The recent Scotland’s People and Nature Survey (SPANS) 2023/24  commissioned by NatureScot measures how adults use, value and enjoy the outdoors and connect with nature. This year the data method was digitised, moving from face-to-face interviews to a monthly online survey of a representative sample of adult scottish residents between April 2023 and March 2024. Once again, the report gives data around greenspace quality and access, health and wellbeing, equality and diversity. Within the wide ranging data we see:

How adults use the outdoors:

• Most people (61%) visit the outdoors at least once a week. 17% typically visit daily.
• The largest proportions of visits overall included time in a park or other greenspace in an urban area (41% of visits). Woodland/ forest were also frequently visited (39%). 
• Levels of participation (at least once a week visits) appear to have returned (reduced) to pre-pandemic levels.

Who gets outside:

• Frequent use of local greenspace (at least once a week) was highest amongst younger people, people with good health, more affluent people, and dog owners.
• People living in the most deprived areas, as defined by SIMD deciles, were twenty-one percentage points less likely to visit the outdoors frequently than people living in the least deprived areas.
• Those who live closer to their local greenspace and are more satisfied with its quality visit more often.

Connection to nature: 

SPANS 2023/24 introduces a Nature Connectedness Index (NCI) - made up from a series of questions over the year which combine to indicate how closely a person feels to nature. Over the 12-month survey period, the average recorded NCI score was 59 (NCI range is from 0-100).

• When comparing levels of nature connectedness with visit frequency, it was found that levels of connection are higher, on average, among people who visited the outdoors more often. 
• The average NCI score of those who visit the outdoors daily is 67 and for those who never make outdoor visits it is 38.