Customer survey highlights importance of outdoor adventure for children and young people.
100% of customers said outdoor adventure activities are important for children and young people’s mental wellbeing AND outdoor learning should be part of the Covid-19 recovery plan.
In May 2021, we surveyed customers who had made a group booking with us in the last three years. The survey was completed by a total of 86 customers including schools, churches, Christian organisations and uniformed groups.
The aim of the survey was to understand customer views on outdoor learning following Covid-19 and to help guide future strategy and plans for our centenary.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the outdoor adventure sector. Adventure centres across the country were closed for most of the year and with no residential trips allowed for 15 months it has been a challenging time for the sector. We estimate over 40,000 children and young people missed out on an adventure trip to one of our centres.
We would like to thank all our customers who took the time to complete our survey. Your feedback is really important to us and gave some valuable insights into three key areas:
- The importance of outdoor adventure
- Impact on mental health
- Environmental sustainability
Importance of Outdoor Adventure
- 95% agreed that it is ‘extremely or very important’ for children and young people to spend time learning outdoors.
- 95% agreed it is ‘extremely or very important’ for children and young people to experience a residential trip away from home.
- 86% and above said that outdoor education enables children and young people to develop skills including building strong relationships (90%) , overcoming fears (89.5%) , improving teamwork (89.5%), improving communications skills (86%) , greater resilience (87%) greater self-confidence (91%) and an increased sense of adventure (91%).
Impact on Mental Wellbeing
- 100% of customers said outdoor adventure activities are important for children and young people’s mental wellbeing.
- Equally 100% thought outdoor learning should be part of the Covid-19 recovery plan for children and young people.
Environmental Sustainability
- 95% said sustainability is important to their organisation.
- 71% said they consider sustainability when choosing a trip/venue provider.
Malcolm Maclean, CORNWALL COUNTY PLAYING FIELDS ASSOCIATION Chief Executive, said: “The survey results clearly demonstrate both the importance and benefits of outdoor adventure activities. These findings give a clear insight into the life skills children learn and also the positive impact outdoor adventures have on their mental wellbeing.
As we prepare for our centenary next year, we are eager to look at how we can continue our legacy and we are looking at ways to improve environmental stewardship across the charity.”
Customer feedback from survey
“Your organisation has been fantastic in supporting and communicating with the school.”
“Keep up the great work CORNWALL COUNTY PLAYING FIELDS ASSOCIATION, we love your provision!”
“Thank you for all the support you have given us during lockdown.”
“Thank you to you all for your help and support in trying to get our children to Whithaugh Park – we can’t wait to see you in 2022 – best wishes to you all.”