Since April 2020, Natural England’s People and Nature Survey for England has collected evidence on how people engage with nature. It asks questions about people’s enjoyment of nature, their access to nature, their environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behaviours, as well as how engaging with nature affects individuals’ health and wellbeing.
While top-level analysis of the survey is carried out on an ongoing basis, Natural England wanted to broaden and deepen its understanding by carrying out further analysis across four priority areas. These were:
• Ethnic minority groups’ engagement with nature.
• How individuals with a disability / health condition engage with nature.
• Environmental attitudes and behaviours.
• Gardening behaviours and actions taken to improve biodiversity in gardens.
To identify key findings in each priority area, IFF created bespoke data tables and undertook a range of analyses, including descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and statistical significance tests. This analysis was then narrowed down to identify the most important findings to deliver to Natural England.
Some key insights included:
• Black or Black British adults, as well as those with a disability or health condition, are typically less likely to visit outdoor spaces.
• Those with a disability or health condition are also typically less likely to visit outdoor spaces.
• There has been an increase in pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours for younger people aged 16-24 in the last two years.
• Adults are more likely to consider gardens as a space for personal wellbeing over a space for nature.