How do Scots engage, protect and benefit from our natural environment?

The latest wave of Scotland’s People and Nature survey launches this spring, providing updated insights on how the population is engaging with, protecting and benefitting from nature

In December we were delighted to be commissioned by NatureScot to undertake the latest wave of their Scotland’s People and Nature Survey (SPANS).

Scotland’s People and Nature Survey will measure how people living in Scotland use, enjoy and value the natural environment.  It will cover a wide array of topics, ranging from the details of visits taken to the outdoors for recreation (from local greenspaces to National Parks) and the health and wellbeing benefits gained from time in nature to the day to day actions we take to protect nature.

We’re especially pleased to be working on the new SPANS contract given our previous long history working with NatureScot and (their predecessor) Scottish Natural Heritage on surveys measuring how Scots engage with nature. Indeed, our experience dates back to before 2003 when (as young researchers working for System Three!) we worked with SNH to develop the Scottish Recreation Survey. The Scottish Recreation Survey ran continuously for 10 years before relaunching as SPANS in 2013 and collecting insights right up until the first Covid 19 lockdown began in March 2020.

With a large annual sample size (12,000), invaluable data on how the Scottish population engage with nature were collected over this period. Trends recorded included an overall growth in the volume of visits taken for outdoor recreation - especially visits involving time in close to home, urban greenspaces and an increasing share of visits motivated by health and wellbeing.

We found that these trends accelerated during the 2020 and 2021 periods of Covid 19 lockdown when NatureScot commissioned 56 Degree Insight to undertake three waves of research to measure how the population was behaving and feeling during the pandemic. This research showed how during these difficult times many of us increased our frequency of visits to local outdoor places such as parks and path networks, relying upon these vital places as somewhere to escape to exercise, unwind, reconnect with nature and spend time with family and friends.

The 2023/24  Scotland’s People and Nature Survey will involve 12,000 online interviews undertaken between April 2023 and March 2024 providing updated insights on how the population is engaging with, caring for and benefitting from nature.

Look out for more updates on progress and results as they are published here or visit NatureScots’ measuring participation webpage here

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