Natural England, with support from the Forestry Commission and Defra, has published its third year of findings in the definitive survey of the way people enjoy the great English outdoors.
The Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey, which sampled 47, 000 people in 2011/12, provides a unique data set on long term trends in countryside usage.
This year’s results show that volumes of visits to urban parks have increased 13 per cent and visits to paths, cycleways and bridleways have increased by 20 per cent since 2010/11.
It also revealed that: 68% of visits were to places within two miles of the respondent’s home: 93% of the population agreed that having open green spaces close to where they live is important; 86% agreed that spending time out of doors was an important part of their life; nearly 2.7 billion visits were made to English countryside, coast and open spaces last year - around 65 visits per adult; an estimated £20 billion was spent during visits to the natural environment in 2011/12; and nearly one in six people (16%) only visit the natural environment twice or less a year.
The increase in visits to urban parks in particular made a contribution to the overall increase in the volumes of visits across England between 2010/11 and 2011/12. Some of the many reasons for visiting local places within two miles include: dog walking (61% of all visits); playing with children (11%); to relax and unwind (23%); and to watch wildlife (11%)
Natural England’s Executive Director for People. Landscape and Biodiversity, Jim Smyllie said: “Today’s evidence underlines the important messages set out in Government’s White Paper on the Natural Environment: high quality local green spaces matter, especially for those in towns and cities who can’t afford trips out to the countryside.
“The challenge for the 21st century is to create and maintain high quality natural green spaces at the heart of where people live. This makes the data in MENE more important than ever in helping design and deliver them, and it’s good news that the survey is being continued for a further three years.”
As well as shaping programmes that aim to help people get the most from the natural environment, MENE is being used by Public Health England to measure numbers of visits taken for health and exercise reasons across the country. The survey is also being used to measure public enjoyment of the outdoors for the England Biodiversity Strategy.
Pam Warhurst, Forestry Commission Chair, added: “This important information is fantastic news because it backs up the hard work that we do to get people enjoying visits to the countryside, and especially to their local woodlands.
“The Forestry Commission wants more accessible woodland closer to people and we continue to work hard to achieve this ambition in priority areas we have already identified.
“The Public Forest Estate plays an important part in engaging people with the natural environment and I'm delighted to say that our forest sites get a four out of five star rating for an enjoyable day out in the great outdoors.”
