To engage students at Dartmouth, the class set out on two different avenues of outreach: a Pulse Survey asking more broad questions about knowledge and expectations of Trescott, as well as a focus group hike on the property. The hike not only supported the survey’s findings, but also delved deeper into these initial questions with an informal discussion.

Survey

We engaged the student population through Dartmouth Pulse, a survey platform built by Dartmouth students. The following results are from a survey of 85 students. The full dataset can be downloaded here.

Do students know about the Trescott Property?

0% of the participants of this survey could identify Hanover’s water supply by name, most believing our water comes from the Connecticut River.

Of those surveyed, only 9% have heard of the Trescott property.

It is clear that marketing the property to the student body is necessary to increase awareness. 

How do students interact with the outdoors?

As shown in the figure above the most commonly sought after activities are walking and running. This is a competitive space for outdoor recreation as many properties in the area offer trails of varying difficulty. Appealing to a different set of users as well is crucial to increasing student engagement.

Hunters, as discussed with respect to community members, fosters a healthier ecosystem at Trescott. Targeting student hunters, a more specific demographic, creates an opportunity for Trescott to differentiate itself. More outreach will be necessary to understand how to best reach the student hunting population as addressed below under recommendations.

Students care about views more so than any other quality of the lands. This goes hand in hand with the popularity of photography as a sought after outdoor activity. 

 

Recommendations

Launch Another Survey

In the span of five days we reached our survey cap of 85 students, which is only 3% of pulses user base. Surveys launched on pulse have a dramatically higher response rate from students over other methods such as blitz. This is due to the centralized nature of the platform as well as their rewards incentivization model. To obtain a wide survey of Dartmouth opinion we allowed all users to respond to this survey. A future step to gain more insight into the Dartmouth student population would be to launch larger scale surveys targeting sub-demographics of campus such as athletes, class year, and majors.

 

Focus Group Hike

Partnered with the Dartmouth Outing Club’s subset, Cabin and Trail (CnT), two students from from the Anthro 65 class led and went hiking at Trescott Property on Friday, May 26th 2017 with five CnT members. Our group comprised mostly of people who hike regularly but also included some who had little experience outdoors. We hiked about five miles and stopped at intersections along the way to discuss the story of the property. We covered recent history of the closure and reopening of the property as well as the past history of the poor farm and the building of the reservoirs. At the end of the hike, we convened in a focus group discussion and had participants answer questions about their experience at the property.

Findings from Hike
  1. Most of the students had not heard of Trescott before this hike. The one person who had heard of Trescott had hiked there once before. One person said that she might have heard of Trescott “ but I didn’t know anything about it or where it was.” 
  2. Each of the participants on the hike said that they would come to Trescott again to run or bike.
  3. All of the students enjoyed learning about the history behind Trescott,  as it “adds another layer to make the hike interesting” and “[it] was an interesting tidbit, like imagining where those had been physically and looking at the space differently based on what I had learned where those things used to be.”
  4. In terms of signage, students suggested having more trail markers and “one about the glossy buckthorn, the invasive plant [species]…I didn’t see one about that, and that seems like interesting information.”
  5. The students suggested better drainage on the trails and the removal of barbed wire to make the property more user friendly.
  6. To enforce/better know about the rules and regulations of the property, the students suggested clear signage at the entry points. The group agreed that signage would be helpful in enforcing rules. One student was optimistic that the past closure of the property had sent a clear message to the users that rules must be followed.
  7. And specifically reacting to what is presently at the entryway, one student said that while you can get in from Oak Hill, I don’t think there is a sign there.
  8. To better navigate the property, students suggested implementing more wooden signs, color-coded blazes and trail names.
  9. All members of the group except one did not know that their water comes from Trescott Property.
  10. Overall the students care where their water is sourced from. One student has her water sourced from her own well at home so public water infrastructure is not a topic she has thought much about in the past. One other student noted that in general she would like to know where her water comes from but being a busy college student, she is often absorbed in matters closer to her studies and campus life. Another student compared the Trescott Property reservoir to his public water source in Seattle and commented that his reservoir was strictly closed to the public with no exceptions. He liked the effort that Hanover is making to engage the residents with their own utilities.
  11. Overall the group said they were more inclined to follow the rules of the property knowing that it is their own water supply.
  12. The students agreed that if more people knew that their water came from that property, they would be more inclined to follow the rules.
  13. Alpine stewards are a great tool that many parks use, but they are generally received by a wider audience. Trescott’s number of visitors is “too low to warrant that service.” (Anna Ellis ‘19)

 

Our Interpretations and Further Thinking

The Property Itself

Not many Dartmouth students know of Trescott and the lands it has to offer to the public, suggesting that making Trescott known to students is a gap needed to be filled. All the students wanted to return, showing that Trescott offers a positive trail experience. Students said they wanted better drainage as well as more directional signs, such as implementing trail markers, more wooden signs, and color-coded blazes and labeling trail names. One educational aspect that can be added to the property is signage about the invasive plant species, glossy buckthorn. As this species is slowly taking over and replacing the native vegetation, devoting some signs to invasive species and other ecological threats is another teaching point in addition to the history.

The History

The students highlighted that the history lessons from the signs make Trescott Property unique in the area. However at the entrance to the property, there is no sign to alert users to pay attention to the cultural history markers. One way to do this would be to explain that there is a historical component of the property on the bulletin board at the main entrance and the Oak Hill entrance. Learning about the history of a single property is especially important in the Upper Valley and New England which is comprised of many small preservation areas. Knowing the history of one property could have external effects where people are inspired to learn about the history of another property that they frequent.

The Rules and Regulations

The students emphasized that clear and concise signage at the entrance points would be the most helpful in displaying and educating the public of the rules. However, having a catchy slogan such as “this is where your water comes from,” as suggested by the one of the students could better draw people’s attention and better understand the importance of keeping the reservoirs clean and pure. Just as the students in the focus group said that they are more inclined to follow the rules on Trescott now knowing that it is their own water supply, a more widespread campaign across campus and the community could lead to similar results. While none of the students had known where their tap water had come from around Dartmouth College campus, after informing them, it peaked their interest and their care for the property. One way to raise awareness would be to implement signs on several water fountains around campus with a short engaging informational placard.

 

Other Avenues of Engagement and Learning

Educating students on the importance of local water issues

Students at Dartmouth fall into Generation Z–the people born from the early 1990s onward. One thing that characterizes Generation Z is its commitment to positive social impact. Dartmouth Students care about global issues such as water, conservation, and climate change. Currently, many students are not aware of local issues pertaining to water and conservation. It seems that we do not have an issue with water scarcity in the Upper Valley. To busy, overwhelmed students local water quality may not seem like the largest issue. Students are not aware that ensuring safe, clean drinking water is a complicated, expensive task. There maybe many ways to educate students with water issues: through classroom curricula, extracurricular groups such as the DOC, and social media.

Using concern for energy issues in Hanover as a medium to encourage stewardship of Trescott Lands

One way to get students interested in water supply issues is to frame Trescott as relevant to other local issues. For example, there is a large emphasis on clean energy at Dartmouth and in the town of Hanover. Currently, Dartmouth generates around 30% of its electricity needs at its cogeneration power plant. The plant burns #6 oil, which releases a lot of carbon dioxide. There has been a push by the student body and faculty to move to cleaner forms of energy. Clean energy currently has widespread support among residents of Hanover. In May, the town voted to transition to clean, renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2050.

Members of the Hanover Conservancy and Julia Griffin, the town manager, mentioned that there is south facing land at Trescott that could be a potential location for a solar farm. A solar farm at Trescott would help both the college and the town of Hanover move toward their clean energy goals. A solar farm could bring a lot of positive attention to Trescott. Electricity production would allow the lands to be even more self sufficient, as the electricity could power the water filtration systems.

The attention of clean energy may draw residents and students to care about water supply and conservation. A solar farm could further promote the idea of community management. If students and residents feel Trescott is helping them accomplish their goals, they may be open to learning more about the property or volunteering.

UVTA could play a vital role in mobilizing support for solar projects. UVTA could share that message that there is a place for development within the spheres of conservation and recreational land use. UVTA is committed to encouraging stewardship of trails, but it is important that users do not become too protective of land. There is an opportunity for the UVTA and local conservation issues to mutually benefit by partnering to advocate for conservation, clean energy, clean water, and other local issues.