State of the Park Report

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# Engagement & the National Park

People engage with the National Park in many different ways. Some include physically being in the National Park, such as visiting it, living in it and volunteering within it, whereas some are a more remote form of engagement, such as influencing National Park policies or engaging through media.

Engagement is a broad concept that includes a wide range of different activities as well as varying levels of commitment or connectedness. Some people engage with the National Park unintentionally by stopping to break up a long journey. Others come for a day trip and engage with the National Park’s natural beauty, wildlife, cultural heritage, landscapes, access routes, built environment or other special qualities. People attend specific events such as a fell run, guided walk or an open day at a historic site. Some people spend holidays here. Others regularly volunteer for organisations within the National Park. And some people work or live within the National Park and engage with it daily. Finally, some people engage remotely with the National Park; for instance online, through social media or websites.

All of these interactions represent people engaging with the National Park. While it will never be possible to collect data on all of these interactions, we have a broad range of data that demonstrates trends in the ways in which people engage with the National Park.

# Public demand for engagement with National Parks is high

Public engagement was central to the establishment of UK national parks over 70 years ago. According to the Landscapes Review 2019: “It was a founding principle of the national parks movement that access to open space not only enhanced quality of life, but physical and mental wellbeing as well”. Since then, national parks have opened up the countryside, allowed more people to connect with nature and changed how people view landscapes [1].

Public demand for national parks is high. 89% of respondents in a 2012 study said national parks are important to them and almost all respondents thought every child should experience a national park as part of their education [2]. An unanticipated aspect of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic was the strength of public demand for access to green spaces, including national parks.

Several national park campaigning organisations exist. The Campaign for National Parks has campaigned on national park issues for over 80 years and today aims to strengthen national park powers, monitor them for damaging developments and promote them for the enjoyment of all [3]. Across the UK, new organisations are being formed pushing for new national parks, such as the Galloway National Park Association in Scotland and the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland. In 2019, London was declared the world’s first national park city and the Landscapes Review made recommendations for the creation of new national parks.

# National park purposes include public engagement

National parks in England and Wales have two statutory purposes:

  1. To conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage.
  2. To promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of national parks by the public.

Therefore, facilitating public engagement with a national park’s special qualities is a statutory responsibility of a national park authority. Special qualities define what is distinctive and significant about a national park. The Peak District National Park has seven special qualities, covering all aspects of the National Park: views; wildlife and habitats; tranquillity and dark night skies; landscapes; characteristic settlements; space for recreation; and vital benefits beyond the boundary.

# Government focus on public engagement with protected landscapes

The Landscapes Review, which reported to the UK government in 2019, reviewed UK protected landscapes (national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty) and set proposals for their improvement. Several proposals relate to public engagement with protected landscapes, including ‘A night under the stars in a national landscape for every child’ and ‘Landscapes that cater for and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing’.

# Importance of engagement with the natural environment

Since 2009, Natural England has carried out a Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey looking at how people use, enjoy and are motivated to protect the natural environment.

The survey shows that engagement with the natural environment is common among the UK public: • 89% of people agreed that ‘Spending time out of doors is an important part of my life’ • The average person visits the natural environment 90 times a year.

The most common activities reported were walking with a dog (40%) and walking without a dog (39%). The main reasons for visiting the natural environment were health and exercise, to relax and unwind, to enjoy scenery and to spend time with family. However, the proportion of visits to natural environments in towns or cities is rising, whereas the proportion of visits to the countryside is falling:

Furthermore, the greatest growth in visitor numbers is to urban parks, the most popular way people accessed the natural environment was on foot and the majority of visits were to sites close to home (44% of visits were taken within 1 mile of respondent’s homes, 24% were within 1 to 2 miles and 17% were within 3 to 5 miles).

# Public engagement with protected landscapes has multiple benefits

Over 40 years of research show that “experiences of nature are linked to a remarkable breadth of positive health outcomes. This includes improved physical health (e.g. reduced blood pressure and allergies, lower mortality from cardio-vascular disease, improved self-perceived general health), improved mental wellbeing (e.g. reduced stress and improved restoration), greater social wellbeing, and promotion of positive health behaviours (e.g. physical activity)” [4].

More specifically for national parks, research by the University of York in 2018 showed that for every £1 invested the North York Moors National Park generates over £7 in health and wellbeing benefits for visitors and volunteers. It highlights national parks’ role in “connecting people with nature, raising activity levels, facilitating outdoor recreation and providing space for tranquillity” [5].

# Mental health benefits

Exposure to nature improves human mental health and wellbeing, with benefits including “improved attention, cognition, sleep, and stress recovery” [6] and positive effects on mood and self-discipline [7]. These benefits apply across different demographics and socioeconomic populations and also benefit society, as poor mental health can cost money to treat, require healthcare, lead to work issues and contribute to antisocial behaviour [6:1].

Interacting with the natural environment instils feelings of spiritual meaning by creating a sense of awe and wonder, with conservation volunteers reporting feeling a spiritual connection to nature [7:1]. Recent research by the National Trust and University of Derby found that ‘nature connectedness’ was a significant predictor of happiness and people feeling life was worthwhile. The most nature-connected adults scored on average 19% higher in feeling the things they do are worthwhile and 15% higher in happiness [8]. Additionally, those who scored the highest on these two psychological measures were much more likely to have taken part in ‘noticing nature’ activities such as smelling wild flowers. The study also found a strong link between ‘nature connectedness’ and lower levels of depression and anxiety.

# Physical health benefits

Physical inactivity costs NHS England £0.9bn/year [9]. Evidence shows that activity in the presence of nature has positive health outcomes, with a 2004 UK study estimating that the NHS could save £1.8 million a year if 20% of people who live within 2km of a green space used it for 30 minutes of physical activity five days per week [8:1].

Specifically, increased physical activity linked to access to green spaces has been associated with a range of positive physical health outcomes, including reduced risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease and obesity . The 2020 National Trust and University of Derby study showed that the top 25% most ‘nature connected’ people had mean scores for general health 9% higher than the UK adult population .Similarly, some research indicates that “reduced actual contact with nature and biodiversity affects the human commensal microbiota and its immunomodulatory capacity, meaning that loss of biodiversity is related to non-communicable diseases” . It is also well-established that exposure to microbe-rich environments, such as those found in green spaces, can be beneficial in building children’s immune systems [8:2].

# Social benefits

Interacting with nature can have benefits including social interaction, social empowerment, reduced crime rates, reduced violence, interracial interaction, social cohesion and social support . Green infrastructure can act as ‘green hubs’ for communities, enhancing community wellbeing by encouraging genuine engagement and social inclusion. This relationship between green space and social support is strongest for those from a low income or low education background . Greenspaces are an important factor in community identity, strengthening people’s attachment to their community and the extent to which they identify with it [8:3].

While the majority of research on green infrastructure focuses on urban areas, the Institute for European Environmental Policy believe that Natura 2000 sites (such as special areas of conservation or special protection areas) that are within or close to urban areas are very likely to result in similar benefits, including social interaction, community identity and sense of place . The Peak District National Park contains both special areas of conservation and special protection areas and is relatively unique amongst UK national parks in being surrounded by urban communities [8:4].

# Environmental benefits

Interaction with the natural environment gives people an enhanced sense of stewardship towards the environment and makes them consider intergenerational equity [8:5]. Research reported in the Journal of Environmental Psychology concluded that people who make weekly nature visits or feel connected to nature are more likely to behave in ways that promote environmental health, such as recycling and other conservation activities [10]. Similarly, research in 2020 by the National Trust and University of Derby showed that people who regularly noticed nature were far more likely to engage in environmentally friendly behaviours than those who rarely noticed nature [11].

# Covid-19

We do not yet fully understand the impact of Covid-19 on engagement with the Peak District, but it is likely to be very variable and it may be some time until the data reflects the true impact of Covid-19.

However, we do know that Covid-19 has affected the visitor profile of the Peak District, with first a huge drop in visitor numbers during the initial lockdown, followed by a large increase when lockdown restrictions were eased.

With restrictions on the leisure activities that people are able to take part in and a focus on outdoor activities for safety reasons, there has been a surge in demand for access to outdoor places such as national parks. With the Peak District being surrounded by cities, there have been many new visitors coming to the National Park for the first time. The positive side to this is the opportunity for a wider audience to engage with the National Park, but there have been some negative impacts too such as littering, disturbance to wildlife and tensions between local residents and visitors.

  1. Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-parks-review-launched ↩︎

  2. RMG Clarity (2012): ‘National Parks Survey’ ↩︎

  3. CNP: https://www.cnp.org.uk/ ↩︎

  4. Nature.com: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep28551 ↩︎

  5. Univerity of York: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2018/research/researchers-assess-the-value-of-national-parks ↩︎

  6. Nature.com: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12631-6 ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. EC: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/intro/docs/Health%20and%20Social%20Benefits%20of%20Nature%20-%20Final%20Report%20Main%20sent.pdf ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. Noticing Nature: https://nt.global.ssl.fastly.net/documents/noticing-nature-report-feb-2020.pdf ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. British Heart Foundation: Economic Costs of Physical Inactivity (2016) http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/userfiles/Documents/eonomiccosts.pdf ↩︎

  10. Psych Central: https://psychcentral.com/news/2020/02/19/connection-with-nature-important-for-health/154194.html ↩︎

  11. National Trust: https://nt.global.ssl.fastly.net/documents/noticing-nature-report-feb-2020.pdf ↩︎

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