Executive report highlights benefit of outdoor activity and strong demand for improved access to nature in Northern Ireland - Outscape

70% get outdoors at least once a week; and 80% want to spend more time in nature.

Belfast, 16th April 2026 – A new report reveals the latest statistics on how people in Northern Ireland prioritise spending time outdoors, the benefits of outdoor activity, the access barriers for some, and the connection to nature and climate issues that comes from regular activity in greenspaces.

POMNI is published jointly by Outscape, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Department for Communities (DfC). The Monitor is tracking local population trends against some key government policy goals on health and wellbeing, climate and nature, contained in the Programme for Government Wellbeing Framework and the Environmental Improvement Plan. The study was last conducted in 2020/21.

The findings are based on a survey of 4,000 adults across Northern Ireland, conducted throughout 2025. It explored frequency of visits, motivations, self-reported wellbeing outcomes, and barriers to participation.

With an average of 92 visits per person per year (equating to approximately 134 million outdoor visits across the population), the outdoors plays a central role in everyday life in Northern Ireland. Participation levels remain broadly consistent with 2020/21, indicating sustained motivation following the pandemic. In fact, four in five adults (80%) say they would like to spend more time outdoors, particularly those living in urban areas and families.