Nature sites burst with benefits
20 September 2011
It has been found that for each pound invested, urban nature sites give a return of between three and 20 times.
Greenspace Scotland with funding from Scottish Natural Heritage studied four very different sites and concluded that not only were they havens for wildlife but also benefitted people through health improvements, skills development, increased environmental awareness and a reduction in anti-social behaviour. Such benefits resulted in cost savings for the wider society and government.
The report calculated the Social Return on Investment (SROI) of a gardening project involving young volunteers; an urban mountain bike trail; a programme of outdoor activities for individuals with mental health issues; and the educational use by a school of its local nature reserve.
Karen Carrick, SROI Programme Manager, Greenspace Scotland said, ‘It is really important to consider these reports in context. The SROI ratio produced does not represent the value of the whole site. Each of the analyses has only reported on just one of the many activities that take place at the site. If all of the possible activities were analysed the benefits generated would be considerably greater’.
Greenspace scotland is also working out the SROI on a further 10 projects with funding from the Big Lottery Research Programme. Results from ‘Greenspace is good – so prove it’ will be published in the autum.