rain barrel 2)install rain barrel 3)use rain barrel
Audiences: Waterfront/riparian landowners, Rowhome/town home/condo owners/renters, Detached single family homeowners/renters
Primary Audience: Detached single family homeowners/renters
Secondary Audience: Rowhome/town home/condo owners/renters
Demographics: Black or african american, Hispanic or latino, White
Ages: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+
How did you research your audiences: A combination of in-person interviews or focus groups and then broader surveys
Some external factors include the absence or near absence of green space at residences, particularly in Belair-Edison. Also, the $20 price, although discounted, could still be too high because Belair-Edison has a lower income when compared to the local and state median family incomes.
Some perceived benefits include less reliance on City water, better quality water for plants and vegetation, and a positive effect on the environment. See the Audience Research report for more details.
Outreach Tactics: Feedback, How-to-skills, Public commitment statements, Social diffusion
What media/communication channels did you use? Direct mail, Events, Face to face, Small group or public meetings
Individuals who participate in the program are giving up $20 to get a rain barrel. We discounted the rain barrel cost from $89 (retail value) down to $20 in order to provide a financial incentive.
In most cases, individuals are trading using their hose or outside water access for using a rain barrel with less water pressure.
How did you measure impact? Survey, Other
The rain barrel pilot program began in March 2015 with the development of outreach efforts and strategies, and connection of Blue Water Baltimore (BWB) with the pilot neighborhoods. Blue Water Baltimore Program Manager met with Dundalk Renaissance Corporation (DRC) and Belair-Edison Neighborhoods, Inc. (BENI) in March 2015 to discuss the timeline, structure, and goal of the two- year outreach and behavior change effort. Both community organizations connected BWB with community and block leaders who the community organizations thought would be most interested in participating in the rain barrel pilot program. BWB met with Watersedge Recreation Council in Dundalk and the block leader of Ardley Avenue in Belair-Edison. Both DRC and BENI assisted with reaching out to potentially interested individuals through door-to-door efforts, their one-on-one interactions as they work in the community, and neighborhood meetings. The BWB Program Manager attended the Watersedge Rec Council meeting and the Ardley Avenue block meeting to garner interest in the program and register residents for the program. Interested participants signed up for the program at both meetings.
Working with the Ardley Avenue block leader, the Program Manager set up an information session at which the rain barrel would be installed by BWB and neighbors could attend and receive more information on rain barrels. Although no neighbors attended even after showing interest in the past, the block leader suggested the Program Manager attend the upcoming block meeting to talk again about the rain barrel program. The block leader suggested that the neighbors will have to hear about the program several times before committing to participating.
Several individuals signed up for the program at the Watersedge Recreation Council meeting, but none were interested in hosting an information session at their homes to demonstrate rain barrels. However, if several individuals are interested without having to attend an information session, it may show there is not a need for it. We evaluated the pilot program strategies as the program progressed and determine if those strategies are worth pursuing as part of broad implementation.
Audience assessment in the form of a survey was conducted at the time of installation to assess the individual’s knowledge of rain barrels, the plan for use of the water, and opinions on the outreach and educational materials used throughout the pilot program. A few months after the rain barrel was installed, an additional survey was conducted to gauge the individual’s use and opinion of rain barrels. The participants will also be signed up for the automatic alert which will send the participant an email or text message reminding to empty the rain barrel due to impending rain.
No more than a few months after the rain barrel was installed, an additional survey was conducted to gauge individuals’ use and opinion of rain barrels. The results of the survey prompted BWB to change a few of the outreach strategies before broad implementation. For example, we received some feedback regarding the price of the barrel. Although not significantly less expensive, $20 for a rain barrel, installation, and site visit is perceived as much cheaper than $25. So, we offered the rain barrels at a discounted price of $20 for the broad implementation program. Additionally, we did not see the need or interest from the residents in attending a workshop to observe a rain barrel installation, so we did not pursue that strategy as part of broad implementation. We felt it was important to establish a relationship with the residents before “selling” the rain barrel program, so instead we focused our efforts on attending community meetings and community events. Because the community organizations holding the meetings are trusted by the community residents, we felt this was a good way to build report and not be seen as an outside organization just trying to sell our product or ideas. Also, attending the community meetings and talking to people face-to-face was seen as a better method of communicating than mailing materials to residents who have probably not heard of Blue Water Baltimore.
Additionally, we learned the Dundalk Eagle, a weekly newspaper, is popular among Dundalk residents, particularly in learning about programs and events offered in the community. As part of our outreach efforts for broad implementation, we placed two ads in the newspaper in the Spring of 2016. Additionally, a writer for the paper interviewed an additional rain barrel participant and wrote an article about rain barrels.
Broad implementation included reaching out to residents of all of Belair-Edison and Dundalk, not just targeted neighborhoods. Attending the community meetings resulted in a good amount of interest in the program, but, ultimately, not a large number participated in the program. There were around 30 individuals who expressed interest but did not follow through with the program. To determine the reasons they did not participate in the program, OpinionWorks surveyed 15 of the 30 individuals who expressed interest and from who we collected contact information (See attached). The results show individuals remember the presentation they saw about rain barrels, but felt they were not followed up with quickly enough. Although we aimed to contact interested parties within a week, perhaps aiming to contact them the next day would have been more effective in recruiting participants. Also, the time of year affected the likelihood of someone participating in the program. For example, if the individual heard about the program in the Fall, they were less likely to pursue the program because the weather would turn cold soon and there would be no use for the rain barrel. For many individuals, interest was then lost over the Winter. One or two individuals viewed cost as a barrier, but most said it was very reasonable. Some residents did online research on rain barrels after hearing about the program, and they were very much interested in getting the discounted barrel for $20.
A total of 29 rain barrels were installed in Belair-Edison and Dundalk as part of the broad implementation phase of the program. Our goal was to install 50 rain barrels. The same pre and post surveys conducted as part of the pilot program were given to the broad implementation participants
The greatest success of the program is the number of rain barrel adopters who also install and use the rain barrel. Although we were only able to follow up with 17 of the 27 participants, it was clear the rain barrels are used often. By offering installation as part of the rain barrel price, we addressed the installation barrier identified in the audience research conducted in 2014. An effective program aimed at increasing the use of rain barrels would not offer rain barrels without also offering installation.
The biggest challenges of the program were having to schedule outreach opportunities to coincide with scheduled community meetings and recruiting people to follow through with a rain barrel after expressing interest. It is important to contact the community far in advance of wanting to present at a community meeting to ensure there will be time on the meeting agendas. Also, community meetings only happen at most once a month and are often put on hold during the summer, so it limits the number of times you can reach residents through that venue. It is especially important to follow up with interested individuals very quickly after collecting their contact information. If possible, we recommend following up the next day to ensure the individual remembers the information and to maintain his or her interest.
A survey was conducted of a combined 16 people within Belair-Edison and Dundalk who had expressed interest in a rain barrel at some point throughout the program, but ultimately decided not to get one. People had very good recall of the original contact with Blue Water Baltimore where they learned about rain barrels and expressed interest. All 16 survey participants could remember that original contact and their expression of interest in a rain barrel.
Participants had specific reasons why they wanted a rain barrel, with some expressing a conservation ethic, and others citing a practical reason such as saving money on their water bill, preventing water leaking into their basement, or using the water for their garden. Two people specifically mentioned seeing a presentation by Blue Water Baltimore, and two people were referred or encouraged by people they know.
Almost all (93%) had an intended use for the water that would be collected in the rain barrel. All of them mentioned watering their lawn, garden, trees, or other plants.
Overall, participants reacted positively to the Blue Water Baltimore personnel who were in touch with them:
Survey participants made these additional observations:
In terms of additional information they wanted, people were most likely to mention a desire to have more choices in rain barrel size or style, or whether the rain barrel could be modified, and they wondered how to find that information. One person wanted to know how to store a rain barrel when not in use.
Based on this survey and the post-survey of residents who did purchase a rain barrel, the successes included offering installation as part of the "package deal," providing flyers for painting and maintenance, and partnering with other community organizations and outlets (papers, newsletters) that may be better known within the communities.
The greatest success of the program is the number of rain barrel adopters who also install and use the rain barrel. Although we were only able to follow up with 17 of the 27 participants, it was clear the rain barrels are used often. By offering installation as part of the rain barrel price, we addressed the installation barrier identified in the audience research conducted in 2014. An effective program aimed at increasing the use of rain barrels would not offer rain barrels without also offering installation
A survey was conducted of a combined 16 people within Belair-Edison and Dundalk who had expressed interest in a rain barrel at some point throughout the program, but ultimately decided not to get one. People had very good recall of the original contact with Blue Water Baltimore where they learned about rain barrels and expressed interest. All 16 survey participants could remember that original contact and their expression of interest in a rain barrel.
Participants had specific reasons why they wanted a rain barrel, with some expressing a conservation ethic, and others citing a practical reason such as saving money on their water bill, preventing water leaking into their basement, or using the water for their garden. Two people specifically mentioned seeing a presentation by Blue Water Baltimore, and two people were referred or encouraged by people they know.
Almost all (93%) had an intended use for the water that would be collected in the rain barrel. All of them mentioned watering their lawn, garden, trees, or other plants.
Overall, participants reacted positively to the Blue Water Baltimore personnel who were in touch with them:
Survey participants made these additional observations:
In terms of additional information they wanted, people were most likely to mention a desire to have more choices in rain barrel size or style, or whether the rain barrel could be modified, and they wondered how to find that information. One person wanted to know how to store a rain barrel when not in use.
Based on this survey and the post-survey of residents who did purchase a rain barrel, the successes included offering installation as part of the "package deal," providing flyers for painting and maintenance, and partnering with other community organizations and outlets (papers, newsletters) that may be better known within the communities.
The greatest success of the program is the number of rain barrel adopters who also install and use the rain barrel. Although we were only able to follow up with 17 of the 27 participants, it was clear the rain barrels are used often. By offering installation as part of the rain barrel price, we addressed the installation barrier identified in the audience research conducted in 2014. An effective program aimed at increasing the use of rain barrels would not offer rain barrels without also offering installation
Blue Water Baltimore partnered with Belair-Edison Neighborhoods, Inc. and Dundalk Renaissance Corporation. Both are well-known and trusted community organizations with whom we've worked in the past. We also reached out and attended some individual neighborhood association meetings within Dundalk, as well as Belair-Edison Community Association meetings.
Because word of mouth is one of the ways individuals hear about and are convinced to get a rain barrel, it was important to establish a good relationship with residents at the time of installation.