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Pulse Survey April-May 2022 - Our Lives Outdoors: Spending Time Outdoors

Data

CSO statistical release, 28 September 2022, 11am

Frontier Series Output and COVID-19 Publication Information

This publication is categorised as a CSO Frontier Series Output. Particular care must be taken when interpreting the statistics in this release as it may use new methods which are under development and/or data sources which may be incomplete, for example new administrative data sources.

The results contained in this release reflect some of the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see Background Notes.

Datasets related to this release

View all related tables on data.cso.ie

All tables from this publication

Table 2.1.a - Do you like spending time outdoors? Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 2.1.b - Reasons for spending time outdoors: Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 2.1.c - Reasons for spending time outdoors by Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 2.1.d - Reasons for spending time outdoors by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household and Access to a Garden. April-May 2022

Table 2.2.a - Most frequently visited outdoor spaces: Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 2.2.b - Most frequently visited outdoor spaces by Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 2.2.c - Most frequently visited outdoor spaces by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household and Access to a Garden. April-May 2022

Table 2.3.a - Would you like to increase your knowledge of nature? Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 2.3.b - Reasons to increase your knowledge of nature: Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 2.3.c - Reasons to increase your knowledge of nature by Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 2.3.d - Reasons to increase your knowledge of nature by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household, Access to a Garden, 'Do you think there is still time to act on environmental issues?' and 'How much do you do to protect the environment?'. April-May 2022

Table 2.3.d - Reasons to increase your knowledge of nature by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household, Access to a Garden, 'Do you think there is still time to act on environmental issues?' and 'How much do you do to protect the environment?'^1,2. April-May 2022
	% of row							%
	Because I am curious about nature	To reduce my environmental impact	To better understand my surroundings	To improve my gardening skills	To pass on knowledge to my family/children	Other	Don't know / Prefer not to say / Not stated	All respondents³
Total	79	69	66	49	48	2	<1	100

Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes
Urban area (e.g. city or county town)	79	70	67	47	46	3	<1	52
Small town or village	79	68	66	44	48	2	<1	21
Rural area (in the countryside)	79	67	65	55	52	2	<1	26
Other	58	54	47	60	30	3	<1	1

Presence of Children in the Household
Yes	80	70	67	51	78	2	<1	30
No	78	68	65	48	35	2	<1	69
Not stated	74	66	66	36	29	3	0	1

Access to a Garden
Yes	78	68	65	50	49	2	<1	93
No	85	74	71	33	39	2	<1	7

Do you think there is still time to act on environmental issues?
There is still time to act and improve the state of the environment	77	68	67	51	49	2	<1	43
There is still time to act but it is unlikely to happen	82	71	66	48	47	3	<1	52
It is too late to act and improve the state of the environment OR No action is required	62	49	55	43	55	<1	<1	3
Don't know / Prefer not to say / Not stated	60	34	60	43	45	<1	<1	2

How much do you do to protect the environment?
I already do a lot	82	73	68	55	57	4	<1	7
I do as much as I can	78	68	63	47	44	2	<1	39
I could do more	79	70	68	49	50	2	<1	51
I don't have to act	75	<1	84	55	64	0	0	1
Don't know / Prefer not to say / Not stated	63	51	55	47	34	17	2	2
¹ Only respondents who said they would like to increase their knowledge of nature were asked this question.
² Respondents could choose more than one reason, hence the sum of the different types does not equal 100.
³ Due to rounding, the total percentage might not exactly sum to 100.

Open in Excel: Pulse Survey April-May 2022 - Our Lives Outdoors: Spending Time Outdoors Table 2.3.d (XLS 13KB)

Table 3.1.a - Average time spent outdoors over the past 6 months for recreational purposes: Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 3.1.b - Average time spent outdoors over the past 6 months for recreational purposes by Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 3.1.c - Average time spent outdoors over the past 6 months for recreational purposes by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household and Access to a Garden. April-May 2022

Table 3.2.a - Main reasons for spending recreational time outdoors over the past 6 months: Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 3.2.b - Main reasons for spending recreational time outdoors over the past 6 months by Age, Sex, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 3.2.b - Main reasons for spending recreational time outdoors over the past 6 months by Age, Sex, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions^1,2. April-May 2022
	% of row												%
	For mental health and well-being	For physical health and exercise	To get fresh air	To take a break (e.g. from home, from work etc.)	To connect with nature / observe wildlife	To meet other people (e.g. friends, family etc.)	To walk my dog	To look after children / other family members	To learn something new / challenge myself / be creative	Because I was advised to spend time outdoors for health reasons	Other	Don't know / Prefer not to say / Not stated	All respondents³
Total	76	75	73	56	45	39	32	15	8	3	4	<1	100

Sex
Female	77	72	74	57	46	43	35	15	8	3	3	<1	51
Male	75	77	71	54	43	34	28	14	9	3	5	0	49

Age
18 to 34	82	69	76	66	41	49	32	10	8	4	3	0	27
35 to 44	80	75	76	66	48	38	27	33	8	3	3	<1	20
45 to 54	79	79	73	60	44	34	40	13	11	2	4	0	18
55 to 69	71	75	69	46	46	34	34	9	8	4	4	<1	21
70 and above	64	79	66	27	47	34	21	7	7	4	7	<1	14

Principal Economic Status
Working for payment	79	77	74	64	43	40	32	17	8	3	3	<1	60
Unemployed	79	64	67	43	49	31	35	10	10	1	4	0	4
Retired	66	80	68	27	46	33	24	6	7	4	6	<1	16
Student or pupil	76	63	75	65	45	58	33	6	8	2	4	0	5
Engaged in home duties	76	72	76	59	50	38	36	31	10	3	2	0	7
Unable to work due to longstanding health problems	71	53	68	44	51	28	40	6	11	13	5	<1	6
Other	77	74	64	54	60	33	25	17	13	8	12	0	2

NUTS3 Regions
Border	76	78	74	55	45	32	31	14	8	4	4	0	8
West	77	77	74	54	44	33	34	12	10	2	2	<1	10
Mid-West	76	76	71	54	49	35	32	13	11	3	2	0	10
South-East	74	73	69	52	45	38	38	14	6	2	5	0	9
South-West	75	72	74	56	45	38	31	17	8	3	4	0	15
Dublin	78	75	76	60	42	46	29	14	7	4	4	<1	29
Mid-East	76	74	71	53	45	39	33	17	7	4	5	0	14
Midlands	75	72	64	53	51	32	29	12	12	3	6	<1	6
¹ Only respondents who said they spent time outdoors over the past 6 months for recreational purposes were asked this question.
² Respondents could choose more than one reason, hence the sum of the different types does not equal 100.
³ Due to rounding, the total percentage might not exactly sum to 100.

Open in Excel: Pulse Survey April-May 2022 - Our Lives Outdoors: Spending Time Outdoors Table 3.2.b (XLS 14KB)

Table 3.2.c - Main reasons for spending recreational time outdoors over the past 6 months by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household and Access to a Garden. April-May 2022

Table 4.1.a - Time spent outdoors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020): Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 4.1.b - Time spent outdoors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) by Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 4.1.c - Time spent outdoors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household and Access to a Garden. April-May 2022

Table 4.2.a - Changes in behaviour since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020): Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 4.2.b - Changes in outdoor behaviour since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) by Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 4.2.c - Changes in outdoor behaviour since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household and Access to a Garden. April-May 2022

Table 4.3.a - Have you taken up new outdoor activities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020)? Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 4.3.b - Have you taken up new outdoor activities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020)? By Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 4.4.c - Which of the following activities have you taken up since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020)? By Degree of urbanisation, Presence of children in the household, Access to a garden. April-May 2022

Table 4.4.a - New outdoor activities taken up since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020): Summary of Results. April-May 2022

Table 4.4.b - New outdoor activities taken up since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) by Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions. April-May 2022

Table 4.4.c - New outdoor activities taken up since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) by Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household and Access to a Garden. April-May 2022

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Table 2.1.b - Reasons for spending time outdoors: Summary of Results¹. April-May 2022
Reason for liking to spend time outdoors	%
To get fresh air	87
To enjoy nature (plants, animals, open spaces etc.)	85
To exercise	77
To take a break (e.g. from home, from work, etc.)	65
To socialise (i.e. meet friends for food / drinks in an outdoor setting)	49
Other / Don't know / Prefer not to say	8
¹ Respondents could choose more than one reason, hence the sum of the different types does not equal 100.

Table 2.2.a - Most frequently visited outdoor spaces: Summary of Results^1,2. April-May 2022
Outdoor space	%
Beach / other coastline / sea	62
Urban green space (e.g. a park, field or playground)	59
River, lake or canal	47
Hill, mountain or moorland	40
Field / farmland / countryside	38
Grounds of a historic property or country park	36
Other outdoor urban space (e.g. town square or plaza, farmers market etc.)	23
Nature / wildlife reserve	22
Don't know / Prefer not to say / Not stated	<1
¹ Only respondents who said they liked spending time outdoors were asked this question.
² Respondents could choose more than one outdoor space, hence the sum of the different types does not equal 100.

Table 3.1.a - Average time spent outdoors over the past 6 months for recreational purposes: Summary of Results¹. April-May 2022
Frequency	%
Daily	40
Weekly	37
Several times a month	14
Once a month	5
Less than once a month	4
I haven't been outdoors over the past 6 months	1
¹ Due to rounding, the total percentage does not exactly sum to 100.

Table 4.2.a - Changes in behaviour since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020): Summary of Results^1,2. April-May 2022
Behaviours	%
Spent more time in natural spaces	78
Realised that being in natural spaces is important to your well-being	71
Spent more time socialising in an outdoor setting (e.g. restaurants / bars with outdoor seating)	63
Discovered new natural spaces	56
Looked at getting access to a private or shared outdoor space (e.g. garden, allotment, balcony, patio etc.)	12
Participated in natural spaces initiatives (e.g. Tidy Towns, Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme etc.)	9
Other	2
Don't know / Prefer not to say / Not stated	1
¹ Only respondents who said they spent more time outdoors since the start of the COVID 19 pandemic (March 2020) were asked this question.
² Respondents could choose more than one behaviour, hence the sum of the different types does not equal 100.

Table 4.4.a - New outdoor activities taken up since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020): Summary of Results^1,2. April-May 2022
Activities	%
Hill walking	26
Hiking	24
Running	24
Cycling	22
Sea swimming	21
Other water sports (e.g. canoeing, kayaking etc.)	11
Outdoor team sports (e.g. football, soccer, rugby etc.)	6
Mountain climbing	5
Triathlon	1
Air sports (e.g. hang gliding, paragliding etc.)	0
Other	41
Don't know / Prefer not to say / Not stated	2

More than one new outdoor activity	46
¹ Only respondents who said they had taken up new outdoor activities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic were asked this question.
² Respondents could choose more than one activity, hence the sum of the different types does not equal 100.

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Pulse Survey April-May 2022 - Our Lives Outdoors: Spending Time Outdoors

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Table 2.1.a - Do you like spending time outdoors? Summary of Results. April-May 2022
	%
Yes	98
No	1
Don't know / Prefer not to say	1

Total percentage	100

Table 2.3.b - Reasons to increase your knowledge of nature: Summary of Results^1,2. April-May 2022
Reasons	%
Because I am curious about nature	79
To reduce my environmental impact	69
To better understand my surroundings	66
To improve my gardening skills	49
To pass on knowledge to my family/children	48
Other	2
Don't know / Prefer not to say / Not stated	<1
¹ Only respondents who said they would like to increase their knowledge of nature were asked this question.
² Respondents could choose more than one reason, hence the sum of the different types does not equal 100.

Table 3.1.b - Average time spent outdoors over the past 6 months for recreational purposes by Sex, Age, Principal Economic Status and NUTS3 Regions¹. April-May 2022
	% or row							%
	Daily	Weekly	Several times a month	Once a month	Less than once a month	I haven't been outdoors over the past 6 months	Row total	All respondents
Total	40	37	14	5	4	1	100	100

Sex
Female	40	34	15	6	5	1	100	51
Male	40	40	13	4	2	1	100	49

Age
18 to 34	32	43	16	6	3	1	100	27
35 to 44	32	45	15	5	4	<1	100	20
45 to 54	41	34	14	4	5	2	100	18
55 to 69	49	31	10	5	4	1	100	21
70 and above	52	26	13	3	3	2	100	14

Principal Economic Status
Working for payment	37	42	14	4	3	1	100	60
Unemployed	45	27	13	5	8	2	100	4
Retired	54	26	14	3	2	1	100	16
Student or pupil	31	43	16	7	3	<1	100	5
Engaged in home duties	41	29	16	6	5	3	100	7
Unable to work due to longstanding health problems	34	29	16	9	8	4	100	6
Other	55	21	11	6	2	4	100	2

NUTS3 Regions
Border	47	36	10	3	4	1	100	8
West	42	35	14	5	3	<1	100	10
Mid-West	39	36	13	6	4	2	100	10
South-East	43	38	10	5	2	1	100	9
South-West	38	37	14	6	4	1	100	15
Dublin	39	39	14	5	3	1	100	29
Mid-East	37	35	17	4	5	2	100	14
Midlands	38	34	20	4	4	1	100	6
¹ Due to rounding, the total percentage might not exactly sum to 100.

Table 4.1.a - Time spent outdoors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020): Summary of Results¹. April-May 2022
	%
Spent more time outdoors	55
Spent the same amount of time outdoors now as prior to the COVID-19 pandemic	28
Spent less time outdoors	17
Not stated	<1
¹ Due to rounding, the total percentage does not exactly sum to 100.

Table 4.3.c - Have you taken up new outdoor activities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020)? By Degree of Urbanisation Surrounding Homes, Presence of Children in the Household and Access to a Garden. April-May 2022
	% of row			%
	Yes	No	Row total	All respondents
Total	29	71	100	100

Degree of urbanisation surrounding homes
Urban area (e.g. city or county town)	29	71	100	52
Small town or village	28	72	100	21
Rural area (in the countryside)	30	70	100	26
Other	21	79	100	1

Presence of children in the household
Yes	33	67	100	30
No	27	73	100	69
Not stated	27	73	100	1

Access to a garden
Yes	29	71	100	93
No	27	73	100	7