As restrictions ease will the pandemic have a lasting impact on how Scots engage with nature?

NatureScot have just released the third in a series of national surveys we have undertaken for them tracking the population’s behaviours and feelings relating to outdoor recreation and nature over the course of Covid-19 pandemic.


Fieldwork for the latest survey wave ran in September 2021 and involved over 1,100 interviews. Encouragingly, our survey found that even as restrictions eased in the summer and some aspects of life began to return normal, the increased levels of engagement with nature recorded during periods of lockdown continued for many people.

Indeed, two thirds of the population agreed that compared to pre-pandemic they were more likely to notice health and wellbeing benefits from spending time outdoors and a third of told us that their enjoyment of wildlife in their local area had increased.

However with the increased numbers of people enjoying the outdoors, many users also noticed an increased amount of litter. Almost half told us that litter had spoilt their enjoyment while 29% experienced a lack of public toilet facilities!To see more results from this survey click on the link below.

If you’d like to find out more don’t hesitate to get in touch.

https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1289-enjoying-outdoors-monitoring-impact-coronavirus-and-social