Positive Public Communication Tools for Enhancing Wildlife-Road Safety in the Chebucto Peninsula Region, Halifax, Canada
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Positive Public Communication Tools for Enhancing Wildlife-Road Safety in the Chebucto Peninsula Region, Halifax, Canada by Holly K. Blackmore Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Community Design: Community Design and Sustainability at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia April 2019 © Copyright by Holly K. Blackmore, 2019 ii DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY DATE: April 19th, 2019 AUTHOR: Holly K. Blackmore TITLE: Positive Public Communication Tools for Enhancing Wildlife-Road Safety in the Chebucto Peninsula Region, Halifax, Canada DEPARTMENT OR SCHOOL: College of Sustainability DEGREE; Bachelor of Community Design: Community Design and Sustainability Permission is herewith granted to Dalhousie University to circulate and to have copied for non- commercial purposes, at its discretion, the above title upon the request of individuals or institutions. I understand that my thesis will be electronically available to the public. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author’s written permission. The author attests that permission has been obtained for the use of any copyrighted material appearing in the thesis (other than the brief excerpts requiring only proper acknowledgement in scholarly writing), and that all such use is clearly acknowledged. _______________________________ Signature of Author iii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the wildlife of Nova Scotia, and to the people who devote their lives to protecting them. iv Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ viii Glossary ......................................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ..........................................................................................................................................1 The Halifax Green Network Plan ..........................................................................................................2 Wildlife-Road Interactions ....................................................................................................................2 ‘Extinction of Experience’ .....................................................................................................................3 1.2 Purpose of Study ..................................................................................................................................3 1.3 Research Questions .............................................................................................................................4 1.4 Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................................................4 1.5 Research Assumption ..........................................................................................................................5 1.6 Methods ...............................................................................................................................................5 1.7 Scope, Limitations and Research Bias ................................................................................................6 1.8 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................................7 Chapter 2: Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Chapter Introduction ............................................................................................................................8 2.2 Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence .........................................................................................9 2.3 Conservation Messaging Strategies ...................................................................................................10 2.4 Infographics as a Communication Tool ............................................................................................12 2.5 Human Connection to Nature ............................................................................................................13 2.6 Road Ecology ....................................................................................................................................14 2.7 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................................................................15 Chapter 3: Methods ....................................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Approach ...........................................................................................................................................17 3.2 Location Description .........................................................................................................................17 3.3 Data Collection and Analysis Methods .............................................................................................19 Literature Analysis ..............................................................................................................................19 v Creation of Guidelines ........................................................................................................................20 Important Messages ............................................................................................................................20 Creation of Infographic .......................................................................................................................21 3.5 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................................................................21 Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis ................................................................................................. 23 4.1 Common Themes and Connections in the Literature ........................................................................23 4.2 Guidelines ..........................................................................................................................................26 Guidelines for Creating Positive Communication Messages ..............................................................27 Guidelines for Creating Effective Visual Communication Tools ........................................................28 4.3 Important Messages ...........................................................................................................................30 4.4 Visual Communication Tool (Infographic) .......................................................................................32 4.5 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................................................................35 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion ......................................................................................... 36 5.1 The Chebucto Peninsula ....................................................................................................................36 5.2 Opportunities and Challenges ............................................................................................................37 5.3 Strengths and Weaknesses .................................................................................................................39 5.4 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................................40 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 42 Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 51 vi List of Tables Table # Description Page # 1 Search Terms 9 2 Guidelines for creating positive communication messages 27 3 Guidelines for creating effective visual communication tools 29 4 Love and action messages 30 5 Literature Search (Google Scholar) 51 6 Literature Search (Web of Science) 52 7 Literature Search (ProQuest) 53 vii List of Figures Figure # Description Page # 1 Green Network (Zoomed into the Chebucto Peninsula) [Map] Halifax 18 Green Network Plan 2 Literature categories and themes 24 3 Travelling the Road to Coexistence (Infographic) 34 4 Thesis Poster 54 viii Abstract Wildlife-vehicle collisions occur frequently and are hazardous for both humans and animals involved (Huijser, et al., 2016; Fudge, Freedman, Crowell, Nette & Power, 2007; Ramp, Wilson & Croft, 2016). Urban (and other) developments are leading to habitat fragmentation, which results in the displacement of many animal species