Relational values, motivations, and benefits drive community commitment to urban predator control for ecological restoration

Abstract Volunteers play a crucial role in urban ecological restoration, and in the Aotearoa New Zealand context, volunteer effort is a central tool used to drive landscape‐scale conservation outcomes. Here, we identify the motivations and benefits that drive community involvement and commitment to conservation initiatives, drawing on a unique case study of a large‐scale, urban, introduced‐predator control initiative in New Zealand. We conducted an online survey of 311 residents who had or had not participated in voluntary efforts to control introduced mammalian predators in an urban context. We use structural equation modelling to demonstrate that commitment to predator control can be understood as a function of an individual's relational values, their motivations for, and the benefits they derive from participating. Relational values were positively associated with commitment, the motivations that prompt participation (environmental, social, and a desire for restoration and exercise), and the benefits derived from participating (personal satisfaction and attachment to the site). People who volunteered in a community group devoted more time and reported greater commitment to predator control than those who were not part of a group. The results suggest that relational values may be a deep leverage point in social‐ecological systems to promote behaviour change. Our findings help explain why people participate and provide important information that will assist practitioners to develop strategies to engage and retain volunteers and make environmental volunteering a mutually beneficial experience for the natural environment and people. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.