The value of health benefits associated with outdoor recreation within the UK was estimated to be between £6.2 billion and £8.4 billion in 2020.

Further research by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) of the UK recreation natural capital ecosystem service accounts, includes methods to estimate the health benefits gained from nature-based recreational activities.

Recreational visits in built-up areas (i.e. urban greenspaces) and gardens accounted for over 50% of the total health benefits associated with recreation. Scotland consistently had the highest value associated with recreational health benefits per person of the four UK nations.

The effect of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent national government responses changed the way people interacted with nature throughout 2020. People within built-up areas and gardens areas may have visited more diverse areas of nature, as opposed to a green space within their local urban area.

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