Slides from Communicate 2017 - to see all slides and resources from the conference go to www.communicatenow.org.uk

1. Beyond Contact to
Connection
Anne Hunt
Strategic Working Group for
Nature Connection

2. • Previous frame: Access - visits - concern:
• Visit frequency is not strongly related to concern for the natural
environment or to environmental action
• Valuing does not necessarily lead to action (Value Action Gap)
• Increasing understanding of nature (cognitive pathway) is
ineffective.
Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE)
https://
www.gov.uk/government/collections/monitor-of-engagement-with-the-natural-environment-survey-purpose-and-results

3. So, what else might be important?
• People’s concern for wider environmental conservation is related to how
important the natural environment is to their daily lives.
• Importance of the natural environment to people’s daily lives is related to the
benefits people report from their visits (such as enjoyment and relaxation).
• Enabling people to get the sort of benefits that build the relevance of the
natural environment to their lives might be an important step in supporting
wider environmental attitudes and behaviours.
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5337609808642048
• i.e. the ‘quality’ of visits or contacts is important and enabling both relies on
understanding our audiences’ motivations and needs.

4. Understanding nature
connection
Nature connection
natural.england.org.uk/EIN 015

5. New Nature Connection
Index
(adults and children) he
Nature Connection Index
(NCI)
• ‘I treat nature with
respect’
• ‘I find beauty in
nature’
• ‘Being in nature
makes me happy’
• ‘Spending time in
nature is important to
me’
• ‘I find being in nature
is amazing’
• ‘I feel part of nature’
• 6 item scale - validated against
existing measures
• Piloted in a nationally
representative survey (MENE)

6. Key findings
•Environmental attitudes – both personal importance and wider
concern
•Environmental action - nature-based activities and pro-
environmental activities
•General wellbeing - ONS’ subjective wellbeing measure
Initial analysis suggests that these correlations are stronger than
those seen with visit frequency.
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5337609808642048
The Nature Connection Index was
positively correlated with:

7. Can perform as a national indicator
e.g.
NCI can differentiate levels of nature connection
•By population band: the 20% with the lowest NCI scores were more likely to report:
• lower levels of concern / value for the environment
• less nature-based and pro-environmental behaviours
• infrequent visits to a smaller range of spaces
• and more likely to be male, <35, working full time, DE SEG (this reflects the demographics of those reporting least
willingness to change their lifestyles)
•By demographic: nature connection was higher in children and adults, lowest among the 16-24 year
olds
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5337609808642048

8. Personal outcomes Societal outcomesExperiences in
natural
environments
Experiential
pathway
quality and type of
natural
environment
quality and type of
experience
Personal
relevance
&
concern
for natural
environments
e.g. wellbeing
Nature connection ( NCI)
Affective pathway
mediator/moderator/catalyst?
Target
audiences
Groups
experiencing
inequalities.
Groups with low
connection to
nature.
Audience insight
- understand
motivations for
visiting.
Behaviours
and actions
for
healthier
lifestyles
and
environmental
sustainability
Knowledge and skills
Cognitive pathway
Individual, social, spatial, dynamic and temporal aspects
MENE insight - personal benefits and relevance linked to wider concern and action
naturalengland.org.uk/NECR232 and 233
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/4756603787542528
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5337609808642048

9. • c3 billion visits taken per year
(adult)
• A very small proportion of the
population (11%) take over half
of all visits (53%)
• A very large proportion have
very infrequent contact or none
at all.
• Inequalities across social
groupings
https://
www.gov.uk/government/collections/monitor-of-engagement-with-the-natural-envi
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/4756603787542528
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/4646400?category=2604215

10. Beyond contact to
connection