Natural England Powerpoint template

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Inequalities, Greenspace and the
Natural Environment Outdoors for All?
Evidence of under-representation in access to the
natural environment Edinburgh, September
12th Jacqui Stearn, Natural England
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Going to cover

• Context
• Diversity data
• Evidence of perceptions and needs amongst target
  groups
• Evidence of service provider awareness and
  provision levels of provision
• Delivery of Outdoors for All? Diversity Action
  Plan
• Reflections on successes and challenges

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Diversity Review Gathering evidence
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Diversity Review
By 2005, we will carry out a full diversity
review of how we can encourage more people with
disabilities, more people from ethnic minorities,
more people from the inner cities, and more young
people to visit the countryside and participate
in country activities. Initially, we will do this
by seeking their views on what they need to enjoy
the countryside. Then we will draw up a plan of
action. Rural White Paper 2000
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Equality and diversity data
1 in 5 adults are disabled in some way (UK) 1
in 20 children are disabled in some way (UK) 1 in
11 people are from black and minority ethnic
backgrounds (England) 1 in 20 of the people who
have religious belief belong to a faith community
other than Christian (UK) 1 in 4.4 people are
aged 8-24 (England)
(data from ONS)
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Clear evidence that some groups of people
visit the countryside less often than others, or
not at all. For example, 97 of visitors to
National Parks are white and 70 are over
35 Defra
Rural Strategy 2004
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England Leisure Visits Survey 2005

• Round trips made from home for leisure visit
  purposes
• Destinations
• inland towns/cities
• countryside
• seaside/coast
• Visit characteristics by
• age
• gender
• ACORN group e.g Wealthy Achievers, Hard Presssed
• working status
• car ownership
• ethnicity
• disability

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England Leisure Visits Survey 2005

• 2.8 average number Leisure Visits in previous
  week
• (3.3 in 2002/03)
• 3.6 billion Leisure Visits from home in England
• (5.4 in 2002/03)
• 33 decrease (changes in methodology)
• 78 visits (2.78 billion) to urban locations
• - 73 inland and 5 seaside
• 22 visits (0.77 billion) to rural locations
• - 20 countryside and 2 coast

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England Leisure Visits Survey 2005

• Characteristics of trip takers (leisure visits in
  last week)
• Affluent ACORN groups
• inland trip takers younger
• countryside older
• white if visiting countryside, coast, seaside
  town/city
• car owners
• Characteristics of non-trip takers (leisure
  visits in last week)
• younger
• not working full time
• no car access
• disabled
• non-white

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Diversity Review 2002 - 2005
Scoping research reviewed existing activity and
research evidence (OPENspace) 1. What
perceptions of the countryside are held by the
target groups and what are their needs for access
to outdoor recreation? 2. What is service
provider awareness of those needs and how were
they being provided for? 3. Are there untested
ways of creating self-sustained engagement in
outdoor recreation amongst the target groups?
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Research

• Needs and perceptions of people from
  under-represented groups with no previous
  experience of access (Ethnos)
• focus groups
• accompanied first time visits country parks
• Attitudes and perceptions of providers across the
  outdoor recreation sector (Environmental
  Psychology Unit, University of Surrey)
• questionnaire survey, interviews, in depth
  visits

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Research
By All Means Kent County Council Can a
measurable increase in the level of access to
Kent's countryside routes and sites be achieved
through engaging disabled people, their carers
and representative organisations? 1538 disabled
participants and 350 different activities Steppin
g Out Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Engaging
non-formal carers of people with mental health
issues in range of activities at venues in and
around Coventry 97 participants, 30 of which were
young carers. participants
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Research
Finding Common Ground Plymouth Groundwork Can
the barriers of lack of confidence and
information amongst inner city residents be
addressed through linking them with rural
communities in Devon also engaged in
environmental regeneration? 700
participants Beyond the Boundary Warwickshire
Wildlife Trust Can the barriers of lack of
confidence and information by BME communities can
be overcome through supporting urban and rural
communities to twin with one another through
shared interest in cricket. 500 participants
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Evidence summary

• All groups researched clearly expressed a desire
  to enjoy the benefits of outdoor recreation
• A lack of information and concern about not being
  made welcome undermines peoples confidence
• Those without access to a car found transport a
  major barrier
• Recreation providers lack confidence in engaging
  with target groups

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Evidence disabled people

• Once experienced
• access to the countryside beneficial
• both physical and psychological benefits
• gave a sense of achievement
• re-connected with their non-disabled self
• a sense of inclusion and social cohesion
• However
• were frustrated by discontinuity of access in
• transport and at venues the access chain
• lack of information about what to do, where to
  go
• and accessibility for disabled people
• dependent on others

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Problems for disabled people
Physical features
On-site facilities Poor
pre-trip information Poor info at
destination Equipment at
site None of these
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
45 50
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My parents used to take me for walks, my father
even bought me a moon buggy so I could accompany
them on difficult terrain. But when I was
fourteen we went to the Lake District and there
were lots of stiles. I just though it was all too
much effort and I couldnt see what the
countryside had to offer me. For the next ten
years I just disengaged, didnt want to go to the
countryside at all?
Young adult
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Evidence carers

• participants quality of life improved
• young carers (30 of 97) needs met
• some increased access by those they cared for
• service providers worked together
• awareness of disabled peoples needs increased
• embedding equality principles into organisations
• increased capacity within community
• organisations
• increased community cohesion multicultural
• project

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Evidence young people

• participants quality of life improved
• benefits to health
• personal identity pre-adolescent self
• negative perceptions of countryside
• lack of appropriate facilities
• lack of transport

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Evidence Black Minority Ethnic people

• participants quality of life improved
• physical health
• re-connecting with nature
• inner peace
• social inclusion
• social cohesion

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Evidence service providers

• resource-orientated verses people-orientated
• lacked confidence working with target groups
• assumed homogeneity so specific needs
• overlooked
• disability seen as solely physical impairment
• needs of all disabled people overlooked
• for all banner used to signify inclusion
• poor data collection
• equalities duties located in HR disconnected
  from
• front line service delivery

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Action Plan
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Diversity Action Plan

• Outdoors for All? Is Defra action plan
• Natural England delivery champion
• developed through stakeholder engagement
• outdoor recreation sector ownership
• representative group ownership
• Principles
• 10 year living document - review and monitoring
• embed equality and diversity into business and
  culture
• encourages effective co-ordination, sharing best
  
• practice
• delivery supported through existing partnerships
  and
• building new ones
• maximises use of existing resources to realise
  change

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Diversity Action Plan targets

• To realise a sustained and measurable increase
  in
• awareness by under-represented groups of what the
  natural environment has to offer and where to go
  to enjoy it
• the number, diversity and frequency of people in
  under-represented groups enjoying the natural
  environment.

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Indicators

• To realise a sustained and measurable increase
  in
• diversity and number of people volunteering to
  sustain
• the natural environment
• diversity of employees in the outdoor recreation
  sector.
• And
• secure the inclusion of access to the outdoors in
  the
• equalities schemes (including Local
  Government Equalities Standard) on public bodies
  and through the voluntary and private sector
  corporate responsibility reporting.

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Outcomes and outputs

• New customers accessing the benefits of
• outdoor recreation
• Constructive relationships between providers
• and organisations representing target groups
• Providers skilled in working with under-
• represented groups
• Easy to understand information which meets h
• target groups needs
• Easy to use, affordable transport available,
• together with accessible transport information

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Successes and challenges
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• Successes
• visible change in ethnicity profile of visitors
  in National
• Parks
• successful stakeholder engagement
• some improvement in equalities data gathering
• under-representation and participation widely
  used terms
• Challenges
• diversity of disability and definition for data
  gathering
• under-reporting of disability due to stigma
• low income not effectively addressed
• making the economic and business cases for
  equality
• and diversity in outdoor recreation
• evidence leach through poor evaluation

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Its like someone has taken a concrete jumper
off you. In town, you feel like a prisoner. This
has been a fantastic, mind-blowing day! If I were
a bird, I would be right up there, flying. (Man
with mental health problems from Bradford,
speaking after visiting the countryside)
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References
Countryside Agency (2005) By all reasonable
means. Increasing access for disabled people.
Countryside Agency.(www.naturalengland.org.uk) Cou
ntryside Agency (2003) Capturing Richness
Countryside visits by black and minority ethnic
communities.(www.naturalengland.org.uk) Ward
Thompson, C (2004). Diversity Review options
for implementation. CRN 75. Countryside Agency.
Uzzell, D (2005) What about us? Diversity
Review Evidence part two. Challenging
perceptions provider awareness of
under-represented groups. CRN 95 Countryside
Agency. Gervais, M.C (2005). What about us?
Diversity Review Evidence part one. Challenging
perceptions under-represented groups visitor
needs. CRN 94 Countryside Agency. Ward Thompson,
C (2006) Free Range Teenagers? The role of wild
adventure space in young peoples lives. Natural
England (www.openspace.eca.ac.uk Forthcoming Evalu
ation of four action research projects And your
Evidence is? Evaluation framework and
toolkit Sense of Freedom disabled peoples
experiences of the outdoors.
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Jacqui.stearn_at_naturalengland.org.uk 01242-533432
or 07900608402