Breadcrumbs
“What about us?” - Diversity Review research published - 12 July 2005
“What about us?”, new research carried out as part of the Countryside Agency’s Diversity Review*, looked at ways of improving the opportunities for young people, disabled people, people from the black and minority ethnic community, and people in inner cities to get out and enjoy the outdoors. It also looked at their perceptions of what the countryside has to offer them. The research reviewed the steps already in place to encourage under-represented groups to use the countryside and what improvements could be made.
Key findings and recommendations highlighted by the research include:
- It has long been an assumption that under-represented groups have no interest in the countryside. This review shows that this is not the case;
- All these groups are keen to enjoy the outdoors once they have 'tasted' the experience. Young people need programmes tailored to their needs;
- A lack of confidence and information is the biggest initial barrier among people. Practical barriers like a lack of public transport only come into play when people look at how they can make a visit;
- A lack of confidence among providers in approaching people from these groups results in a lack of engagement with local people who could use their facilities;
- Little attention is paid to communicating directly and appropriately with these groups and positive images are scarce;
- The variety of disabilities is not being recognized, particularly sensory and learning difficulties. Easy access routes for wheelchair users and people who have trouble walking far, though necessary, only cater for a minority of disabled people.
Rural Affairs Minister, Jim Knight, said: “Helping people of all ages and from all walks of life to enjoy the countryside and the wider outdoors is one of the government’s key commitments.
We want everyone to be able to discover for themselves the sense of freedom, inspiration, and enrichment which visiting the countryside can bring as well as the health benefits that go with it. This includes young people from urban and rural areas, black people, people from ethnic minorities, and disabled people. The Countryside Agency’s work is vital to achieving this objective.”
Pam Warhurst, deputy chair of the Countryside Agency said: “ We’re not looking to create special or different ways to communicate with these groups. While some organisations are leading the way, others could do so much more. It’s about making sure these groups are included to help them find what’s out there for them to enjoy or even simply how they get there. ”
As part of its Diversity Review the Countryside Agency is currently testing the most effective ways of increasing access by under-represented groups. These four research projects are:
- ‘Beyond the Boundary’is an action research project being run by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, with contributions from Bradford Metropolitan Council. Young people from South Asian communities in inner city Bradford have identified cricket as a shared interest with young people who live in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. But the shared interest is more than just a means to having another good, competitive match. It offers a chance to make connections with other young people and experience the outdoors, ‘beyond the boundary’ of their current lives.
Contact: Catherine Kemp, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, 01756 752748; Catherine.Kemp@yorkshiredales-npa.org.uk
- 'Finding Common Ground' is a research project aimed to test the hypothesis that building relationships between women and their families from urban and rural regeneration areas in Devon and Cornwall will result in repeated visits to the countryside. This project will identify the common ground between inner city and rural women and use this commonality to develop relationships through shared group activities in both rural and urban areas. Funded by the Countryside Agency, the project is managed by Groundwork Devon and Cornwall.
Contact: Jocella Peck, Groundwork Devon and Cornwall, 01752 217735 Jocella.Peck@groundwork.org.uk
- ‘Stepping Out’is testing ways of developing a sustainable increase in outdoor access for carers who live in inner city Coventry. Run by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, the project developed out of interest in previous work with carers from South Asian communities, who were in contact with Coventry’s mental health services. It draws on connections with the Coventry Carers Centre, part of the Princess Royal Trust for Carers. The project is being led by the expressed needs and aspirations of carers, and is developing and testing a gradual approach to access.
Contact: Sue Woods, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, 024 7663 4191, 07774 565561; sue.woods@wkwt.org.uk
- How can Kent’s 220,000 disabled people get access to their ‘Garden of England’? By All Means’ is a wide-ranging, three year long action research project. Initiated by the Countryside Agency, it aims to draw together a number of strands of existing and planned work with disabled people in Kent, through a partnership led by Kent County Council. The project aims includeregular consultation and liaison with interested parties; and the making and involvement in a film project.
Contact: Belinda Davis, Kent Information Federation, 01474 364413, 07910 345270; Belinda@kif.org.uk
What about us?is available from the Countryside Agency’s website at www.countryside.gov.uk/diversity
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
Extracted quotes from research carried out by Ethnos and the University of Surrey are attached.
For more information and interviews please contact Matthew Heard in the Countryside Agency press office on 020 7932 5807 (out of hours 07900 608168).
* The Diversity Review is a review of who does and doesn't access outdoor recreation and a review of the services currently available. The Countryside Agency was asked to carry out the review, the first of its kind, for Defra and forms part of Defra’s Rural Strategy (July 2004) and it was a commitment in the Rural White Paper (2000). Ethnos carried out the user research and the Environmental Psychology Research Group at the University of Surrey carried out the service provider research.
An action plan, informed using this research and consultation with partners, will be launched at a national conference in April next year.
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Extracted quotes from Ethnos researchYoung people“They need to make people know. There’s no marketing, you don’t really see any flyers, you don’t see any posters, saying: ‘Come to the countryside for the weekend’. You don’t really see that so it’s not in people’s faces. It isn’t introduced and actually, if you wanted to introduce it to youngsters, you would need to market it as something fun and exciting and enjoyable to get them there, basically that’s what I think.” Disabled people’s experiences“[Going to the countryside] is like you have a concrete jumper lifted off your shoulders. When you’re in the city, you’re like a prisoner.”
“I can tell there’s a lake on my left because of the wind on my cheek and the sound of the waves on the jetty and you can hear some ducks in the distance. And there are trees, not very near but there are trees on the right. You can hear the birds singing and the sound of the wind in the trees. I think maybe the trees are also different here to what they were earlier because the feel of the leaves under your feet is different. It’s much fresher, crisper here.” (Blind woman during an escorted visit)
“I suppose the main problem is the fact that I am not aware if it is accessible. Perhaps if I was aware I would consider it a bit more. But it’s not something where you really feel like taking the chance because it could go all badly wrong. I would want to go for an experience. It wouldn’t just be for a cup of tea and a cake. It would be having a little walk in the countryside, then going back down to the village, then finish off with a cup of tea, like we did when we were kids. But the fact that I am not aware there is access for wheelchairs in the countryside means we don’t go at all.”
Black and minority ethnic experiences“At the end of the day, it comes down to not knowing what’s there.”
“I don’t want my community to just look at pretty pictures of the English countryside. We have been here long enough. Now we have to build that emotional connection which says this is my countryside. This can be my home too.”
Extracted quotes from University of Surrey research
Typical visitor profile - white, older and middle class
“Our visitors are predominantly white… we do have a few disabled visitors… but the typical visitor is, I guess, middle aged white.”
“We know we don’t get many disabled people”
Awareness on encouraging a more diverse visitor base
“The west-midlands is very culturally diverse… so we need to reflect that and basically work out how we can make much better connections with a broader range of people.”
“I’m a bit nervous about actually socially engineering access to the countryside because …we have concerns about townies coming out, because they have different values that don’t necessarily fit within the countryside. I do have concerns about suddenly trying to promote people who don’t understand the countryside to come out….
Belief that groups are under-represented because they had a very different perception of the countryside
“ Walking…it’s part of our culture. But people from ethnic minorities might want to use the countryside for other things…I know that they like to go fruit picking for example…”
“We know that we don’t provide a facility that would necessarily be attractive to teenagers.’
'Countryside For All’ rather than acknowledging diversity
“I don’t think a west Indian lady’s requirements are any different to a local Norfolk guy who’s 60 years old… They require access to the route and the route to go through some beautiful landscape. But I wouldn’t say there was anything particularly different about them”’
“ We can only do so much to inform people and promote projects but at the end of the day it’s down to them to get off their butts and get out here.”
Longer term funding is a major issue
“We’d like to do more work to address the needs of user groups across the board, but there’s a resource constraint on doing that type of research”
“Justification is the toughest thing. I’m asked to justify things to my masters within the trust, and then we’re asked to justify things to the funding agencies in order to deliver.
Encouraging diversity a task that some service providers felt pressurised into undertaking
“This is what all the funders tell us what we’ve got to do.”
“We do it because our corporate and departmental policies and strategies encourage us to do that”
There was awareness amongst service providers of the barriers disabled people faced in getting out to the countryside
I would say a common perception within the countryside section is that “the countryside is only for able bodied people, because otherwise you’re going to urbanise the countryside.”
“… often they want information about where they can go… rather than an individual organisation working on it’s own it’s a question of a few organisations coming together to form partnerships”
Service providers need help in targeting key visitor groups
“I really do not have a clue as to why we’re not getting the number of visitors and what we should be doing to attract them.”
“We don’t think it’s in our capabilities to address.”
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Following publication of the draft Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill in February, English Nature, the Rural Development Service and the Countryside Agency’s Landscape, Access and Recreation division are working towards integration as a single body: Natural England. It will work for people, places and nature with responsibility for enhancing biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas; promoting access, recreation and public wellbeing, and contributing to the way natural resources are managed – so they can be enjoyed now and for future generations.
English Nature is the independent Government agency that champions the conservation of wildlife and geology throughout England.
The Rural Development Service is the largest deliverer of the England Rural Development Programme and a range of advisory and regulatory rural services. With the administration of a multi-million pound grant budget for schemes which support land management, rural businesses and rural communities, the Rural Development Service is the single largest organisation working for the benefit of rural areas in England.
The Countryside Agency’s Landscape, Access and Recreation division aims to help everyone respect, protect and enjoy the countryside – protecting natural landscapes; and encouraging access to, enjoyment of and sustainable management and use of the countryside.
