When winter’s over, most people head out to their favorite natural hangouts for some sun and warm weather. But how do we get more people to be more invested in maintaining those hangouts?

A University of Iowa Tippie College of Business researcher says a good place to start would be encouraging them to give nicknames to a lake, for instance, or tracing the route they’re planning to take on the trails.

A study from Andrea Luangrath, associate professor of marketing, says those sorts of activities can help create a sense of psychological ownership of a park so people become more invested in keeping it in good condition.

Even something as simple as putting up a sign that says “Welcome to YOUR park” can help, she said.

Luangrath’s study found 41% of kayakers who were asked to come up with a nickname for the lake they’re rowing in picked up floating trash. Only 7% of those who were not asked for a nickname picked up the trash.

In another experiment, she found that when cross country skiers were asked to map their route on the trails before they started skiing, 86% agreed to pay an extra dollar for preservation. Only 32% who were not asked to trace a route agreed to pay.

Luangrath says that nickname and route-planning encourages people to invest themselves in the public good by generating a sense of ownership and emotional investment that could be a new source of revenue for agencies looking to preserve public lands.