Local greenspaces are important for children of all ages and backgrounds

New data published today by Natural England today shows that the majority of children and young people are regularly spending time outdoors. 

 

Natural England’s Monitoring of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) report found that 70% of all children in England under the age of 16, and 64% of young people aged 16-24 are said to be spending time outside at least once a week. However, there are still clear inequalities with children living in lower income areas being less likely to visit the natural environment compared with those living in areas of higher income. 

 

The findings highlight the importance of local greenspaces, including urban parks, recreation grounds and playgrounds for children’s play and experience of the natural world. Across all age groups and backgrounds, local greenspaces provide an important opportunity for children to experience the natural environment on a regular basis, with these spaces becoming even more vital for children who are least likely to visit the natural environment frequently. 

 

This is one of the reasons why Natural England is leading a new cross-government project to review and update standards for green infrastructure, in addition to working with the Parks Action Group, to overcome barriers to access, and to ensure England’s public parks and green spaces meet the needs of communities now and in the future.

 

The Government, through its 25 Year Environment Plan, published in January 2018, has set an ambitious target to improve the environment within a generation, kicking off this target with the launch of the Year of Green Action, focusing on connecting people with the environment to improve health and wellbeing. Within this, Government has set out a range of commitments to enhance opportunities for children, young people and adults from all backgrounds to engage with the natural world, and to help improve social injustice by opening up the mental and physical health and wellbeing.

 

As part of this Plan, Environment Secretary Michael Gove recently announced the Children and Nature Programme, awarding £10 million in funding to help support more children from deprived areas to have the opportunity for experiences in nature within a variety of local natural environments, including school grounds, community forests, woodlands and care farms.

 

Liz Newton, Director of Strategy Development, Natural England, said:

 

“It is important that all children and young people have the opportunity to visit natural environments on a regular basis to support their health and wellbeing. 

 

“The MENE Children 2017/18 report confirms that children from lower income areas are visiting the natural environment less often than children from higher income areas. It also highlights the importance of local green spaces - including urban parks - as important spaces for children of all ages and backgrounds to discover and experience the benefits of the natural environment.  

 

“Through the work that Natural England is leading on the Children and Nature Programme, part of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, we are committed to connecting more children with their local natural environments, particularly those children from lower income areas.’’ 

 

 

Graham Duxbury, Chief Executive of Groundwork UK and member of the Parks Action Group, said: 

 

“We know that parks and green spaces are hugely important to the development and wellbeing of children and young people - helping them connect with nature, increase physical activity and build social networks.  

 

“To better understand how young people currently use the natural environment is the first step in helping them get more involved in making decision about their local area, a key priority if we are going to deliver the aspirations of the Government's 25 Year Environment Plan.”

 

Natural England will continue to monitor trends in children’s engagement with nature and look to work with our research partners to better understand these changes and their implications for children’s health and wellbeing, as well as the design of future green features within villages, towns and cities across England. 

 

Children are also being encouraged to take part in nature activities through the Department for Education’s ‘My Activity Passport’. The passport is aimed at primary school children and outlines a range of activities and key milestones for children to take part in within each year of primary school, helping to enrich their experiences. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are also taking action by awarding £9.7 million for local authorities to better maintain, protect and increase their recreational spaces.

 

More recently, Natural England has worked to increase people’s access to the natural environment through a recent announcement for the opening of the latest stretch of the England Coast Path, increasing access to the magnificent Lincolnshire coastline with a new 16-mile route from Skegness to Mabelthrope. Once completed, the coastline will be the longest continuous coastal walking route in the world, and will become a National Trail – the nation’s finest and most popular long-distance paths.

 

 

ENDS

 

 

Notes to editors:

                             

Monitor of engagement with the natural environment (MENE)

 

Since 2009, Natural England has been running the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey. It enables Natural England and our partners including the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and other data users to:

 

 

The MENE survey is funded by Natural England, with support from Defra. It has provided a wealth of evidence relating to outdoor recreation, behaviour and attitudes. The biggest long-running survey of its kind in the world allows us to track changes over time and provides a valuable insight into how people use and relate to the natural environment.

 

Questions related to children were added in 2013. A report on development of the children’s questions and analysis of previous years’ data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monitor-of-engagement-with-the-natural-environment-pilot-study-visits-to-the-natural-environment-by-children.

 

The MENE Children and Young People report presents the headline findings of the MENE survey in relation to children (aged under 16) and young people (aged 16-24) for the year from March 2017 to February 2018. The full report can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monitor-of-engagement-with-the-natural-environment-childrens-report-mene-2017-2018. The report and associated data comprise official statistics produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. 

 

An excel spreadsheet with the full results, including regional analysis, can be found online here: http://nepubprod.appspot.com/publication/2248731

 

This children and young people report forms one part of a larger family of outputs from the survey. Published alongside this report are a Headline Report presenting the 2018 results for adults; a technical Report providing full details of the survey methodology; data tables in Excel providing more detailed survey results; raw data files of adults and children datasets that allow detailed analysis of the MENE dataset. Please see GOV.UK for these and other outputs from the survey: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monitor-of-engagement-with-the-natural-environment-headline-reports-and-technical-reports-2016-2017-to-2017-2018

 

Headlines from the MENE Children’s Report 2017/18

 

 

Natural England’s Children and Nature Programme

 

In the 25 Year Environment Plan, ‘A Green Future’, the Government set out a strong commitment to “promoting health and wellbeing through the natural environment” and to “encourage children to be close to nature, in and out of school, with particular focus on disadvantaged areas”. 

 

Natural England, Defra and the Department for Education have been working together to design the three delivery projects within the Children and Nature Programme to help deliver this commitment. 

 

The three delivery projects are united by a set of common outcomes for children, which existing evidence suggests could be improved through high quality activities in nature: 

 

2019 marks our Year of Green Action, a year-long drive to help people to connect with, protect and enhance nature. The Year was a commitment in the 25 year plan to instil a legacy for the future, with a focus on children and young people.

On 31 January, the Secretary of State announced the first two successful project consortiums as part of the launched of the Year of Green Action. Visit our website to hear inspiration stories of green action: https://www.yearofgreenaction.org/.

 

 

Department for Education’s ‘My Activity Passport’ 

 

On 29 December 2018, the Department for Education launched a ‘passport’ of activities to enrich children’s experiences and skills in nature, supported by the Scouts, Girlguiding and National Trust.

 

The activity passport includes a list of activities for primary school children to go on a nature trail, visit a local landmark or make a treasure map through a new ‘passport’ of activities launched by the Education Secretary to encourage more family time, and help build children’s character and resilience.