Environment
Access to natural environment
Access to natural environments can buffer stress [4], and visits to public conservation areas can improve mental health and wellbeing [5]. This indicator is based on the Canterbury Wellbeing Survey’s ‘access to the natural environment’ question, that broadly defines the natural environment as “rivers, lakes, beaches, wildlife, areas, parks, and walking tracks” [25].
This indicator presents the proportion of those 18 years and over satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to the natural environment.
The figure shows that more than eighty percent of greater Christchurch respondents expressed satisfaction with their ease of access to the natural environment in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (80.8%, 80.1%, 84.1%, and 81.9% respectively).
The figure shows in 2017, 2018 and 2020 a statistically significantly lower proportion of Pacific/Asian/Indian respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to the natural environment, compared with European respondents (and compared with Māori respondents in 2017). Between 2017 and 2019 the proportion of Pacific/Asian/Indian respondents satisfied with their ease of access to the natural environment increased significantly (64.0% satisfied or very satisfied in 2017; 79.3% in 2019).
The figure shows that a majority of respondents, across all age groups, reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to the natural environment, in greater Christchurch, from 2017 to 2020. The 2020 result indicates that the youngest age group and the oldest age group are both less satisfied with their access to the natural environment than the other age groups. The differences between the oldest age group (least satisfied) and all other age groups (except the 18-24 years group) are statistically significant.
The figure shows that 78 percent or more of female and male respondents indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to the natural environment in greater Christchurch in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (females and males both 82.0% in 2020). There are no statistically significant differences by gender at any time point. The increase in the proportion of male respondents indicating they were satisfied or very satisfied between 2018 and 2019 is statistically significant.
The figure shows some statistically significant differences between income groups in the proportion of respondents who indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to the natural environment, from 2017 to 2020. There is a clear pattern of increasing satisfaction with increasing income. In 2020, 88.5 percent of respondents in the $100,000+ annual household income group were satisfied with their ease of access to the natural environment compared with 70.7 percent of respondents in the <$30,000 income group. The difference between the <$30,000 income group and all other income groups was statistically significant at all four time points.
The figure shows a substantial and statistically significant difference in the proportion of respondents with and without a long- term health condition or disability (irrespective of age group), who indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their ease of access to the natural environment between 2017 and 2020. In 2020, 84.7 percent of those without a long-term health condition or disability were satisfied or very satisfied; compared to 72.9 percent of those aged under 65 years with a long-term health condition or disability (11.8 percentage point difference) and 66.9 percent of those aged 65 years and over with a long-term health condition or disability (17.8 percentage point difference). A higher proportion of the younger (under 65 years) age group with a long-term health condition or disability was satisfied or very satisfied at all timepoints – this difference was statistically significant in 2018 and 2019.
Data Sources
Source: Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury - formerly Canterbury District Health Board.
Survey/data set: Canterbury Wellbeing Survey to 2020. Access publicly available data from Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health website www.cph.co.nz/your-health/wellbeing-survey/
Source data frequency: Annually.