{"id":202941,"date":"2026-10-09T11:12:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=202941"},"modified":"2026-10-09T11:28:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:28:50","slug":"the-nature-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/stewardship\/the-nature-gap","title":{"rendered":"The Nature Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Americans overwhelmingly believe nature is important to their health and well-being, yet many are spending less time outdoors than they were a decade ago, according to the inaugural American Nature & Health Survey<\/a>.

Supported by the REI Cooperative Action Fund<\/a>, the first-of-its-kind national benchmark gives researchers, healthcare leaders and policymakers a baseline for understanding how Americans experience nature, the barriers they face getting outside and how those experiences change over time.

The findings reveal a striking contradiction. Americans say nature is essential to their health, quality of life and even their sense of identity, yet many are struggling to spend meaningful time outdoors. For researchers and organizations working to expand access to nature, the survey offers something that hasn’t existed before: a national benchmark for measuring those trends over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building a better understanding of nature and health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

About four years ago, the REI Cooperative Action Fund funded the launch of the Nature and Health Alliance<\/a>, which \u201cbrings together researchers and practitioners from across the country to advance the science of health and nature and also to change practice to get more people into nature,\u201d says Jay Maddock, a professor at Texas A&M University and the alliance\u2019s immediate past chair.

Now, the group has published its inaugural survey, supported by REI. The survey is designed to be repeated every two years, creating a long-term benchmark that researchers, healthcare leaders, community organizations and others can use to track changes in how Americans experience nature over time.

It provides a crucial national snapshot, and a baseline set of numbers, that show how often Americans interact with nature; what they do there; where they go; and also what prevents them from getting outside.

Unlike recreation participation studies that focus primarily on outdoor activities, the American Nature & Health Survey explores a broader set of questions about how Americans experience nature, the barriers they face getting outside, and the connections among nature, health and well-being.

Surprisingly, this information wasn\u2019t available before.

\u201cSpending time in nature has been linked to many benefits, including lower stress, better mental and physical health, and stronger social connections,\u201d write the authors of the new American Nature and Health Survey. \u201cDespite this, the United States has no consistent, national way to capture and understand how people experience nature in their everyday lives or whether everyone has the opportunity to benefit from it.\u201d

The findings help quantify a gap researchers have long suspected: Americans value nature, but many struggle to make time for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What the survey found<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The results of the survey of 3,125 Americans sometimes surprised the researchers\u2014and at times scared them.

For instance, Americans started to go outside a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maddock thought the survey would reveal a continuation of that trend.

He was wrong. \u201cWe looked at the percent of people that report spending two or more hours a week in nature, and we found that 45% of our respondents didn’t get two hours a week in nature,\u201d he says. A survey a decade ago that asked a similar question found just 25% of respondents said they didn\u2019t get two hours in nature. \u201cTwo hours a week is nothing, you know?\u201d

Yet respondents say they view nature as essential, and even part of being American. Moreover, more than 80% said they would go outside more, if a healthcare provider told them to do so.

\u201cAnd so the question is, Why do people not do it?\u201d asks Maddock. He suspects many people don\u2019t realize how beneficial it is to spend time even in a local park. \u201cWe did [a study] here in Texas and we found that people that lived in \u2018green\u2019 neighborhoods utilize half the mental health services of people that lived in neighborhoods that were less green.\u201d

But there are also other reasons. Asked what were their biggest barriers to time in nature, respondents said poor weather (50%), lack of time (50%), lack of nearby access (30%),and lack of safety (19%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guiding future action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

REI invested in this research because the co-op sees a direct connection between this work and the co-op\u2019s purpose of inspiring and enabling a life outside for everyone, says Susan Viscon, chief new ventures and impact officer for REI. Moving from anecdotes about what people are feeling and doing, to real data, is useful, says Viscon: Armed with good data, REI can be a more credible and effective messenger when talking to policy makers about an issue, for instance.

Viscon envisions being able to use future survey data to steer other decisions, too. For instance, what respondents say about the barriers that keep them from going outside could help REI rethink how to lower those barriers. \u201cRight now we support over 350 nonprofit partners through our Cooperative Action Fund,\u201d she says. \u201cWe make choices that we invest in nonprofits in every market.\u201d She adds, \u201cI think data like this helps us inform where we might advocate for policies, where we can put our funding.\u201d

Viscon says the survey is intended to support a broader conversation, giving researchers, healthcare providers, nonprofits and policymakers a shared foundation for understanding trends, barriers and opportunities over time.

She also envisions the survey helping guide REI regarding activating its members about things that matter to them. Since survey respondents regarded going outside as a quintessentially American activity, for instance, it might make sense to continue to encourage REI members to comment on proposals that would harm public lands (such as REI did in mid-August after the Forest Service announced plans to rescind the rule<\/a>). Or, knowledge of particular barriers could guide the volunteer or stewardship opportunities that the co-op announces in a community, she says. \u201cAnd so as we think about data like this, it’ll help shape where we ask our members to lean in with their voice, their time and their resources,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A history of supporring research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The co-op has a long history of investing in research that looks at nature\u2019s effect on our health and well-being. Since launching in 2021, the REI Cooperative Action Fund has supported nonprofits working to connect people to the health and well-being benefits of time outside. In 2025, the fund distributed more than $12 million in grants, including $1.4 million to 11 organizations advancing research and programs focused on nature and health. It also supported 184 studies advancing the science of nature and health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n