1. Public Perceptions of Wildness Attitudinal Research Study for SNH & Scotland’s 2 National Parks Dr David Connolly | 2 May 2012

2. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Overview Study Background Aims and Objectives Methodology Survey Overview

3. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Study Background

4. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Wildness Attributes 4 attributes identified by previous wildness research: perceived naturalness of land cover modern human artefacts ruggedness/terrain remoteness

5. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 2008 Research Previous public perception survey of Wild Places and Landscapes in 2008 Identified and ranked various contributing attributes 2011-2012 survey designed to build upon this

6. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 2011-2012 Study Funded by: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Steering Group included: The 3 funding organisations Steve Carver from Leeds University, Wildness Mapping Team

7. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Aims and Objectives

8. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Aims and Objectives Overall project aim: To provide quantitative data on the public’s perceptions of wildness, wild land and perceived naturalness of land cover in Scotland Project objectives: Identify what people understand to be ‘wild land’ Identify which elements of the landscape and the land- cover people consider to be natural or wild land and which they consider to be less wild/not wild Identify the impact of human artefacts in the landscape (eg wind turbines, hill tracks, etc) To provide user-valuation parameters to inform wildness mapping work.

9. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Scope Provided weights for the four attribute layers for the wildness model Market segmentation of results (eg by gender, age, and geographic location) Weights and parameters provided for sub-levels within the 4 attributes. Eg, do roads, tracks and railways have a greater/lesser impact on perceptions of wildness than plantation forests, or energy infrastructure such as wind turbines, pylons and dams etc

10. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Methodology

11. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Three Separate Surveys Online panel >1000 respondents Representative of Scottish population National Park Residents Surveys Interviewer administered (‘face-to-face’) Same questionnaire used as online (using showcards) >100 residents per Park Targeted invitations to various organisations (eg John Muir Trust, Mountaineering Council of Scotland etc) Same as the main on-line version >650 responses

12. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Questionnaire Design Design uses ‘best/worst’ model Each user asked to complete 5 ranking exercises Each ranking exercise requires comparison of 5 examples of a wild area or landscape Photos used to illustrate each example For each exercise respondents are asked to identify: ‘Most Wild’ example ‘Least Wild’ example Second ‘Most Wild’ example Second ‘Least Wild’ example Easier to complete than simply asking users to rank all five examples

13. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Photo Selection Single issue images selected 4/5 images per element Extreme weather conditions excluded Similar depth of field/proximity to relevant feature

14. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Questionnaire Overview

15. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Questionnaire Overview Several questions to determine extent of interest and use of outdoors and wild areas - included estimates of frequency of visiting the National Parks (for non-residents) Introduction of the 4 attributes and an opportunity to identify others 5 best/worse ranking exercises Views on need to preserve wild areas in Scotland and actions that should be employed Basic demographics (gender, age, employment status and postcode)

16. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 The Attributes Respondents were presented with a series of descriptions and pictures of attributes which might affect their perception of wildness in Scotland These were grouped into the four categories identified by previous research:  perceived naturalness (sub-divided into ‘flora’ and ‘fauna’)  man-made structures and features  remoteness from roads and railway stations  terrain ‘Whats that?’ pop-up information was available for each category Respondents asked to select which descriptions are ‘most wild’ and ‘least wild’.

17. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Perceived Naturalness of the Land Cover The sub-attributes were:  Natural broadleaf or coniferous woodland, heath or moor  Semi-natural woodland  Planted woodland with semi-natural grassland  Evidence of farming  Heavily managed (parks, gardens, intensive grazing)

18. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Wildlife The sub-attributes were:  Native wildlife may be present (eg red deer, eagles, red squirrel, wild cat and/or pine marten)  Domestic livestock may be present (eg cattle and sheep)

19. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Man-made structures and objects The sub-attributes were:  No visible man-made features  Long line features (eg roads, railways and/or vehicle tracks)  Plantation forests  Older structures such as deserted cottages, castles, walls etc  Modern built structures such as homes, farms, quarries  Muirburn (ie moorland actively managed by burning)  Physical evidence of recreation (eg skiing, hiking paths, shooting)  Energy infrastructure (pylons, wind farms, dams)  Transport features such as roads and tracks for vehicles  Built-up areas (villages or small towns)

20. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Remoteness Described as the time it would take for a typical able-bodied adult to walk to this point from the nearest public road or railway station: 1-hour walk 2-hour walk …. 4-hour walk 5-hour walk

21. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Terrain This covered the general appearance of an area and how difficult it is to move around, including various combinations of:  height above sea level  presence of features such as cliffs and lochs  steepness/gradient  how easy it is to move around the area

22. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Best/Worst Scenario: An example ‘Most Wild’  If you think that description D is the ‘most wild’ then tick the box to the left Which of these descriptions is most likely to increase your sense of wildness? Q11

23. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Best/Worst Scenario: An example ‘Least Wild’ Q12And which is least likely to increase your sense of wildness?  If you think that description B is the ‘least wild’ then tick the box to the right

24. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Analysis  Wildness scores calculated for each attribute for each of the three samples  On-line Panel  National Park Residents  Organisation members  Additional segmentation by  Gender  Age  Urban/rural

25. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Results The Final Report is currently with the Steering Group for approval Likely to appear on relevant web-sites in due course

26. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Questions

27. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Contact us Name: David Connolly Telephone number: 0131 240 8904 Email: dconnolly@mvaconsultancy.com Office address: MVA Consultancy Prospect House 5 Thistle Street Edinburgh EH2 1DF

28. Public Perceptions of Wildness | 5/12/2011 Document Control Sheet Project Title:NESAC MVA Project Number:C59800/16 Document Type:Presentation Directory & file name:D:\ScotStat\NESAC\20120425 Public Perception of Wildness V1.ppt Document Approval Primary Author:David Connolly Other Author(s): Reviewer(s):Elaine Wilson Smith Formatted by:David Connolly Distribution IssueDateDistributionComments 125/04/2012Draft for SNH Review 202/05/2011NESAC