Registration Now Open for Spring Workshop on Creating Successful Behavior Change Campaigns

Contact: Robert Burg, LISS Communications Coordinator
Phone: 203-977-1546/email: cbsm@longislandsoundstudy.net
Web: www.longislandsoundstudy.net

Stamford, CT, Feb. 18, 2020—Registration has opened today for an educational workshop targeted to environmental managers and advocates of Long Island Sound and its rivers and streams. The spring training focuses on developing effective environmental behavior change campaigns.

The two-day workshop, which will be held at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, is being led by Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr, an internationally known environmental psychologist. Dr. McKenzie-Mohr will explain the steps to conduct Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM), a method that incorporates scientific knowledge on behavior change into the design and delivery of locally-based outreach campaigns. Attendees will learn how to select the most impactful behaviors, identify the barriers and benefits to change, pilot-test a campaign, and make improvements for broad-scale implementation. Lessons will be based on numerous case studies illustrating CBSM’s use.  More than 75,000 program managers have attended Dr. McKenzie-Mohr’s workshops throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. This will be his first in the Long Island Sound region.

Traditional environmental campaigns rely on information to try to persuade people to change their behaviors, such as providing a brochure explaining how over-fertilizing a lawn can lead to poor water quality.

“There is a lot of evidence that providing information by itself is not enough to motivate people to improve their environmental practices,” said Holly Drinkuth, co-chair of the Long Island Sound Citizens Advisory Committee and Director of Outreach and Watershed Projects for The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut. “We are excited that Dr. McKenzie-Mohr will be here to take us through the steps that lead to successful campaigns and meaningful change.”

“A CBSM pilot project conducted in the Niantic River watershed, led by the Long Island Sound Study in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the Niantic River Watershed Committee, demonstrated that people are willing to change behaviors when they are asked to by a trusted local entity,” said Judy Rondeau, coordinator for the Niantic River Watershed Committee and Assistant Director of the Eastern Connecticut Conservation District. “Over 70 percent of homeowners agreed in the pilot to participate in our campaign, which encouraged homeowners to reduce or eliminate the use of lawn fertilizer.”

The Long Island Sound Study is pleased to offer this workshop at a reduced rate. Early registration is recommended as only 50 seats are available.

The Long Island Sound Study is a multi-jurisdictional ecosystem-based management program that works with federal, state, and local partners to restore and protect Long Island Sound. NEIWPCC, with support from The Nature Conservancy-Connecticut and the Eastern Connecticut Conservation District, is organizing the workshop.

This project has been funded wholly or in part by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under assistance agreement LI-00A00384 to NEIWPCC. The contents of this workshop do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the EPA, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in relation to this workshop.