Accredited official statistics

Adults' Year 5 Annual Report (April 2024 - March 2025)

Published 17 September 2025

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2025

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1. Summary of the main findings

The Adults’ People and Nature Survey (A-PaNS) produces accredited official statistics that are nationally representative findings of people living in England. Data collection started in April 2020 and has been ongoing since. This annual report focuses on data collected between April 2024 and March 2025.

Around two in three people had visited green and natural spaces in the previous 14 days.

  • Most people visited green and natural spaces on a weekly basis.

Over half of the visits lasted an hour or less, including travel time.

  • Two in three people used an active travel mode (i.e. they went on foot, by bike, or by mobility aid) in their most recent visit to a green and natural space.
  • The mode of transportation switched from mostly active travel to mostly passive travel (i.e. they went by car, van, motorbike or by public transport) between two- and three-miles travel distance.

Most people who did not visit green and natural space would have liked to.

  • Bad health, being over 55 years old, and living in a deprived area were the biggest barriers.
  • The most common reason cited for not spending free time outside was bad/ poor weather.

Two thirds of people who did not visit had concerns about visiting green spaces.

  • Of those with concerns, the top three reasons were anti-social behaviour, a lack of facilities (such as toilets, benches, and baby changing) and visiting after dark.

Gardens and urban/local green spaces were particularly important for spending time outdoors.

  • Urban green spaces have remained the most visited type of green and natural space.
  • More people thought the quality of local green and natural spaces had improved rather than reduced.

More people visited green spaces when local green spaces were a short walk away.

  • Over two in three people agreed that local green spaces were within easy walking distance.
  • Seven in ten people stated they can walk to their nearest local green space within 15 minutes.
  • Peoples’ perception of walking distance (in minutes) has stayed stable compared to last year’s numbers, however more people agreed that local green spaces were within easy walking distance compared to last year.

Certain groups were more likely to report that they do not have local green spaces within easy walking distance.

  • Younger adults, people living in an urban or deprived location, and people identifying as Black or Black British.

Most respondents agreed that spending time outdoors is beneficial for their physical and mental health.

  • Getting fresh air and physical health and exercise were the main reasons for people visiting a green and natural space.

Fewer than half of adults felt highly connected to nature.

  • But most people agreed that being in nature makes them happy.

Pollution of rivers, lakes and ground water was the environmental issue most people are concerned about, having replaced climate change as top issue for the first time.

  • Most people said that protecting the environment was important to them.
  • Recycling was the most common action taken by people to protect the environment.

2. What is the Adults’ People and Nature Survey?

The Adults’ People and Nature Survey for England is one of the main sources of data and statistics about how people in England experience and think about the environment. It has been collecting nationally representative data monthly since April 2020. So far, data has been published that was collected between April 2020 and March 2025. Data is collected via an online panel of adults aged 16 years and older. It is an accredited official statistic.

Data from the Adults’ People and Nature Survey for England enables users to:

  • Understand how people use, enjoy and are motivated to protect the natural environment.
  • Monitor changes in use of the natural environment over time, at a range of different spatial scales and for key groups within the population.
  • Understand how being in the natural environment can have an effect on wellbeing.
  • Understand environmental attitudes and the actions people take at home, in the garden and in the wider community to protect the environment.

This data contributes to Natural England’s delivery of statutory duties, informs Defra policy and natural capital accounting, and contributes to the outcome indicator framework for the 25 Year Environment Plan, now the Environmental Improvement Plan (specifically the G indicators).

The official statistics in this publication are based on continuous online data collection between:

  • 2 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 (Year 1),
  • 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022 (Year 2),
  • 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 (Year 3),
  • 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 (Year 4), and
  • 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 (Year 5).

There were 24,994 surveys conducted in Year 1, 24,987 in Year 2, 24,987 in Year 3, 24,961 in Year 4, and 25,026 Year 5. The survey replaces the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey which ran from 2009 to 2019.

A modular questionnaire has been designed to maximise the number of questions asked in the survey while maintaining a survey length that is not overly burdensome for respondents. Chart 2-1 provides a simplified summary of the questionnaire modules. Only Module 1 and Module 6 are asked of all respondents. Other modules are asked of different subsets of respondents. Each chart presented in this report includes notes about the sample size where applicable. A more detailed breakdown of the full questionnaire and sample sizes for each module can be found in the questionnaire details for the adult survey.

Chart 2-1 Structure of the Adults’ People and Nature Survey questionnaire (A-PaNS). A-PaNS is an online panel survey, sampling around 2,000 adults monthly in England on a continuous basis.

Chart notes

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025 (inclusive).
  2. Module 1 and Module 6 are asked of 100% of respondents.
  3. Module 2A is only asked of respondents who report they have visited a green and natural space in the last 14 days. These respondents are asked more specific questions relating to their visit, including the location, duration, activities and benefits of their visit. This is estimated to be asked of around 67% of respondents.
  4. Module 2B is only asked of respondents who report they have not visited a green and natural space in the last 14 days. These respondents are asked about their reasons for not visiting and their access via transport. This is estimated to be asked of around 23% of respondents.
  5. Module 3 is asked of around 50% of respondents. These respondents are asked about children’s experiences of green and natural spaces, their barriers to visiting and reasons for not spending more time outside.
  6. Module 4 is asked of around 20% of respondents and includes questions relating to environmental attitudes and behaviours.
  7. Module 5 is asked of around 40% of respondents and includes questions on gardens and gardening behaviours.

3. Visits to green and natural spaces

Around two in three people had visited a green and natural space in the previous 14 days:

  • Around two in three (66%) adults had visited a green and natural space in the previous 14 days in Year 5. This was similar to Year 4 (67%) and Year 3 (65%). It was higher than in Year 2 (63%) and in Year 1 (62%).[footnote 1]
  • Twenty-five percent of adults had not visited a green and natural space in the previous 14 days in Year 5. This was higher than in Year 4 (22%) and Year 3 (22%). It was the same as in Year 2 (25%) and lower than in Year 1 (29%).
  • A substantial minority of people chose ‘Don’t know’ when asked how many visits they took in the last 14 days (9% in Year 5, 10% Year 4, 11% Years 3 and 2, 9% Year 1).

Chart 3-1 Percentage of adults in England (weighted percentage) visiting a green and natural space in the last 14 days between April 2020 and March 2025.

Chart notes

Source: No_Of_Visits How many times, if at all, did you make this type of visit to green and natural spaces in the last 14 days?

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 22,463 (Year 1), 22,458 (Year 2), 22,417 (Year 3), 22,399 (Year 4), 22,349 (Year 5).
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.

Over two in three people visited green and natural spaces at least weekly:

  • Daily (15%) and weekly (53%) visit frequency combined for Year 5 resulted in over two in three (68%) people stating that they visited at least weekly in the last 12 months. This was a slight decrease from 70% visiting at least weekly in Year 4, but similar to Years 3 and 2 (both 69%) and less compared to Year 1 (71%).
  • Compared to the years with Covid restrictions (Years 1 and 2), in Year 5 less people were visiting daily, while more people were visiting monthly and people visiting weekly has remained relatively stable over the years.

Chart 3-2 Frequency of free time spent outdoors in green and natural spaces in last 12 months between April 2022 and March 2023 (Year 3), April 2023 and March 2024 (Year 4) and April 2024 and March 2025 (Year 5).

Chart notes

Source: M1_Q1 In the last 12 months, how often, on average have you spent free time outside in green and natural spaces?

  1. Data collected between April 2022 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 24,987 (Year 3), 24,961 (Year 4), 25,026 (Year 5).
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.

3.1. Gross visits estimates

Another useful way of understanding how often people visit green and natural spaces is the estimated number of gross visits. This is calculated by extrapolating survey respondents’ visits in the previous 14 days for all adults living in England.

The number of gross visits taken has decreased compared to the last financial year:

  • In Year 5, the number of estimated visits for the whole of England was 3.9 billion. This was lower than in Year 4 (4.1 billion) and similar to Year 3 (3.8 billion).
Year 1 (April 2020 – March 2021) 4,505,400,000
Year 2 (April 2021 – March 2022) 4,016,438,000
Year 3 (April 2022 – March 2023) 3,841,948,000
Year 4 (April 2023 – March 2024) 4,119,820,000
Year 5 (April 2024 – March 2025) 3,853,209,000

Chart 3-3 Estimated gross visits for all adults living in England between April 2020 and March 2025.

Chart Notes

Source: No_Of_Visits How many times, if at all, did you make this type of visit to green and natural spaces in the last 14 days?

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 22,463 (Year 1), 22,458 (Year 2), 22,417 (Year 3), 22,399 (Year 4), 22,349 (Year 5).
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.

4. Places that people visit

Gardens and urban/local green spaces were particularly important for spending time outdoors:

  • In Year 5, three out of four (75%) of adults with access to a garden said they spent time in it at least once per week, the same as in Year 4. This was a slight decrease from Year 3 (77%), Year 2 (76%) and Year 1 (79%).
  • In Year 5, 8% of adults reported that they did not have access to a garden or allotment. This has stayed relatively stable (8% in Year 4, 7% in Year 3, and 8% in Years 2 and 1).
  • Visit destinations outside of gardens are shown in Chart 4-1. In Year 5, urban green spaces (such as a park, field, or playground) were the most frequently visited green and natural spaces (by 50% of adults). This was relatively stable over time with only small fluctuations (51% in Year 4, 50% in Year 3, 51% in Year 2, and 49% in Year 1).
  • Rivers, lakes, or canals were the second most frequently visited green or natural spaces in Year 5 (visited by 31% of people). This was closely followed by both fields / farmland / countryside and woodland or forest (both visited by 30% of people) and by beach / other coastline / sea (visited by 29% of people).

Chart 4-1 The types of green and natural spaces people have spent time in during the last month between April 2020 to March 2025.

Chart notes

Source: M1_Q2 Which of the following type(s) of green and natural spaces have you visited during the last month? [Select all that apply]. Answer options subset: Urban green space (such as a park, field, or playground), Fields / farms / countryside, Woodland or forest, River, lake or canal, Beach / other coastline / sea.

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 24,017 (Year 1), 23,710 (Year 2), 24,104 (Year 3) 24,258 (Year 4), 24,252 (Year 5).
  3. Only a subset of types of green and natural spaces (the top five endorsed for Year 5) have been presented. More information on the questionnaire is available here.
  4. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.

Out of the destination types picked for Chart 4-1, visits to blue spaces (river, lake or canal and beach/ other coastline) remained more stable from Year 3 onwards. For the two years affected by Covid restrictions (Year 1 and Year 2), blue spaces were the least visited out of the destination types selected, with fewer visits compared to Year 3 onwards. This could potentially be due to fewer people living close to blue spaces and thus, having been unable to access them in view of Covid lockdown restrictions during Years 1 and 2.

5. Local green spaces

Over two in three people agreed that local green spaces are within easy walking distance:

  • In Year 5, 69% of people agreed that local green and natural spaces are within easy walking distance. This was an increase compared to the rest of the years that had only small fluctuations up to Year 4: Year 4 (66%) Year 3 (65%), Year 2 (66%) and Year 1 (65%).
  • In turn, fewer people disagree with local green spaces being within easy walking distance in Year 5 (19%) compared to the previous years (23% Year 4, 24% Year 3, 23% Years 2 and 1).

Seven in ten people stated they can walk to their nearest local green space within 15 minutes:

  • In Year 5, seven in ten (70%) people stated that they can walk to their nearest local green space within 15 minutes.
  • One in four (25%) people stated they walk more than 15 minutes to their nearest local green space.
  • Four percent of adults never walked to their nearest local green space.
  • For those who do walk to their nearest local green space, 78% said their nearest local green space is the space they visit most frequently.

More people visit green spaces when local green spaces are a short walk away:

  • In Year 5, with very local green spaces available (5-minute walk or less), 74% of adults visited a green space within the last 14 days. Whereas 18% of people with a very local green space did not visit a green space in the last 14 days.
  • With local spaces a little further away (walking 6-15 minutes), 68% of adults visited a green space within the last 14 days, and 24% did not.
  • With green spaces further away than 15 minutes, the percentage of people visiting decreases, and the percentage of people not visiting increased (from 24% to 34%). People who stated that they do not know (DK) if they visited or preferring not to say (PNS) if they visited also increased (from 12% to 18%).

Chart 5-1 Percentage of adults in England visiting a green and natural space in the last 14 days by the walking distance to their nearest local green space between April 2024 to March 2025 (Year 5).

Chart notes

Source: M1_Walk_a How long does it take you to walk to your nearest local green and natural space? and No_Of_Visits: How many times, if at all, did you make this type of visit to green and natural spaces in the last 14 days?

  1. Data collected between April 2024 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 6,642 (5 minutes or less), 9,056 (between 6 and 15 minutes), 3,983 (between 16 and 30 minutes), 1,245 (between 31 and 45 minutes), 581 (More than 45 minutes), 819 (I never walk to my nearest local green space).
  3. DK stands for ‘don’t know’.
  4. PNS stands for ‘prefer not to say’.
  5. Due to rounding, the percentages for ’16 minutes and 30 minutes’ add up to 99%.

Younger adults, people living in an urban or deprived location, and people identifying as Black or Black British were more likely to report that they do not have local green spaces within easy walking distance:

  • Younger people were generally less likely to report that local green spaces are within easy walking distance. One in four (25%) 16–24-year-olds disagree that local green spaces are within easy walking distance compared to 15% of those 65+.
  • Nearly three in ten (29%) adults identifying as Black or Black British reported that they do not have local green spaces within easy walking distance. This is compared to one in four (25%) adults identifying as either Asian or Asian British, or identifying as Mixed who reported that they do not have local green spaces within easy walking distance. The lowest percentages were reported by adults identifying as White (18%) or any other ethnic group or background (16%).
  • More people living in the most deprived areas disagreed that green and natural spaces are within easy walking distance (22%) compared people in less deprived areas (17%).
  • More urban dwellers disagreed that green spaces are within easy walking distance (18%) compared to rural dwellers (15%).

Chart 5-2 Percentage of adults disagreeing that local green spaces are within easy walking distance by five demographic variables (age, ethnicity, gender, deprivation, urban/rural) between April 2024 and March 2025 (Year 5).

Chart notes

Source: M1_Q5_a Now, thinking about green and natural spaces close to where you live, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

My local green and natural spaces actually are: a) Within easy walking distance.

  1. Data collected between April 2024 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 2,963 (16-24), 6,195 (25-39), 5,875 (40-54), 4,002 (55-64), 5,991 (65+), 21,204 (White), 493 (Mixed), 1,321 (Asian or Asian British), 1,864 (Black or Black British), 141 (Any other ethnic group or background), 11,857 (Male), 13,130 (Female), 4,530 (Deprived), 16,165 (Not Deprived), 3,089 (Rural), 17,606 (Urban).
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  4. Deprived in this report refers to the households in the bottom 20% of the IMD – Index of Multiple Deprivation (see glossary - deciles 1 and 2, out of ten total).

5.1. Local green space quality

More people thought the quality of local green and natural spaces had improved rather than reduced:

  • Overall, across all regions in England, four in ten thought that the quality of green and natural spaces close to where they live had improved in the last five years (42% in Years 5, 4, and 3, 41% in Year 2 and 40% in Year 1).
  • Nearly one in five (24%) thought green spaces close to them had reduced in quality in Year 5 (an increasing trend can be observed over the last years- 23% in Year 4, 22% in Year 3, and 20% in Year 2 and Year 1).

People in London were most likely to agree that the quality of green and natural spaces where they live had improved:

  • People in London were more likely to agree that the quality of green and natural spaces where they live had improved over the last five years (61%) compared to all other regions in England.
  • People in the East and South West of England were least likely to agree that green and natural spaces where they lived had improved (both 35%).

Chart 5-3 Whether the quality of green and natural spaces close to where people live had improved in the last 5 years by region between April 2024 to March 2025 (Year 5).

Chart notes

Source: Q3 / M1_Q3 Thinking of the green and natural spaces close to where you live, have they improved or reduced in the last 5 years, or have they not changed?

  1. Data collected between April 2024 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 4,042 (London), 1,258 (North East), 3,305 (North West), 2,399 (Yorkshire and the Humber), 2,730 (West Midlands), 2,210 (East Midlands), 2,375 (South West), 3,964 (South East), 2,743 (East), 25,026 (England total).
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  4. Due to rounding, the percentages for ‘London’ add up to 101%.

6. Travel to green and natural spaces

Two in three people used an active travel mode in their most recent visit to a green and natural space:

  • Two in three (66%) people used active travel in their most recent visit to a green and natural space (i.e. they went on foot, by bike, or by mobility aid).
  • Conversely, over a third (34%) used passive travel (i.e. they went by car, van, motorbike or by public transport).

More than two in three journeys were below three miles in travel distance:

  • The length of journey to green and natural spaces varied, with over two in three journeys (68%) having been within two miles.
  • Forty-five percent of journeys involved travelling less than one mile; 23% one to two miles; 21% three to ten miles and 10% more than ten miles.

Chart 6-1 Distance travelled to visit location between April 2024 to March 2025 (Year 5).

Chart notes

Source: M2A_Q6 Approximately how far in miles did you travel to reach this place?

  1. Data collected between April 2024 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 16,255 (Year 5).
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  4. Due to rounding, the percentages in the figure add up to 99%, rather than 100%.

The mode of transportation switched from mostly active travel to mostly passive travel between two and three miles travel distance:

  • Forty-five percent of those who visited green and natural spaces in the last 14 days in Year 5 travelled less than one mile to a local green and natural space.
    • Of those 45% with visits of less than one mile distance, nine in ten journeys (90%) were taken by active travel, as shown in Chart 6-2.
  • Twenty-three percent travelled one to two miles.
    • Of those 23% with visits of one to two miles distance, more than six in ten journeys (64%) were taken by active travel and 36% by passive travel.
  • Twenty-one percent travelled three to ten miles.
    • Of those 21% with visits of three to ten miles distance, 39% were taken by active travel and 61% by passive travel.
  • Ten percent travelled more than ten miles.
    • Of those 10% with visits more than ten miles, 74% were by passive travel.

Chart 6-2 Distance travelled by type of transport used between April 2024 to March 2025 (Year 5).

Chart notes

Source: M2A_SUB_Q1 What was the main form of transport you used to reach your main destination and M2A_Q6 Approximately how far in miles did you travel to reach this place?

  1. Data collected between April 2024 and March 2025.
  2. The sample for this question is 4,859.
  3. Responses have been combined to create the ‘Active’ and ‘Passive’ categories of travel. Active travel is comprised of: ‘Bicycle/ mountain bike’, ‘On foot/ walking’ and ‘Mobility aid (such as wheelchair or mobility scooter)’. Passive travel is comprised of ‘Car/van/motorbike’ and ‘Public transport (e.g. train, bus or coach)’. More information on the questionnaire is available here.
  4. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  5. Due to rounding, the percentages in the figure add up to 99%, rather than 100%.

Over half of the visits lasted an hour or less including travel time:

  • Over half of the visits (56%) lasted and hour or less including travel time.
  • More than one in five (22%) of all visits lasted up to 30 minutes in Year 5, 34% of visits lasted between 30 minutes and up to an hour, and 27% lasted between one hour and two hours. Only 17% of visits lasted more than two hours.

7. Reasons for visiting a green and natural space

Getting fresh air and physical health and exercise were the main reasons for people visiting a green and natural space:

  • Most people (55%) visited a green and natural space to get fresh air in Year 5.
  • Almost half (49%) visited for physical health and exercise in Year 5.
  • Forty percent of adults visited for mental health and wellbeing.

Chart 7-1 Main reasons for taking a visit between April 2020 to March 2025.

Chart notes

Source: M2A_SUB_Q5 What were the main three reasons for taking this visit. Answer options subset: For physical health and exercise, To get fresh air, For mental health and wellbeing, To walk a dog, To connect to nature / watch wildlife.

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 4,212 (Year 1), 4,335 (Year 2), 4,450 (Year 3), 5,057 (Year 4), 4,859 (Year 5).
  3. Only a subset of reasons has been presented. More information on the questionnaire is available here.
  4. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  5. As this is a multi-select question the percentages will not add up to 100%.

Looking at the entire duration of data collection, Year 1 had a much higher endorsement for the reasons fresh air and physical health compared to Year 5 (For fresh air: 55% in Year 5, 57% in Year 4, 56% in Year 3, 61% in Year 2, and 64% in Year 1. For physical health: 49% in Years 5 and 4, 51% in Year 3, 54% in Year 2, and 63% in Year 1).

Despite fluctuations and decreases, the top three reasons for visiting (fresh air, physical health and exercise, and mental health and wellbeing) have stayed within the same rankings for the entire duration of data collection. The bottom two reasons (walk a dog, and connect to nature/watch wildlife) have similar endorsement after Year 1, in which walking a dog was a clear fourth place. From Year 2 onwards, small fluctuations see the bottom two reasons change ranking while their percentage stayed similar to each other.

8. Benefits of visiting green and natural spaces

Most respondents agreed that spending time outdoors is beneficial for their health:

  • Ninety-one percent of adults who had visited a green and natural space in the previous 14 days agreed that spending time outdoors was good for their physical health. This was similar to agreement with this statement in Years 4 and 3 (both 92%), and a decrease from Year 2 (93%) and Year 1 (94%).
  • Ninety percent of adults who had visited a green and natural space in the previous 14 days agreed that spending time outdoors was good for their mental health. This was similar to Year 3 and Year 4 (90% and 89%), though remained slightly lower than in Years 2 and 1 (92% for both).

Being in nature makes most people happy:

  • In Year 5, 85% of adults agreed that being in nature makes them very happy. This was similar to Year 4 (84%), and an increase from previous years (81% in Year 3 and Year 2 and 82% in Year 1).[footnote 2]
  • Just over six in ten adults agreed that they feel part of nature (62% of people). This followed a similar pattern of slight increase year on year (from 61% in Year 4, 59% in Year 3 and Year 2, and 58% in Year 1).[footnote 3]

Chart 8-1 Percentage who agree / disagree with the statement ‘Being in nature makes me very happy’ between April 2020 and March 2021 (Year 1), April 2021 and March 2022 (Year 2), April 2022 and March 2023 (Year 3), April 2023 and March 2024 (Year 4), and April 2024 and March 2025 (Year 5).

Chart notes

Source: M1_Q6_b How much do you agree with the following: Being in nature makes me very happy.

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. Responses taken from NET Agree, neither agree nor disagree, and NET disagree values.
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart – bars do not sum to 100%.
  4. The samples for this question were 23,314 (Year 1), 24,987 (Year 2), 24,987 (Year 3), 4,954 (Year 4), 5,031 (Year 5)[footnote 4].

Feeling happy in nature is a part of a puzzle piece of a bigger picture of feeling connected to nature. Nature connection describes how different people think, feel about, and experience nature. Another way to think about it is the relationship that people have with nature. Just like any relationship with a human or any other being, there are different aspect to the complex relationships that people form. Nature connection is related to certain aspects of the health and wellbeing of a person.

Fewer than half of adults feel highly connected to nature:

  • In Year 5, when asked how connected they feel to nature, 46% of people described their connection as high, 30% of people described their connection as low, and 25% described their connection as moderate. These percentages remained about the same as in Year 4.

Chart 8-2 How connected people feel to nature in Year 5 (April 2024 – March 2025).

Chart notes

Source: M1_Connect How connected do you feel to nature? Please choose the picture that best describes your relationship to nature.

  1. Data collected between April 2024 and March 2025.
  2. Respondents are asked to select one pair of circles out of a choice of seven to describe their relationship with nature. One circle is labelled with ‘me’, the other with ‘nature’. The pairs of circles differ in the degree of overlap, going from two separate circles (A), gradually increasing in the overlap (B-F), until the two circles completely overlap to become one circle (G).
  3. Responses taken from NET Low (A, B, C), Moderate (D), and NET High (E – G).
  4. The sample for this question was 25,026.
  5. Due to rounding, the percentages add up to 101%.

9. Not spending time visiting green and natural spaces

Almost two in three people without a visit in the last 14 days would have liked to spend more free time outside:

  • Almost two-thirds of adults (65%) who had not visited a green space in the last 14 days would have liked to spend more free time outside in Year 5. This was the same as in Year 4 (65%), and before that followed a trend of slight decrease year on year (from 67% in Year 3, 69% in Year 2 and 71% in Year 1).

The most common reason cited for not spending free time outside was bad/ poor weather:

  • The most common reasons cited for not spending free time in green and natural spaces in the previous 14 days in Year 5 were bad/poor weather (45%), poor physical health (26%), being too busy at home (24%), and being too busy with work/family commitments (21%).
  • The ranking for the top four endorsed reasons has stayed the same since Year 4.
  • Staying at home to stop coronavirus spreading/Government restrictions has bottomed out in Years 5 (2%) and 4 (3%). Before that, it reduced from 48% in Year 1, to 17% in Year 2, to 6% in Year 3.

Chart 9-1 Reasons for not spending time in green and natural spaces by adults who had not visited a green or natural space in the last 14 days between April 2020 to March 2025.

Chart notes

Source: Q27A / M2B_Q2 What was the main reason or reasons for not spending free time outdoors in the last 14 days? Answer options subset: Bad / poor weather, Poor physical health, Busy at home, Busy at work, Stayed at home to stop coronavirus spreading / Government restrictions.

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 8,297 (Year 1), 8,044 (Year 2), 7,702 (Year 3), 5,664 (Year 4), 6,094 (Year 5). Only a subset of reasons have been presented. More information on the questionnaire is available here.
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  4. As this is a multi-select question the percentages will not add up to 100%.

Staying at home to stop coronavirus spreading/Government restrictions and bad/poor weather have seen the most change in endorsement over the five years of data collection. Staying at home to stop coronavirus spreading/Government restrictions has bottomed out in Years 5 (2%) and 4 (3%). It reduced from 48% in Year 1, to 17% in Year 2, to 6% in Year 3 before that. For bad/poor weather it has been a stepped increase to the 45% endorsement in Year 5 (43% Year 4, 36% Years 3 and 2, 31% Year 1).

For the other three top endorsed reasons (poor physical health, busy at home, and busy at work) there were smaller increases in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5 compared to the large increase from Year 1 to Year 2 (for the exact percentages, please see the summary tables). While the rankings between those three reasons remained stable from Years 5 to 4, they were variable between Years 3 through to 1.

Two thirds of people who had not visited green and natural spaces in the last 14 days had concerns about visiting green spaces:

  • In Year 5, just over a third of people (34%) who had not visited green and natural spaces reported having no general concerns or worries about visiting green and natural spaces. In turn, there were two thirds of people (66%) that did have concerns about visiting green and natural spaces.

  • For those people who did have concerns (66%), the five most common concerns in Year 5 among people who had not visited green and natural spaces in the previous 14 days were:

    1. Anti-social behaviour (26%)
    2. A lack of facilities (such as toilets, benches, and baby changing) and
    3. Visiting after dark (both 25%),
    4. Fear of crime (including physical and/or verbal abuse, theft, damage to car etc) (19%)
    5. Being on my own / isolated (15%)

Chart 9-2 Concerns or worries about visiting green and natural spaces for people that had not visited green and natural spaces in the previous 14 days between April 2020 to March 2025.

Chart notes

Source: Q29 / M2B_Q4A Thinking about visiting green and natural spaces, are you concerned or worried by any of the following? Answer options subset: Anti-social behaviour, fear of crime, lack of facilities, visiting after dark, being on my own / isolated.

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 8,297 (Year1), 8,044 (Year 2), 7,702 (Year 3), 5,664 (Year 4), 6,094 (Year 5). Only a subset of concerns or worries have been presented. More information on the questionnaire is available here.
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  4. As this is a multi-select question the percentages will not add up to 100%.

Comparing the number of people with concerns over the years, both Years 5 (34%) and Year 4 (33%) were roughly the same, and this followed a pattern of slight increase from 32% in Year 3, 31% in Year 2, and 25% in Year 1.

Anti-social behaviour, lack of facilities, and visiting after dark have all seen a steady increase over the years. These concerns have remained grouped together within the top three most common concerns throughout the years, though there were changes in ranking. Visiting after dark has had the most percentage change, rising from 21% in Year 1 to 25% in Year 5, followed by anti-social behaviour increasing from 23% in Year 1 to 26% in Year 5.

Fear of crime and being on my own / isolated have stayed grouped together as the two less commonly selected concerns out of the top five, and have also seen a steady increase over the years. Fear of crime has seen a stepped increase rising from 16% in Year 1 to 19% in Year 5. Being on my own/isolated has increase from 12% in Year 1 to 15% in all subsequent years.

Bad health, being over 55 years old, and living in a deprived area were the biggest barriers to visiting green spaces when focusing on visit frequency:

  • Just over one in ten adults who reported having bad health answered that they never visited a green space in the last year (11%). This was a slight increase from 9% in Year 4.
  • Five percent of adults aged 55-64 years old and over 65 years old answered that they never visited a green space in the last year. This was the same as Year 4 for over 65-year-olds, and a slight increase from 3% for 55–64-year-olds.
  • Five percent of adults living in deprived areas answered that they never visited a green space in the last year, the same as in Year 4 (5%).

All of the percentages above need to be considered with the overall small percentage of 3% of people in Year 5 who stated that they never visited a green space in the last year (see Chart 3-2, but also this is the percentage of the yellow bit in the England total at the bottom in Chart 9-3 below). When looking at a breakdown of the people who responded that they never visited a green space in the last year, only percentages that round to 5% or over are labelled in the yellow part representing ‘Never’ in Chart 9-3 below.

Chart 9-3 Visit frequency by six demographic variables (health, age, deprived, ethnicity, gender, urban/rural) in Year 5 (April 20243 and March 2025).

Chart notes

Source: M1_Q1 In the last 12 months, how often, on average have you spent free time outside in green and natural spaces?

  1. Data collected between April 2024 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 2,963 (16-24), 6,195 (25-39), 5,873 (40-54), 4,002 (55-64), 5,991 (65+); 21,204 (White), 493 (Mixed), 1,321 (Asian or Asian British), 1,864 (Black or Black British), 141 (Any other ethnic group or background); 11,857 (Male), 13,130 (Female); 16,561 (Good health), 6,814 (Fair health), 1,649 (Bad health); 4,530 (Deprived), 16,165 (Not Deprived); 3,089 (Rural), 17,606 (Urban).
  3. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  4. Deprived in this report refers to the households in the bottom 20% of the IMD – Index of Multiple Deprivation (see glossary - deciles 1 and 2, out of ten total).
  5. Self-reported health (Q57) was aggregated to three categories: very good/good, fair, and bad/very bad.
  6. Only percentages that round to 5% or over are labelled in the chart. For any of the percentages not shown in the chart, please have a look at the summary table for Year 5.

10. Environmental concerns and actions

Most people said that protecting the environment was important to them:

  • In Year 5, over eight in ten people (87%) said that protecting the environment was important to them. This was similar to Year 4 (88%) and Years 1, 2 and 3 (all 86%).

Though there is a high level of agreement that protecting the environment is important to people, this can be put into a broader context by looking at how the environment/climate change ranks when considering a wide range of issues facing the UK.

The Environment/climate change was the fifth most commonly selected issue facing the UK:

The Adults’ People and Nature Survey also asked respondents how important the environment is to people in relation to other issues. Survey respondents are asked to select up to three of the most important issues facing the UK.

  • In Year 5, ‘The environment/climate change’ was the fifth most commonly selected issue facing the UK, chosen by 21% of people. There was as steady decrease from the highest endorsement peak of 29% in Year 2 to Year 5 (24% in Year 4, 26% in Year 3). Twenty-one percent in Year 5 was similar to Year 1 (22%).
  • The ranking of ‘The environment/climate change’ in relation to other issues facing the UK has continued to drop from its highest at third in Year 1 and 2, to fourth in Year 3, to fifth in Year 4 and 5.

Chart 10-1 What people think are the most important issues facing the UK between April 2020 to March 2025.

Chart notes

Source: M4_Q1 What do you think are the most important issues facing the United Kingdom at the moment? Answer options subset: The environment / climate change, Health / NHS / Coronavirus, Economy, Rising prices / inflation / cost of living, Immigration.

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 4,930 (Year 1), 5,024 (Year 2), 5,028 (Year 3), 4,954 (Year 4), 5,031 (Year 5).
  3. Only a subset of issues have been presented. More information on the questionnaire is available here.
  4. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  5. As this is a multi-select question the percentages will not add up to 100%.

Pollution of rivers, lakes and ground water was the environmental issue most people are concerned about, closely followed by climate change:

  • For the first time since the survey started in 2020/21, pollution of rivers, lakes and ground water was the most common environmental concern identified by respondents in Year 5 (mentioned by 45% of adults). This was an increase from 40% in Year 4 and 33% in Year 3.
  • The second most common environmental concern was climate change, identified by 44% of respondents in Year 5. This was a decrease from 47% in Year 4 and 49% in Year 3.
  • The third most common concern in Year 5 was plastic pollution (38%). This was fairly similar to Year 4 (37%) and a slight decrease from Year 3 (41%).

Chart 10-2 Environmental issues people are most concerned about between April 2022 and March 2023 (Year 3), April 2023 and March 2024 (Year 4), and April 2024 and March 2025 (Year 5).

Chart notes

Source: M4_Q7 Below is a list of environmental issues. Please pick the four issues that you are most concerned about: Answer options subset: Climate change, Plastic pollution, Decline or extinction of animal and plant life, Pollution of rivers, lakes and ground water, Pollution of the sea, Building on green and natural spaces, Growing amount of waste.

  1. Data shown collected between April 2022 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 5,028 (Year 3), 4,954 (Year 4), and 5,031 (Year 5).
  3. Only a subset of issues have been presented. More information on the full set of answer options available in the questionnaire is available here.
  4. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  5. As this is a multi-select question the percentages will not add up to 100%.
  6. Chart ordered by magnitude of endorsement in Year 5 (April 2024 – March 2025).

In terms of ranking, Year 5 was the first year climate change has not been the most selected issue since the survey started in 2020/21 (although there was only one percentage point difference to pollution of rivers, lakes and ground water). Also, for the first time since the survey began in 2020, concern around the decline or extinction of animal and plant life dropped from third place to fourth place in Year 5.

Adults undertook a range of household, gardening, and broader lifestyle behaviours that are positive for the environment.

  • In Year 5, 83% said they were going to make changes to their lifestyle to protect the environment, which was a slight decrease from 85% in Year 4.

Recycling was the most common action taken by people to protect the environment:

  • Over eight in ten people reported that they had recycled items in Year 5 (81%). This was the same as Year 4 and Year 3, and a decrease from 83% in Year 2 and 85% in Year 1.
  • A similar proportion of people reported they had brought their own bags when shopping (79% in Year 5). This was relatively stable over time with only small fluctuations (81% in Year 4 and Year 1, 79% in Year 3, and 80% in Year 2).
  • Switching off lights and appliances was the third most commonly reported action at 73% in Year 5. This was a decrease compared to Year 4 (76%). Year 4 was a peak with the highest percentage following an increasing trend over the previous years (75% in Year 3, 74% in Year 2 and 73% in Year 1).

Chart 10-3 Actions taken to protect the environment in the last month between April 2020 to March 2025.

Chart notes

Source: M4_Q11 Thinking about the last month, which of the following have you done? Answer options subset: Recycled items, Brought your own bags when shopping, Switched off lights and appliances to save energy / to protect the environment, Composted food waste, or put food waste out for collection, Taken shorter showers to save water or energy, Bought Local produce.

  1. Data collected between April 2020 and March 2025.
  2. The samples for this question were 4,930 (Year 1), 5,024 (Year 2), 5,028 (Year 3), 4,954 (Year 4), 5,031 (Year 5).
  3. Only a subset of actions have been presented. More information on the questionnaire is available here.
  4. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this chart.
  5. As this is a multi-select question the percentages will not add up to 100%.

As Chart 10-3 shows, there is a grouping of two sets of behaviours (recycling items, bringing own bags when shopping, and switching off lights and appliances are grouped relatively closely, as are composting food waste, buying local produce and taking shorter showers).

Over the 5 years of A-PaNS, the action of taking shorter showers has seen the most change over the years. It saw a stepped increase to its peak in Year 3 climbing from 33% to 43%, followed by a steady decrease down to 39% in Year 5. Recycling items also saw a stepped decline from 85% in Year 1 to 81% in Year 3, where it has remained through to Year 5. All other actions for the environment saw smaller fluctuations over the 5 years.

11. Further information about using PANS data

Further information on the People and Nature Survey is available on Gov.uk. New data are published on a quarterly basis.

In addition to the published reports and data releases, Natural England has developed a data viewer that weights the data and provides breakdowns for many of the questions in the survey.

If you have a specific research question that cannot be explored on the data viewer, a copy of the dataset can be downloaded from UK Data Service. Natural England has published a technical report providing full methodological background to the research, including how the data were collected and how the questions, sample and weights were developed. If you wish to analyse the data yourself, please ensure you weight the data appropriately following the weighting guidance included in the technical report.

If you use the dataset for your own analysis or use figures or charts from the report or the data viewer, please use the following citation: Natural England, 2025, Adults’ People and Nature Survey Annual Report Year 5 from April 2020 – March 2025.

If you have any questions that are not answered by the published materials, please contact the People and Nature Survey project team: people_and_nature@naturalengland.org.uk.

Here are further details on what kinds of questions/topics are being asked in the modules that have not been focused upon in this report:

General experiences of green and natural spaces:

  • General/local greenspace standards
  • More in-depth detail on Nature connection (measured via the Nature Connection Index (NCI) and the Inclusion in Nature Scale (INS))

Visits taken to green and natural spaces in last 14 days:

  • Main visit in past 14 days: destination/s, start place, distance, duration, activities, benefits of visit, transport, who with, physical exertion, money spent, reason for visit, quality of place/s visited.

Children (asking parent/guardian):

  • Frequency of time spent outside in past 12 months.
  • Places visited.
  • Visit partners.
  • Benefits of time outdoors
  • Reasons for not spending more time outdoors.
  • Time spent in private garden.

Environmental attitudes:

  • Importance of protecting the environment
  • Reasons to look after the environment.
  • Concern about damaging natural environment.
  • Perceived variety of animal / plant life
  • Concern about loss of variety
  • Environmental social action
  • Environmental lifestyle choices
  • Eating meat
  • Driving
  • Aeroplane use
  • Energy use
  • Water waste
  • The number of things bought.
  • Responsibility for environmental damage

Gardens:

  • Frequency of time spent in gardens.
  • Importance of gardens
  • Reasons for spending time in garden
  • Benefits of time in garden
  • Description of garden
  • Wildlife friendly gardening behaviours

12. Glossary

Deprived refers to the 20% most deprived households in England. It is based on the bottom 20% of the IMD (Index of Multiple Deprivation) deciles.

Green and natural spaces are defined in this survey as green and blue spaces in towns and cities (e.g. parks, canals); the countryside (e.g. farmland, woodland, hills and rivers); the coast (e.g. beaches, cliffs) and activities in the open sea; visits of any duration (including short trips to the park, dog walking etc.). They do not include: gardens; outside spaces visited as part of someone’s employment; spaces outside the UK. Additional questions are asked about private gardens.

IMD stands for the Index of Multiple Deprivation. It is a measure which allows the ranking of each postcode from least deprived to most deprived. For more details and an FAQ outlining the facets included in the England-specific IMD click here.

Travel, active and passive. In order to sensibly group transport options, the choice was made to group human-powered ways of transport together as active travel (walking, including using a mobility aid such as a wheelchair or a mobility scooter, or cycling), and group machine-powered transport together as passive travel (car, van, motorbike, and public transport such as train, bus, coach). This is not a clear-cut grouping as electric bikes or wheelchairs with a motor may still be reported within the active travel category.

Visits to green and natural spaces are defined in this survey as visits to green spaces in towns and cities (e.g. parks, canals); the countryside (e.g. farmland, woodland, hills and rivers); the coast (e.g. beaches, cliffs) and activities in the open sea. This includes: visits of any duration (including short trips to the park, dog walking etc.). They do not include: time in gardens; outside spaces visited as part of someone’s job; or time spent outside the UK. Additional questions are asked about private gardens.

Years. When referring to years and numbers in text, these are based on the financial years with the first year of data collection starting in April 2020. These are the exact months and years that are referenced:

Year 1 April 2020 - March 2021
Year 2 April 2021 - March 2022
Year 3 April 2022 - March 2023
Year 4 April 2023 - March 2024
Year 5 April 2024 - March 2025

People and Nature questionnaire: Includes link to People and Nature Survey questions.

People and Nature Survey information: Further information on the People and Nature Survey for England.

The Countryside Code: Statutory guidance on respecting, protecting and enjoying the outdoors.

The G indicators: Data from the Adults’ People and Nature Survey contribute to the outcome indicator framework for the 25 Year Environment Plan, now the Environmental Improvement Plan - specifically the G indicators ‘Natural Beauty and Engagement’ (specifically, G3 ‘Enhancement of green and blue infrastructure’; G4 ‘Engagement with the natural environment’; G5 ‘People engaged in social action for the environment’; G6 ‘Environmental attitudes and behaviours’; and G7 ‘Health and wellbeing benefits’). The Environmental Indicator Plan 2023 is currently undergoing review and an updated plan is due to be published later in 2025 (Government launches rapid review to meet Environment Act targets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).

  1. From April 2023 (start of Year 4) a question was introduced to all adults that selected “Don’t Know” when asked about number of visits in the last 14 days. This new question asked, “Have you had one or more visits to green and natural spaces in the last 14 days?”. This is in line with recommendations from the Office for Statistics Regulation to increase the proportion of adults reporting whether they had any visits in the last 14 days. See here. ↩

  2. From April 2023 (Year 4) onwards this question moved from module 1 to the environmental module 4 and the change observed may be due to this methodological change. ↩

  3. From April 2023 (Year 4) onwards this question moved from module 1 to the environmental module 4 and the change observed may be due to this methodological change. ↩

  4. From April 2023 (Year 4) onward this question was moved from Module 1 (asked of the whole sample) into Module 4 (asked of around 20% of the sample). ↩

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