outdoors-participation-report-v2

Outdoors Participant
Profile
Common reasons for not participating outdoors or stopping
Reasons commonly cited for not
participating in outdoors activities
• Too busy with family responsibilities (32%)
Why Not
Research has identified the following key factors affecting
people’s overall participation in outdoors activities, which may
contribute to exclusion and result in under – representation.
• Can’t commit regularly (30%)
• Don’t have the time (30%)
• Prefer to spend spare time doing
other things (29%)
• It’s too expensive (24%).
Lack of time:
working and family
commitments can reduce
Weather:
Lack of local
the ‘availability’ of
opportunities:
the most time to participate
there are too few safe,
commonly stated in 'time consuming'
easily accessible, natural
reasons for not
outdoor
spaces close to residential
visiting woodlands
recreation.
areas. Particularly a
/forest more often was
barrier for those without
‘bad weather’
a car or funds for
(38%).
transport.
Risk:
Lack of
of environment hazards;
(appropriate)
stranger danger; dogs etc.
interpretative information:
Fear of other people,
poor marketing leaves
particularly gangs of
people unclear on how to
young adults/
access information and
antisocial
Generic Barriers
whether they can trust
behaviour. Neglected/poorly
the accuracy.
to Outdoors
Neglected/poorly
maintained
Participation
Costs:
environment:
maintained
cumulative costs,
general environment: feeling that
outdoors general space feeling is that poorly
outdoors maintained, space littered is poorly with
broken maintained, glass, littered rubbish with and
broken graffiti. glass, rubbish
both in terms of time,
effort and money is
perceived as a risky
investment when
compared to easier
and graffiti.
Negative
alternatives.
perceptions:
Lack of
for young people the
Girls not
confidence:
countryside is perceived
welcome:
in own ability,
as backward, stifling,
outside spaces fitness and
inward-looking designed for children
knowledge.
and conservative.
and young people are
often considered ‘boys
places’, Girls feel they
must stay out of the
‘boy’s areas’.
Reasons commonly cited for
stopping participation in outdoors activities
• Too busy/time constraints (41%)
• Job/studies/school got in the way (35%)
• Family commitments/too busy
at home (34%)
• Injury/health reasons (30%)
• No opportunity (20%).
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