New national statistics published today by Natural England
show that more people than ever before are visiting and
spending time in the natural environment.
The proportion of adults visiting nature at least once a
week has increased from 54 per cent in 2010 to 62 per cent
in 2018.
Natural England’s Monitoring of
Engagement with the Natural Environment(MENE) report
also found that this trend could be seen across population
groups, including groups where levels of participation have
historically been lower.
This year’s report further found the proportion of people
living in England’s most deprived areas visiting the
natural environment at least once a week has increased by
13 per cent from 38 per cent in 2009/10 to 51 per cent in
2017/18.
This year’s report also found:
- In 2017/18 health and exercise was the main motivation
for spending time in the natural environment (reported for
over half of all visits).
- In 2017/18, 86% people were concerned about damage to
the natural environment. Choosing to walk instead of taking
the car is on the up (reported by 48 per cent of people in
2017/18 compared with 40% in 2009/10) but other
pro-environmental behaviours remain predominantly static
(such as volunteering for environment or conservation
causes which has remained at 5 per cent over the last nine
years).
- Despite high levels of concern, only a third of people
think they are likely to make future lifestyle changes to
protect the environment.
The government’s 25 Year Environment Plan aims to connect
more people with the environment to improve health and
wellbeing and encourage them to take action to improve the
natural world.
Principal Specialist for People and the Environment at
Natural England, Rose O’Neill, said:
Over the last nine years there has been a real change in
how people think about and experience the natural world.
It is great that more people than ever before, from
across all sections of society, are spending increasing
amounts of time enjoying the natural environment.
Research has also shown that one of the main motivations
for people engaging with the natural environment is the
benefits to health and wellbeing, underlining the
important role of nature in everyday lives.
The MENE survey is funded by Natural England, with support
from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra).
The MENE survey was first commissioned in 2009 and 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.
Natural England uses the research to understand how people
use, enjoy and are motivated to protect the natural
environment and to help monitor changes in use of the
natural environment over time.
