The People and Nature Survey for England is one of the main sources of data and statistics on how people experience and think about the environment. It began collecting data in April 2020 and has been collecting data since.

The survey builds on the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey which ran from 2009 to 2019. Data from the 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 influence 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.

Different versions of the People and Nature Survey for England are available from the UK Data Archive under Open Access (SN 9092) conditions, End User Licence (SN 9093), and Secure Access (SN 9094).

The Secure Access version includes the same data as the End User Licence version, but includes more detailed variables including:

• age as a continuous variable
• sex
  
• whether gender is the same as at birth
• sexual orientation
• more detailed ethnicity
• where journey to recent visit to green and natural space started from
• visit date
• detailed home geography, including local authority districts, local nature recovery strategies areas, national character areas; urban/rural area, and Index of Multiple Deprivation
• a number of variables that have not been top-coded, including number of children and number of children in household, food and drink expenditure, and income

The Open Access version includes the same data as the End User Licence version, but does not include the following variables:

• age band
• gender identity
  
• marital status
• number of children living in household
• number of children
• work status
• student working status
• income
• qualification
• ethnicity and consent to answer ethnicity question
• number of vehicles
• presence of dog in household
• physical activity
• various health data

Researchers are advised to review the Open Access and/or the End User Licence versions to determine if these are adequate prior to ordering the Secure Access version.

Natural England's statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2023. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

Users are welcome to contact Natural England directly at people_and_nature@naturalengland.org.uk with any comments about how they meet these standards. Alternatively, users can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, Natural England have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

1. Published a development plan with timetables for future work, which will be updated annually
2. Ensured that users have opportunities to contribute to development planning through their biannual Research User Group
3. Enabled wider access to the data by publishing raw data sets through the UK Data Service
4. Provided users with guidance on how statistics from their products can be compared with those produced in the devolved nations
5. Published guidance on the differences between PaNS and MENE
6. Improved estimates of the percentage of people visiting nature in the previous 14 days by reducing the amount of respondents answering ‘don’t know’.

These data are available in Excel, SPSS, as well as Open Document Spreadsheet (ODS) formats.

Latest edition information

For the ninth edition (June 2025), data for October to December 2024 (Quarter 19) have been added.

1. Numerous studies have shown the positive association between nature engagement and well-being. During the early phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, nature engagement changed dramatically as mental health and well-being declined across the globe.
2. This study examines how psychological connection to nature and engagement with nature in various forms is associated with well-being during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Specifically, we examine which types of nature engagement (i.e., with nearby nature, through nature excursions, and media-based) are more strongly associated with well-being based on measures of loneliness, rumination, pandemic emotional impact, and mental health.
3. We employed a cross-sectional online survey of adults (N=3,282) residing in the United States, 25% of whom report seldom spending time in nature.
4. Our findings revealed that the psychological construct of connection to nature was associated with less loneliness and greater mental health. Overall, nature engagement was a consistent predictor of well-being, but different types of activities predicted varying outcomes on our four dependent variables. Greater engagement with nearby nature during the pandemic was associated with less rumination, less pandemic emotional impact, and better mental health while nature excursions (e.g., camping, backpacking) and media-based nature engagement were associated with greater loneliness, more emotional impact from the pandemic, and worse mental health. Additionally, nature engagement via media was associated with greater rumination.
5. Our findings suggest that promoting opportunities to increase engagement with and access to nearby nature is associated with better human well-being, especially during challenging events, and should be part of a multi-pronged approach for coping with the next public health crisis. Methods This study relied on a cross-sectional online survey that yielded a sample of 3,282 adults over 18 years of age, residing in the United States from two primary groups: (1) participants involved in public engagement programs through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (NGO), and (2) members of the public with varying degrees of nature engagement. A soft launch of the survey occurred on October 1, 2020, to 100 people from the national panel group, to ensure smooth administration. The final survey was administered online via Qualtrics to the national panel on October 6 and closed on October 24, 2020. For the NGO group, the survey was sent on October 12, 2020, with reminder emails 6 and 13 days later. The NGO survey was closed on November 5, 2020. The two surveys were identical except for a few additional questions posed to the NGO group about engagement in NGO-specific activities (see Appendix A for complete survey). All data were initially cleaned using Excel. All analyses were completed using SPSS, version 28 (IBM Corp., 2019).

The People and Nature Survey for England is one of the main sources of data and statistics on how people experience and think about the environment. It began collecting data in April 2020 and has been collecting data since.

The survey builds on the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey which ran from 2009 to 2019. Data from the 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 influence 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.

Different versions of the People and Nature Survey for England are available from the UK Data Archive under Open Access (SN 9092) conditions, End User Licence (SN 9093), and Secure Access (SN 9094).

The Secure Access version includes the same data as the End User Licence version, but includes more detailed variables including:

• age as a continuous variable
• sex
  
• whether gender is the same as at birth
• sexual orientation
• more detailed ethnicity
• where journey to recent visit to green and natural space started from
• visit date
• detailed home geography, including local authority districts, local nature recovery strategies areas, national character areas; urban/rural area, and Index of Multiple Deprivation
• a number of variables that have not been top-coded, including number of children and number of children in household, food and drink expenditure, and income

The Open Access version includes the same data as the End User Licence version, but does not include the following variables:

• age band
• gender identity
  
• marital status
• number of children living in household
• number of children
• work status
• student working status
• income
• qualification
• ethnicity and consent to answer ethnicity question
• number of vehicles
• presence of dog in household
• physical activity
• various health data

Researchers are advised to review the Open Access and/or the End User Licence versions to determine if these are adequate prior to ordering the Secure Access version.

Natural England's statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2023. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

Users are welcome to contact Natural England directly at people_and_nature@naturalengland.org.uk with any comments about how they meet these standards. Alternatively, users can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, Natural England have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

1. Published a development plan with timetables for future work, which will be updated annually
2. Ensured that users have opportunities to contribute to development planning through their biannual Research User Group
3. Enabled wider access to the data by publishing raw data sets through the UK Data Service
4. Provided users with guidance on how statistics from their products can be compared with those produced in the devolved nations
5. Published guidance on the differences between PaNS and MENE
6. Improved estimates of the percentage of people visiting nature in the previous 14 days by reducing the amount of respondents answering ‘don’t know’.

These data are available in Excel, SPSS, as well as Open Document Spreadsheet (ODS) formats.

Latest edition information

For the ninth edition (June 2025), data for October to December 2024 (Quarter 19) have been added.

Surveys of wellbeing, nature connectedness and pro-nature conservation behaviour scores from adult human participants before and after taking part in nature-based activities, including citizen science, in 2020 are presented. Participants were recruited via a public campaign and were randomly allocated into groups: citizen science, noticing nature (three good things in nature activity), combined citizen science and three good things in nature, and a wait list control. They were invited to take part in activities up to five times in the following eight days. Online surveys of wellbeing and nature connectedness were undertaken at people’s sign up to the project and after the eight days of activities. Demographic characteristics and people’s engagement with the project and responses to the pathways to nature connectedness were recorded after the eight days of activities. The research was carried out to investigate concern about the negative impacts of COVID-19 movement restrictions and social distancing on people's wellbeing and mental health. Research was funded through NERC grant NE/V009656/1 - COVID 19 - Does nature-based citizen science enhance well-being and mitigate negative effects of social isolation? Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/56d4b055-c66b-42b9-8962-a47dfcf3b8b0

Raw data from Nature Publishing Group Open Access and Data Publication surveys. Verbatims and other identifying fields redacted.

Survey question regarding the frequency of engagement with different nature-related activities in Singapore.

The Presbyterian Panel began in 1973 and is an ongoing panel study in which mailed questionnaires are used to survey representative samples of constituency groups of "https://www.pcusa.org/" Target="_blank">Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). These constituency groups include: members, elders, pastors serving in a congregation, and specialized clergy serving elsewhere. Panels are re-sampled every three years. The main goal of this study is to gather broad information about Presbyterians in terms of their faith (beliefs, church background, and levels of church involvement), and their social, economic and demographic characteristics (age, sex, marital status, living arrangements, etc.). The May 1997 survey focuses on perceptions of nature and the environment.

This national survey was part of a three-year research project conducted to understand the small-group movement. "The national survey screened a representative sample of the American public to identify persons who were currently involved in any small group that met regularly and provided caring and support for its members. This procedure yielded approximately 1,000 people who were asked a long list of questions about the nature of their group, why they became involved, what its activities were, how well they liked it, and what they had received from it. For comparative purposes, we also surveyed more than 900 people to find out why they had not become involved in a small group" (Wuthnow, 1994:9).

This data file is the second part of the national survey on small groups and contains a comparative sample of those not involved in small group activity. The sample containing those involved in small groups is also available at the "/data-archive?fid=SMGRP1" Target="_blank">ARDA.

Since 2009, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety has conducted a representative population survey on the attitude of the German population towards nature and biodiversity every two years. The survey determines the population´s understanding of nature, how nature is perceived and experienced, what willingness there is to commit to nature conservation and how current issues of nature conservation policy are assessed. In 2017, Ipsos GmbH was responsible for conducting the face-to-face study in cooperation with SINUS Markt- und Sozialforschung GmbH. Marine nature: Associations with the topic of marine nature; agreement with statements about marine nature reserves (fishing should not take place in marine nature reserves, voluntary arrangements with fishermen in marine nature reserves are better than government regulations, oil and gas pipelines have no place in marine nature reserves, more marine nature reserves should be established to preserve nature in the sea, no wind turbines should be located in marine nature reserves); State of knowledge about the establishment of six large nature reserves in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea; importance of such nature reserves in the North Sea and Baltic Sea; assessment of the problematic nature of various aspects for the sea (plastic waste in the sea, pollution by oil, overfishing, underwater noise, e.g. from ships or drilling in the sea, radioactive waste, fertilisers and sewage, rising sea levels, loss of animal and plant species in the sea, bycatch, fishing methods that are harmful to nature such as trawl nets, extraction of mineral resources such as sand, gravel and minerals, loss of coral reefs and other habitats in the sea); frequency of consumption of fish; interest in information about the origin and catch conditions of fish for consumption that is compatible with nature and the environment; agreement with statements on the subject of fishing (I eat little fish in order to make a personal contribution to the conservation and protection of fish stocks, I consider the labelling of fish products from nature-friendly fishing to be very important, I would like to be able to rely on the trade not offering fish products from endangered species, in order for fisheries to do more for marine nature conservation, the state should support them more financially, even if this costs tax money, in order for fisheries to do more for marine nature conservation, stricter rules and laws are needed, even if this would increase fish prices, when I eat sea fish, I make sure that it is not from endangered species); knowledge of the MSC label for sustainable fisheries; correct description of the meaning of the MSC label. 2. Biological diversity: awareness of the term biological diversity; meaning of the term biological diversity (open); convinced that biological diversity on earth is decreasing; conservation of biological diversity as a priority social task; willingness to do various things to protect biological diversity (change the brand of cosmetics or drugstore articles if their production endangers biological diversity, donate to the maintenance and conservation of a nature reserve, actively participate in a nature conservation association, use a guidebook when shopping that e.g. informs about endangered fish species, make friends and acquaintances aware of the protection of biological diversity, inform about current developments in the field of biological diversity); attitude towards biologicial diversity (Scale: personally felt responsibility for the conservation of biological diversity, demand for a reduction in the use of land for settlements, industry and transport routes, promotes well-being and quality of life, financial support for the efforts of poorer countries to conserve biological diversity by richer countries, personally felt impairment by declining biological diversity). 3. Nature and nature conservation: attitude towards nature and nature conservation in general (it makes me happy to be in nature, I don´t feel good in nature, I am annoyed by the careless way many people treat nature, nature conservation as a human duty, nature must not stand in the way of economic development, we must only use nature in such a way that this is also possible to the same extent for future generations, in times of economic crisis nature conservation must also manage with less money, contact with nature is important for children´s development). 4. Genetic engineering: importance of banning genetically modified organisms in agriculture; attitude towards genetic engineering in agriculture (scale: humans have no right to deliberately genetically modify plants and animals, demand for labelling of genetically modified food, possible effects on nature should always be investigated when plants are deliberately genetically modified, have no problems with eating genetically modified food, genetic engineering as an important component in combating world hunger). 5. Energy transition: Advocacy of the energy transition. 6. Psychological foundation of the human-nature relationship: nature conservation identity on a regional and global level. The sample was randomly divided into two groups (split-half). Half of the subjects each answered the questions of questionnaire version I (global identity) and questionnaire version II (regional identity). 7. Experiment Collective vs. personal contribution to nature conservation: The sample is randomly divided into three groups, one third each answer the questions of questionnaire version A (collective nature conservation), questionnaire version B (personal nature conservation) and questionnaire version C (neutral group): Attitudes towards the topic of plastic waste with regard to intentions (I will do without many plastic products in the future, even if it hurts, within the next four weeks I will think concretely about how I can avoid plastic in my household) and behavioural intention (willingness to support an initiative to avoid plastic in the household through one´s own cooperation and interview time in minutes for which the respondent would be available free of charge); agreement to further statements on the topic of plastic waste: by avoiding plastic waste as an individual, I can noticeably improve the state of nature; a clear majority of people in Germany think it is important to avoid plastic waste and are willing to do something about it; by avoiding plastic waste together, we can noticeably improve the state of nature; avoiding plastic waste is more of a collective task for all people in Germany than for the individual. Demography: sex; age; nationality German; other nationality mentioned; marital status; living situation; employment status; occupation if not employed; occupational status; education: school or university degree; completed apprenticeship; religiosity; religion or denomination; household size; number of children under 18 in the household; total number of children; personal net monthly income (grouped); net household income (grouped); degree of urbanisation at the time of childhood and adolescence and currently; agreement with the statement that the questions of the questionnaire could be answered completely freely and without influence by the interviewer. Additionally coded were: federal state; city size category (BIK 5, 7 and 10 categories); weight; interviewer assessment of the persuasiveness of the behavioural tasks (assessment of nature conservation brochures or use of plastic waste in own household); doubts about the authenticity of the behavioural tasks by the respondents.

This dataset contains the results of the yearly summer camp of the Field Study Group (Dutch Mammal Society), organized from July 26th to August 5th 2011 in Biokovo Nature Park, Croatia. The mammals of Biokovo and its surroundings were the main object of study, using various methods. Live traps were used to identify small mammals like shrews and mice. Data on bats was gathered with bat detectors and mistnets.Other mammal species were observed visually or by use of camera and video monitors. While recording mammals, attention was given to insects (butterflies, dragonflies), amphibians, reptiles and birds as well. Locations were recorded with GPS.

Annual Earnings and Hours Survey - Table 220-23003 : Number of employees by employment nature, sex and occupational group

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Natural Bridge population distribution across 18 age groups. It lists the population in each age group along with the percentage population relative of the total population for Natural Bridge. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution of Natural Bridge by age. For example, using this dataset, we can identify the largest age group in Natural Bridge.

Key observations

The largest age group in Natural Bridge, AL was for the group of age 55 to 59 years years with a population of 10 (30.30%), according to the ACS 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. At the same time, the smallest age group in Natural Bridge, AL was the Under 5 years years with a population of 0 (0%). Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group in consideration
• Population: The population for the specific age group in the Natural Bridge is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the population of each age group as a proportion of Natural Bridge total population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Natural Bridge Population by Age. You can refer the same here

Through a 2021 AFWA MultiState Conservation Grant, Virginia Tech and the AFWA Wildlife Viewing and Nature Tourism Working Group conducted national and state level surveys to gather more data on wildlife viewers. This dataset is from the nationwide survey. Wildlife viewing is among the fastest growing outdoor recreation activities in the United States, with significant implications for the work of fish and wildlife agencies. Wildlife viewers are those who intentionally observe, feed, or photograph wildlife; travel to parks, protected areas, or other natural spaces with the purpose of feeding, observing, or photographing wildlife; and those who maintain plantings or natural areas for the benefit of wildlife. To better understand wildlife viewers in the United States, the Dayer Lab at Virginia Tech in collaboration with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Wildlife Viewing and Nature Tourism Working Group conducted a survey of more than 4,000 wildlife viewers nationwide. The study fills an important knowledge gap for wildlife agencies and illuminates how to better engage this broad constituency of wildlife recreationists, increasing agency relevancy to a wider array of people who enjoy the outdoors.This survey was conducted in Qualtrics in summer 2021.

All data were anonymized and the UC Center for Laboratory Safety (UCCLS) and BioRAFT, who commissioned the study, shared overview results with Nature. Nature Publishing Group, who co-launched the survey, then conducted its own analysis to pick out significant trends. UCCLS and BioRAFT have permitted publication of overview data but are retaining the raw dataset for more closer analysis in 2013.

Annual Services Survey: Number of companies distributed by activity sectors, size of the company and legal nature. National.

Survey question regarding the frequency of visits to different outdoor spaces in Singapore.

Annual Earnings and Hours Survey - Table 220-23031 : Level and distribution of weekly working hours by employment nature, sex and age group

In this dataset, we provide raw and processed data, study material and documentation of our feasibility study aiming to foster urban residents’ resonances with nature through rituals in a five-week-long panel study. The case study was conducted in Dresden from August 30 till October 8 2023.

In order to facilitate the realization of the study design by other institutions or private actors, the dataset includes first a postcard in pptx-format to promote the study and from which further promotion material can be created. We provide the audio manuals that were used for the implementation of the rituals for both the ritual and control group. Furthermore, we offer an evaluation framework for assessing socio-demographic data, changes throughout the different resonance dimensions (openness, value of Unverfügbarkeit, affect, response, transformation), effects on related aspects such as health or sense of social connectedness, the ecological footprint and possible open questions to assess and evaluate the feasibility study. To round it off, we provide raw survey data as well as preprocessed and analyzed data including results and data records of the intermediate steps of the analyzation conducted with IBM SPSS 28.

List of data, material and content (*.zip):

• Promoting postcard (*.pptx) (artwork: IOER media)
• Audio manual for ritual group (*.pdf)
• Audio manual for control group (*.pdf)
• Subsequent record of the introductory meeting (*.mp4)
• Survey results for the final sample (*.xlsx)
• Upload of qualitative data by participant (*.jpg)
• Results of the statistical analyses (U-tests) to detect group-specific differences (e. g. level of openness, nature relatedness, mindful self-compassion) for the index variables; the tests were conducted with IBM SPSS Statistics 28 (*.xls)
• Results of the statistical analyses (U-tests) to detect group-specific differences regarding the ecological carbon footprint; the tests were conducted with IBM SPSS Statistics 28 (*.xls)

For the revised version, we added:

• Informed consent declaration to participate and publish (*.pdf)

Note: All documents are accessible with open source software.

Data acquisition and processing

The methods are described in a research paper that is currently under review. Once the paper is published, the link will appear here.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank their student assistant Amanda Sydow for the support in editing the survey data as well as all participants for their intensive involvement in the feasibility study.

Notes

Once the related research paper, which is currently under review, is published, the information will appear here.

The Presbyterian Panel is an ongoing panel study in which mailed questionnaires are used to survey representative samples of constituency groups of Presbyterians-members, elders, pastors and clergy serving in specialized ministries. The major consideration guiding this research is a desire to gather broad information about Presbyterians in terms of their faith and their social, economic and demographic characteristics, to provide a comprehensive profile of the denomination. The April 1991 survey focuses on opinions of the Church's priorities, missions, governing bodies and polity-related issues.