Understanding outdoor sports participants’ motivations, connectedness to nature, and wellbeing in Northern Ireland.

Sport Northern Ireland and Tollymore National Outdoor Centre sought to better understand and support a continued surge in outdoor sport participation post COVID-19. A team from the Centre for Health, Activity and Wellbeing Research (CAWR) at Cardiff Metropolitan University was contracted to conduct a four-year project aimed at better understanding the demographic profiles of individuals participating in outdoor sports, their motivations, and the potential relationship between outdoor sport and both nature connectedness and wellbeing. Starting in 2021, the project used a cross-sectional, quantitative approach via an annual anonymised online survey (e-survey).