Words by Smiley Team
The RSPB - the UK’s largest nature conservation organisation - is calling on England's City and Metro Mayors to lead green recovery from Covid-19, as new survey shows overwhelming public support for protecting and investing in nature. With more and more time spent inside, access to nature and the outdoors has never been so important in the mind of the public, with 4 in 5 respondents agreeing the Coronavirus outbreak has shown the importance of protecting and restoring nature
The report reveals that nature and access to natural green space have been seen as important for people’s health and wellbeing since the Coronavirus crisis began, and that there is overwhelming public support for protecting and investing in nature and increasing accessible natural greenspace as part of our recovery from Coronavirus. 87% of respondents in England agreed living near nature is or would be beneficial during the Coronavirus outbreak and 84% support the suggestion that Government should increase the number of accessible nature-rich areas in the UK.
The report also points to inequalities in access to nature between those in the highest and lowest income households, and between households in urban and rural areas, suggesting the impact of the Coronavirus crisis has not fallen equally across society.
The survey results suggest that UK households with an annual income under £10,000 are 3.6 times more likely to have no outdoor space where they live, and about 40% less likely to live within a 10-minute walk of any publicly accessible natural greenspace, than people with a household income of £60,000 or more.
“The results of the survey are striking in the sheer level of public agreement about the importance of nature, not only in the middle of the Coronavirus lockdown, but as we look forward and plan for our recovery from this crisis’ says Emma Marsh, Director of RSPB in England. “They also highlight the inequality that exists in people’s access to nature, with the least well-off also the most deprived of nature where they live.
“City and Metro Mayors have a key role to play in leading the recovery from Coronavirus in their constituencies, which include many of the big cities and metropolitan areas where people’s access to nature is most restricted. As they start to plot a route to recovery, Mayors have a chance to dramatically improve people’s health and wellbeing and the resilience of communities by supporting and prioritising measures that increase nature and natural greenspace at the same time as creating jobs and investment, and stimulating the economy.”
