What makes some people go out for a Sunday afternoon walk, while others are happy to sit at home exercising their thumbs playing a computer game?

Will a less active younger generation result in an increasingly unhealthy, sedentary older generation in future, making fewer visits to the outdoors? How will we know what other trends may have a great effect on our use of the outdoors? How can we avoid lots more people visiting our wildspaces for recreation damaging the natural resource?

These are the types of questions that Natural England was looking to answer in the first stage of their work to prepare an outdoor recreation strategy.

In partnership with the Forestry Commission, Natural England’s aim is to develop a thorough understanding of the factors affecting outdoor recreation in England. This includes key social trends over the next 20 years, and what the implications of these will be for outdoor recreation between now and 2015.

You can read the research report, as well as further information about the strategy, by clicking on the link: http://www.countryside.gov.uk/LAR/Recreation/CR/strategy.asp