Get Grassy! Lawn Care Program Report. Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District

Transcription

1 Get Grassy! Lawn Care Program 2016 Report Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District

2 Contents: Get Grassy Lawn Care Program Report 2016 Program Overview... 2 Program Development... 3 Lawn Care Companies... 3 Communications... 5 Calendar of Events... 5 Franklin Soil and Water Publications... 6 Lawn Care Customers... 6 Paid Advertisements... 7 Press Release... 7 Pledges... 8 General Numbers by Community... 8 Lawn Care Company Program Reach Committed Behaviors Gift Preference Gift Expenses How are Residents Hearing About Get Grassy and Taking the Pledge? And When? Goal Future Suggestions

3 Program Overview 1. What is Get Grassy? Get Grassy! encourages central Ohio residents to take good care of their lawns because well-maintained lawns have deeper root systems, drought and disease tolerance, and are better for water quality. It was developed in 2015 and launched in 2016 by the City of Columbus and Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District. 2. Is this a pro-lawn campaign? No. Lawn is an important part of most home and commercial landscapes. Taking better care of existing turfgrass so that it s healthy enhances its environmental services by absorbing more stormwater and preventing soil erosion (soil is Ohio s #1 water pollutant!) This is not contradictory to backyard conservation techniques that can include adding biodiversity with native plants, or decreasing polluted runoff by installing rain gardens and rain barrels. 3. How does GetGrassy! reach Columbus-area residents? We reach residents in two ways: directly through public events (including educational workshops, and publications shared with our partners), and through their lawn care companies. We use eye-catching flyers, simple messages, visual reminders like rain gauges and magnets, and social media. Residents who pledge for better water quality receive a free gift as an incentive to participate. 4. How was it developed? Franklin Soil and Water and the city of Columbus developed this program with assistance from marketing professionals, local lawn care companies, the Turfgrass Science Extension Team at The Ohio State University, a focus group of central Ohio residents, and additional natural resource professionals and public agencies. 5. What are its goals? Our primary goal is to increase our reach to residents in promoting good stormwater practices: proper disposal of yard waste; mowing high; watering at the right time; keeping product off of hard surfaces and applying it correctly; and keeping rainwater on property to prevent polluted runoff. 6. How is Get Grassy! measuring success? Franklin Soil and Water is measuring participation and program effectiveness through pledge forms, website counts, and participant surveys. 7. How can I help or learn more? Take the pledge at Contact Sara Ernst at sernst@franklinswcd.org or to receive program updates or literature for distribution. 2

4 Program Development This program was developed with support and feedback from public agencies, professional organizations, non-profit groups, and lawn care companies (see Table 1). We progressively narrowed down our key points and messages for appropriate communications with the public (see Table 2). Further assistance was provided by two communications and advertising companies, Bluestem Communications and Murphy Epson. Table 1: Lawn Care Program Partners Public Agencies, Professional Organizations, and Non-Profit Groups 1 City of Columbus 1 Bio Green Ohio Lawn Care Companies 2 Friends of Alum Creek and Tributaries (FACT) 2 Good Nature Organic Lawn Care 3 Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) 3 Grassroots Lawn & Irrigation Service 4 Grange Insurance Audubon Center 4 Safe Lawns 5 Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) 5 Scotts LawnService 6 Office of Franklin County Commissioners 6 TruGreen 7 Ohio Lawn Care Association 7 Watershed Organic Lawn Care 8 Ohio State University - Turf Extension Specialists 9 Ohio Turfgrass Foundation 10 Sierra Club Lawn Care Companies Local lawn care companies were approached in 2015 with the assistance of two professional associations, the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation and Ohio Lawn Care Association; web searches including consumer sites such as Angie s List; and our board member Chris Wible who serves as Technical Services Director at Scotts LawnService. Seven companies agreed to help us develop messaging that is featured on getgrassy.org and a Seasonal How-To hot card. They signed commitment forms (see Figure 1) that allow us to continually monitor program success with their feedback and assistance. Figure 1: Excerpt from Commitment Form 3

5 Table 2: Message menu, online at getgrassy.org 4

6 Communications Outreach opportunities include educational programming where Franklin Soil and Water is hosting an event or an attendee; municipal and city-wide outdoor events; and popular special occasions like sales, festivals, or sporting events. Here s where we ve reached Columbus residents and professional audiences*. *Professionals include partners, such as local government representatives, non-profits, or lawn care companies. Calendar of Events April FSWCD Annual Tree sale April Earth Day- Columbus Commons April 23 GreenSpot- Online and in-person Ongoing July Jazz and Ribfest July 14 Ohio State Fair July August Franklin County Fair August 4 Environmental Professionals Network (EPN) Breakfast* August 9 Ohio Lawn Care Association Summer Field Day* August 11 September Strader s Reynoldsburg September 11 FSWCD Lawn Workshop The Dirt on Dirt with guest speakers September 17 October Oakland Nursery Fall Festival October 9 TruGreen/Scotts Employee Presentation* October 11 Dill s Greenhouse (tentative) -- November Lawn care company presentations for employees * Ongoing December Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Tradeshow* December 6-7 Lawn care company presentations for employees * Ongoing 5

7 Get Grassy! is publicized by internally-generated electronic and hard copy newsletters; within workshops and classes led by staff and partner facilitators; through social media; and with paid advertisements. Audiences include Franklin County residents, municipal working partners in surrounding cities, environmental engineering firms, and schoolteachers. Spring, summer, and fall lawn care tips were electronically sent out to partner agencies and lawn care companies (see Table 1) to be distributed among their respective audiences and clients. Franklin Soil and Water Publications Four district-generated publications regularly mentioned our new lawn care program and encouraged subscribers to take the pledge. They include Frankly Speaking (distribution 8,466); Urban Review (distribution 1237); SWIFT (distribution 500); Update to Partners (distribution 632); and E-Frankly Speaking/Backyard Conservation Update (distribution 4,499). Lawn Care Customers A hot card (see Figure 3) featuring logos of partnering companies is distributed among their customers with regular site visits. It helps promote best-management practices among employees, and reinforces company environmental stewardship with customers. See Table 3 for companies customer base which illustrates a potential audience of about 40,000! Lawn Care Company Employees Customers (Full-time & seasonal) Bio Green Ohio Good Nature Organic Lawn Care Grassroots Lawn & Irrigation Service Safe Lawns Scotts LawnService TruGreen (=Scotts) 20,000 Watershed Organic Total 35,800 Table 3: Lawn Care Company Client Base Figure 3: Hot Card 6

8 Paid Advertisements Two paid advertisements appeared in Columbus Monthly magazine- June issue (distribution 23,000) and Home & Garden magazine s fall/winter issue (see Figure 4). Figure 4: Home & Garden Advertisement Press Release The project s launch was featured in an April press release: Get Grassy! focuses on keeping local waterways clean and lawns green. Greater awareness of what we can do every day to reduce rain water runoff and reduce water pollution is at the heart of this program, says Jennifer Fish, Director of Franklin Soil and Water. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), and Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) have already implemented a 4R Nutrient program and fertilizer certification training, working with Ohio farmers to minimize nutrient water pollution as a result of improper field applications. While agriculturalists are doing their part, Fish knew that there was something more that could be done in more urban areas, and partnerships could be made. We are excited to be piloting this program with City of Columbus and the lawn care industry, says Fish. Through the Get Grassy! program, residents will be reached directly. 7

9 Pledges People are often more mindful and committed to behaviors when promoted to make a commitment. We ask residents to take a pledge to practice selected behaviors, and reward them with a rain gauge or soil test if they re Columbus residents (see Figure 5). The following information is data collected from pledgetakers, most of whom had signed up online. Figure 2: Gifts that pledge-takers receive via mail General Numbers by Community Percentage of Pledges Recieved, by Community 19% Columbus Hilliard 3% 3% 3% 4% 60% Gahanna Galloway Westerville 8% Grove City All other, combined (21) Columbus wins with 60% of pledge-takers, followed by Hilliard and Gahanna. Galloway, Westerville, and Grove City all have ten or more pledge-takers. 8

10 237 6 Communities with 10 or more pledges Columbus Hilliard Gahanna Galloway Westerville Grove City These cities represent nearly 84% of pledge-takers, and all but one has working partnerships with Franklin Soil and Water Communities with 5 or more pledges A total of 33 communities were reached, and about half of those contained less than 3 participants. 9

11 Lawn Care Company Program Reach Eighty percent of respondents do not use lawn care companies. Of our partnering lawn care companies, Good Nature Organic and TruGreen are reaching the most customers. Only about 12%, or 53, pledges have originated with lawn care companies. When asked what lawn care company they used, respondents cited 17 different companies, four of which company partners. This suggests that lawn care companies are not the best vehicle for customer outreach. Committed Behaviors Pledge-takers had to choose one of three items in three drop-down menu boxes on the website: I will keep rain on my property by: Using rain barrel Plant deep-rooted Ohio native plants Keeping my grass at 3-4", allowing it to absorb more water I can keep my lawn healthy by: Either making sure it has 1" water/week, or letting it go dormant Leave my grass clippings and mulched fall leaves on my lawn Keeping my mower blades sharp and mowing often, especially in the spring 48% 37% 22% 20% 15% 58% 10

12 I will keep pollution of of streams by: Minimize bare soil and erosion by planting grass or other plants, and using mulch Keep storm drains free of yard debris, spills, and litter Carefully follow label directions and keep fertilizer off hard surfaces and away from water 14% 46% 40% The most popular choices include: keeping grass higher, leaving grass clippings and leaf mulch on the lawn, and planting to minimize erosion. Gift Preference Of about 300 pledges, the majority received rain gauges. Of 87 soil test requests sent out, only 10 were redeemed. Franklin Soil and Water streamlined the process to ensure that test kits, already paid for, would be utilized. We required that residents fill out a simple form and send a cup of dry soil back to us for packaging. Then, we fill out the diagnostic information and mail it to The Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University. Since the paperwork is filled out and we pay the postage, we had hoped this would eliminate the inconvenience of the process for the customer. However, we aren t sure what forces prevent residents from moving forward with the soil test. 11

13 Gift Expenses Soil Test 61 soil $9 ea (39 sold at 2015 tree sale) $9.00 postage $1.15 pre-paid mail back baggie $5.00 postage for outgoing soil test to lab for analysis $5.00 expense when soil test not redeemed $15.15 expense when soil test redeemed $20.15 Rain Guage 250 rain ea $0.89 postage $2.41 total expense $3.30 Magnet printing $ postage (regular) $0.47 total expense $ Pledge Expenses 10 redeemed soil tests $ non-redeemed soil tests $1, rain guages $ magnents per mailing $0.80 total expense $1,

14 How are Residents Hearing About Get Grassy and Taking the Pledge? Paper pledges, 132 How did you hear about this program? (select one) 3% 4% Online pledges, % 12% Attended workshop Lawn care company Friend or neighbor 71% Outreach event Other How did you hear about this program? (other: fill in) Paid advertisements (FSWCD) Vague answers like " " or "website" Partner communications (county, civic associations, municipal and township, etc.) FSWCD newsletters, website GreenSpot members (City of Columbus) City of Columbus utility mailers Event(s) where paper pledges taken About 70% of pledges were taken online. Online respondents mostly selected the other category when asked how they heard about the program, with City mailers and GreenSpot Household enewsletter popular pledgegenerators. 13

15 And When? E-Pledge Volume by Month March April May June July August In its June update, GreenSpot Household enewsletter plugged Get Grassy! It received the most hits for all items mentioned in the newsletter. A small ad appeared in Columbus Monthly as well, but the pledges coincided closely with the enewsletter. Goal As of October, we have reached 35% of our goal with 402 pledges (out of 1150). This includes both paper pledges (112 received) that are distributed at events, and e-pledges (267 received). Goals outside of pledge numbers should be better defined. Future Suggestions Gift/incentive ideas: 1. Monthly drawing: Pledge-takers can enter to win: moisture meter, soaker hose,rain chain, watering timer for hose, gardening gloves, sundial, gardening/lawn care book, garden center gift certificate 2. Rain gauge: continue with same 3. Native seed envelope/ native plant pick-up week at end of season 4. If continue with soil tests, offer rebate for OSU soil testing (move to Backyards program?) 5. Mow High ruler; keep grass out of the street sticker or magnet (see Figure 6) Figure 3: Sticker/magnet concepts 14

16 Website changes 1. Add check box for addition into FSWCD updates 2. Add check box to receive getgrassy seasonal updates by 3. Notification when info submitted thank you for taking pledge! 4. Make program messages more visible. Pledge-takers probably don t see what the program messages are. Move pledge form to bottom of message page? 5. Lawn care partners logos- linked to their website Lawn Care Company: Retain and recruit E-updates 1. Invite existing and new lawn care companies to meeting to see if they d like to participate; sign new contract. 2. Survey- are they using e-update information? Are they distributing hot cards? Is content appropriate? 3. Technical panel for help developing factsheets 1. All municipal contacts should be added to communications Outreach opportunities Other 1. Challenge reaching unengaged audience without being a weird heckler. Wagon being retrofitted by interns. Make it a group event? Purchase booth space at public events so people have to talk to us? Focus more closely on nursery partners. 2. More opportunities for Ask a lawn care expert! 1. Lawn care bags 15