Abstract
Community partnerships are important because they enable successful conservation outcomes for many species. Although communities may support protective action when species are liked, engagement methods to increase support for other species are often ineffectual. Public attitudes about species such as bats can be particularly difficult to change because of entrenched misinformation. Trialling outreach activities designed to trigger positive emotions that might then be associated with bats has been recommended as a possible way forward. This community– researcher partnership in New Zealand used the process of correcting the previously shortened and misspelled name of Pekerau School to Pekapekarau School (meaning ‘multitudes of bats’ in the native Māori language) to co- create teacher- and child- led community activities focused on bats: a naming ceremony that centred Māori protocols and an art exhibition. Most of the school community is Māori. The teachers in our team led the creation of both community activities, along with the students. We considered that both activities were likely to evoke the positive emotion of ‘pride’ in their children, and potentially pride in their culture, as well as the feeling of ‘connectedness’ with their community. Together, teachers, students and researchers co- created a survey to understand how these activities influenced attitudes towards bats within the school community. Most of the 68 survey participants self- reported a change of attitude and an increase in positive feelings towards bats. People with higher levels of awareness that bats were present locally also reported greater changes in attitudes, highlighting the value and influence of outreach activities on attitudinal change, even to those already knowledgeable about the species.
These findings demonstrate how community partnerships can raise species awareness and foster a positive affinity that resonates culturally, which should encourage those who support and participate in outreach activities. We recommend further trialling of the co- creation, with communities, of outreach activities that evoke positive emotion in participants to increase positive attitudes towards threatened species. Attitude change may be greater if participants know the threatened species are present locally. Being familiar with the community and designing outreach activities that work for them, both in their setting and approach, were crucial to the success of the outreach activities. Enabling community members to lead when designing and delivering outreach activities, as our approach did, is likely to increase their effectiveness in fostering attitudinal change.