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New survey to help everyone access woodlands

A new survey aims to better understand how and why woodlands are and aren't used in England.
20 Sep 2024
Date
20 September 2024
Reading Time
2 minutes
Last Updated
6 November 2025

“Our woodlands are for everyone,” says George Murrell, a social scientist at Forest Research, “but we know that people’s access to these places differs for a variety of reasons – including geographical, economical or cultural – to name just a few.”

A family walk in a woodland. One of the people in the photograph uses a mobility device.

“We want to discover more about what helps or hinders people when it comes to visiting woodlands.

“We’d especially like to hear from people from groups that are typically under-represented in their use of woodlands.

“This includes disabled people, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people who identify as being in poor health, people who are on a low income and LGBTQIA+ people.”

The project team hope to gain a better understanding of how and why woodlands are and aren’t used. The research, funded by Defra, will help inform and improve public access to woodlands and forests.

Complete the survey

Survey now closed.

A family takes a walk in woodland. There are two adults and three children holding hands.

The survey is aimed at people who live in England and are over 18 years old.

It takes just 15 minutes to complete but will be invaluable in working towards creating forests and woodlands that are accessible to everyone.

The survey closed on 30 September 2024.

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