Selected Projects

Stormwater Business Education Outreach

We  recently facilitated a coalition of city and county partners in Washington to develop and test messages, images and products designed to raise stormwater awareness and provide simple behavior changes. Using social marketing principles, these were tested in focus groups with automotive businesses around the state. We found that auto-related businesses liked the tagline “Only Rain Down the Drain” and preferred  the 4Cs wall poster to help educate employees. Our focus group report details the motivators, barriers and preferences of these businesses.  We pilot tested the 4Cs poster and spill kits and got feedback from business owners through an online survey and in-person interviews. The results are documented in the Pilot Campaign Evaluation Report.

Do you wonder why some written materials work and others don’t? Our background research report  uncovers why some printed materials are more effective than others.

WasteWise Newsletter Web Survey

For the 2nd consecutive year, we  assisted Kitsap County in evaluating how well the Waste Wise Communities Newsletter communicates and connects with the public. Using an online survey, we collected information on the usefulness, readability, content, and design of the newsletter. The analysis addressed significant differences in responses based on geographic location, gender and age. The results are used to understand the needs of target audiences. Interested in the results from this year’s survey? View the report.

Backyard Pet Waste Campaign

Did you know that dogs in Kitsap County produce over 11 tons of waste per day? And that pet waste is a contributor to fecal coliform bacteria found in local waterways? We assisted the Kitsap Peninsula Clean Runoff Collaborative in evaluating a pet waste education effort in five pilot neighborhoods. Using a web-based survey, we compared the effects of a direct mail outreach campaign to comparable control neighborhoods. The survey addressed self-reported behavior change and reactions to the direct mail postcards, including images, messages, reaction to the giveaways, and attitudes towards other information vectors for messaging.

STORMing Puget Sound Media Campaign

Cunningham Environmental was part of a consultant team for the STORMing Puget Sound Regional Educational Campaign. We helped shape the media campaign through formative research on everyday activities that impact stormwater. We conducted focus groups around the Sound to get feedback on images and messages for an upcoming TV ad campaign and website. We discovered that awareness of the linkage between your own backyard and Puget Sound is crucial for understanding that individuals are contributing to water pollution through their daily behaviors. The tagline, “Puget Sound starts here” and a TV ad that aired in the fall of 2009 and spring of 2010 evolved from this research effort. Read the STORM Focus Group Findings.

Stormwater Hotline Messaging Focus Groups

We conducted two focus groups of Kitsap County citizens to discover how best to communicate about stormwater issues and publicize a reporting hotline. The focus groups provided a setting for detailed and open-ended discussion about their awareness about how the storm drain system works and their ability to identify spills that could impact water quality. We used this forum to test messages and images that would both educate and motivate citizens to report spills and illicit discharges, and to find out which methods of educational outreach would be most effective.

Business Stormwater Management

We conducted 100 in-person interviews of business owners and managers in the City of Bellevue followed by two focus groups. The business survey was based on an extensive literature review to identify barriers and motivators for businesses to implement and comply with stormwater Best Management Practices. The focus groups with food service and automotive business owners explored in more depth the findings from the interviews. Our consultant team recommended business outreach strategies and messaging based on our research. The focus group research led to the development of award-winning posters.

Transfer Station Recycling Survey

On any given day, King County residents are queued to recycle at the transfer station drop boxes. The County was interested in finding out why the recycling services are heavily used and needed data on who the customers are and what materials they are recycling. The County also wanted to know what percentage of the transfer station's customers subscribe to curbside recycling and garbage collection. Ellen designed the survey instrument, supervised the field crew, created an Access database, and analyzed trends and patterns from more than 1,000 surveys. The results were beneficial to County staff since many of the outcomes could not be predicted based solely on observation. The data are being used by County staff to plan for future recycling at the transfer stations and for promoting curbside collection.

Natural Soil Building Program

As part of a team of evaluation experts, Ellen played a key role in developing measurable outcomes for the Seattle Public Utility's natural soil building program. In response to Seattle's asset management goals, Ellen was instrumental in crafting a five-year evaluation program that focuses on behavior changes. The program goal is to educate residents about cultivating a greener Seattle through soil improvement, water conservation, and reduction of pesticide use. Ellen designed three surveys: 1) a phone survey to identify barriers and incentives in using the Natural Lawn & Garden Hotline, 2) a mail survey for customers purchasing yard waste bins and Green Cones to identify the target market, and 3) another mail survey for Green Cone purchasers to find out about customer satisfaction and use.

Household Pharmaceuticals Survey

Zero Waste Washington is a non-profit advocacy group working to keep Washington a leader in recycling and product stewardship. With a grant from The Russell Family Foundation, ZWW contracted with Cunningham Environmental to develop the groundwork for a pharmaceuticals take-back pilot project that will make unwanted household pharmaceuticals as easy to return as they are to purchase. One of the main motivations for the project is that in the past people have been told to flush unwanted medicines down the toilet where they enter surface water. Ellen designed a phone survey of King County residents to determine disposal practices, awareness of the environmental impacts of disposal options, and willingness to utilize pharmacy drop-off programs. The survey results supported the viability to pilot test a take-back program of unwanted medicines, which was then implemented at select Group Health pharmacies.

In the next program phase, Ellen designed self-administered surveys for Group Health pharmacy customers aimed at uncovering motivators and barriers to using the medicine return dropbox. Ellen also designed an online survey for the pharmacists to uncover their level of engagement with project and get feedback about their attitudes towards the pilot program and suggestions for improvement. The results of both these surveys were used to modify the program before expanding it to nursing homes and other pharmacies throughout western Washington.

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