Natural England, Defra and the Forestry Commission commissioned TNS Research International to undertake the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey. The first year’s fieldwork began in February 2009, with the results published on Natural England’s website in September 2010.
The survey was commissioned in order to improve upon the limited evidence base about the benefits that people derive from contact with the natural environment. Specifically there was a lack of information about how and why people currently engage with the natural environment.
The results from MENE have provided us with volumetric trend data for the first time in twenty years. This is a major step-change forward from numerous preceding, non-comparable surveys.
This report compares the findings from MENE with the English Leisure Visits Survey (ELVS) undertaken in 2005. ELVS collected information on the extent of participation in leisure day visits and provided estimates of the volume of visits. Although not directly comparable with MENE, a comprehensive statistical exercise was undertaken in order to adjust certain key ELVS results so that they can be considered comparable with the equivalent MENE findings.