Measuring participation

Ensuring that everyone in Scotland has the opportunity enjoy the outdoors - through participation in outdoor recreation, volunteering or outdoor learning - is a major part of our work. Increasing the proportion of adults enjoying the outdoors is also a key target of the Scottish Government who has asked Scottish Natural Heritage to report on the National Indicator to 'Increase people's use of Scotland's outdoors' .

Regular monitoring work, supported by ad hoc research, provides us with a sound information base and is essential in helping us to identify key audiences and develop appropriate policy and practice with our partners. It's also important in guiding the development of communications, such as our 'Simple Pleasures' campaign which aims to inspire more people to enjoy the nature on their doorstep more often.

The Scottish Recreation Survey

The Scottish Recreation Survey (ScRS) plays a key role in our activities. This continuous monitoring study, which we commissioned in 2003 with support from Forestry Commission Scotland, delivers regular data on:

• the proportion of adults visiting the outdoors for leisure and recreation
• the level of participation in walking and other recreational activities
• awareness and understanding of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

The ScRS comprises a series of questions inserted each month into the Scottish Opinion Survey, a consumer omnibus run by TNS. The questions are asked of a representative sample of approximately 1,000 Scottish adults aged 16 and over each month, giving an annual sample size of around 12,000. Interviews are conducted in-home, using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing). The ScRS annual report series can be accessed via our commissioned research page.

ScRS data on 'visits to the outdoors' is used to monitor progress on the National Indicator to 'Increase people's use of Scotland's outdoors' and our Official Statistics page shows trends in weekly participation in outdoor leisure and recreation for the period 2006 to 2011.

Key findings from the 2011 ScRS survey are:

• The proportion of Scottish adults visiting the outdoors for leisure or recreation at least once in the previous 12 months remains at 83%, up from between 79% to 80% between 2006-2009; the proportion visiting at least once a week in 2011 (46%) is, however, down slightly on 2010 (48%).
• Around half of all outdoor recreation visits are made to the countryside (49%); the proportion of all visits made to and within town and cities (including visits to parks and other urban open spaces) has increased from 30% in 2004 to 38% in 2011.
• The proportion of all visits made on foot in 2011 (at 67%) is significantly higher than in 2004 (50%), while the proportion of visits made by car has declined over the same period (from 43% to 28%). These changes are linked to a trend for shorter visits made closer to home.
• Walking remains the most popular outdoor pastime enjoyed by Scottish adults, named as the main activity on 74% of visits to the outdoors.