Encouraging under-represented groups to use woodlands and green spaces for physical activity
Jake Morris and Liz O’Brien
Social and Economic Research Group
Forest Research
Environment, Well-Being and Healthy
Lifestyle
Staffordshire University
21 st October 2009 jake.morris@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

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Active England

Active England
Health and physical activity
• 23.6% of adults in England are obese (DOH’s Health profile of England 2008)
• Based on current trends 50% of women, 60% of men and
25% of children will be obese by 2050
• Only 37% of men and 24% of women meet recommended level of physical activity (30 minutes of exercise on at least
5 days a week)
Costs of health problems in England
Health problem
Health and social care
Wider economy
Mental ill health
Obesity
Diabetes
£12 billion per annum
£1 billion
£64 billion
£2.3 billion
£1.3 billion Unknown
Sustainable Development Commission, 2007
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Health, inequality and green space
Growing body of research to show that woodlands and green spaces can be beneficial to people’s health and well-being.
BUT, opportunities for healthy exercise, recreation and access to green space are not equally distributed across society
‘Outdoor activities are often associated with white, middle aged, middle class and nondisabled people’. DEFRA’s Diversity
Action Plan ‘Outdoors for all?’
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Active England

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Active England
• Established in 2003 with £94.8 million from Lottery and
Sport England
• Aim of programme – to increase community participation in sport and physical activity in England
• Target groups
• People on low incomes
• People with disabilities
• Women and girls
• Black and ethnic minorities
• Young people (under 16)
• 45+ age group
• 241 projects funded for 3 years

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5 woodland projects funded
3 ‘Site based’ and 2 Community
Forests.
Funding: £500,000 to £2 million per project
Site based projects
Infrastructure Yes
Equipment
Events
Yes
Yes
Facilitated access
Yes
Led activities Yes
Community
Forest projects
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
Active England

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Active England
Methodology
• Phase 1 – On-site surveys (at 8 sites) to track changes in ‘visitor’ and ‘visit’ profiles for each of the study sites
• Phase 2 – Spatial analysis to produce a ‘catchment’ profile for each site
- Comparison between ‘visitor’ & ‘catchment’ profiles -
• Phase 3 – Programme of qualitative research with ‘users’ and
‘non-users’ from surrounding communities.
Self–evaluation interviews with project staff.
Data
Quantitative – 2,898 questionnaires completed across 8 sites
(baseline and repeat surveys)
Qualitative - 114 people (‘users’ and ‘non-users’) participated in an activity and a focus group discussion
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Active England
Phase 1: Key results: Changing ‘visitor’ profiles
• Significant increases in visitor numbers at Bedgebury, Haldon & Rosliston
Sites/year
Bedgebury
Haldon
Rosliston
2005/6
51,000
2006/7
182,000
10,000
129,340
80,000
2007/8
273,000
224,000
189,905
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Active England
Changing visitor profiles
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• Low incomes - Visitors from low income households (<20K) increased at Community Forests.
Site based group attracted more visitors from high income households.
40.0% Before or After before after
30.0%
Community
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Under
£10,000
£10,000
-
£20,000
£21,000
-
£30,000
£31,000
-
£50,000
Over
£50,000
Approximate annual income
N/A

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Active England
Changing visitor profiles
• Disability - No significant changes in the number of visitors with disabilities, blue badge holders, or those who were registered disabled.
• Women & girls - The overall proportion of female visitors increased in Greenwood CF from 44% to 57%.
There were extremely high numbers of females visiting
Rosliston, at a ratio of 3:1 compared to males (due to the child friendly activities and facilities provided at the site).
• BME - All projects showed increases in visitors from Black and
Minority Ethnic Groups, with a significant increase for the site based group (1.7% to 5.8%).

Active England
Changing visitor profiles
Significant increase in the 16-44 age group at site based projects.
Due to large investment in ‘family friendly’ infrastructure (creation of play areas, family cycle and walk tracks and equipment for archery, laser quest).
Q: How can a site be attractive to young and older visitors?
Site type
Community group 16-
44 age group
Before project
46.9%
After project
47.8%
Community group 45+
Site group
16-44
Site group
45+
53.1%
39.7%
60.3%
52.2%
59.4%
40.6%
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Active England
Phase 1: Key results:
Changing ‘visit’ profiles
Site based projects: Significant increase in cycling, use of play areas and mountain biking
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Active England
Changing ‘visit’ profiles
There were significant decreases in solitary visits and increases in
‘social’ visits for both groupings.
Important because ‘other people’ = key motivating factor for continued participation
Community or Site
Based groups
Community group
Site based group
Q8 Who did you come with?
Total
Q8 Who did you come with?
On own
Family
Partner
Friends
Organised
Group
Total
On own
Family
Partner
Friends
Organised
Group
Before or After before after
49.8%
26.1%
15.9%
7.2%
27.0%
38.0%
20.7%
14.1%
1.0% .2%
Total
42.5%
29.9%
17.4%
9.4%
.8%
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
17.7% 9.5% 13.7%
35.9% 59.5% 47.4%
30.4%
13.4%
11.5%
12.7%
21.2%
13.1%
2.7% 6.7% 4.6%
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
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Phase 2: Catchment profiles
Active England
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Active England
Phase 2: Catchment profiles – guaging (under-)representation
Rosliston’s visitor profile revealed a small increase in the proportion of
BME visitors, from 0% in 2005 to 3.2% in 2006.
BUT, many visitors are from wards showing a >5% representation of citizens belonging to BME groups.
Conclusion: BME groups still under-represented at Rosliston.

Active England
Phase 3: Evaluation: barriers for ‘non-users’
Barriers for non-users
Lack of information and awareness
Lack of confidence
Safety concerns for women and children
Feeling unwelcome
Cultural norms of accessing green spaces
Health problems and restricted mobility
Money issues (cost of transport)
Lack of facilities for children
Lack of transport – buses, trains, car
Work patterns and time
Littering – rubbish, drug needles
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Psychological and social/cultural barriers
Physical and structural barriers
NB many barriers lie outside the conventional remit of forest management

Active England
Phase 3: Evaluation: benefits to project ‘users’
Benefit themes
Re-affirming sense of self
Nature – outdoors, senses and aesthetics
Social networks and socialising
Health: physical and mental
Achievement and learning
Enjoyment
Quotes and what people enjoyed
Childhood / family memories of the outdoors, climbing trees, building dens
Fresh air, scenery, variety, changing seasons, seeing, feeling, smelling, woods screening traffic and noise ‘it’s an escape’
Support from staff, meet others, motivation to continue activity ‘I think it’s a good way to meet people’
Group as important as the activity
Keeping mobile, energised, mental well-being, relaxed, feel healthy, therapeutic, stress reduction
‘my doctor said I should walk a mile every morning and every evening for my back’
Developing new skills, gaining confidence, accomplishment
‘you get a sense of achievement and accomplishment’
Adventure, fun, escapism, having a laugh, exhilarated
Wider life impacts Leading on to further exercise, new friends, training to be a volunteer, undertaking new challenges ‘if I hadn’t come here I wouldn’t have considered doing the race for life’
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Active England
How to reach under-represented groups – scatter-gun, or targeted, sustained impact on individuals?
Intervention type Examples Benefits / draw-backs
More people
More sustainable
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Events
Site infrastructure improvements
Fun runs, craft fairs, cycle event, activity day
Cycle tracks, walk trails, play areas, visitor centre
Raise awareness amongst large audience, but untargeted, and little sustained impact
Boost visitor numbers, but how many will be from target groups?
Equipment purchases
Led activities
Facilitated access
Laser quest, archery, climbing wall
Health walks, cycle rides, nature walks
Bring target group to site for activity
Attract new audiences, can be tailored to needs of target groups, but just a one-off?
Low numbers, but provides regular activity for those who would not visit alone / lack partner / want to socialise
Low numbers, but will reach groups not confident to visit alone and who lack cultural norms of visiting woods e.g. BME groups

Active England
• Targeted outreach work needs to be supported and adequately funded – as important as ‘project delivery’
• Volunteers provide a vital human resource and can ensure the sustained impact of projects
• Users emphasised the high social value of regular and scheduled group activities
• Often the group itself becomes the primary motivation for continued involvement in the activity
• Some of the barriers are outside the immediate influence of the organisations running the projects – partnership working is vital in trying to address these barriers
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To find out more about our work: www.forestresearch.gov.uk/activeengland www.forestresearch.gov.uk/peopleandtrees
SERG Conference - April 2010: www.forestresearch.gov.uk/treesandsociety
Active England