Canadians have long prided themselves as a nation of outdoors people, taking advantage of their free time to paddle, climb or hike across the country’s vast and rugged landscape.
But the results of new study throw cold water on this notion: a typical Canadian is more likely to spend their leisure time cuddled up in front of a television.
The study, released on Thursday by the Nature Conservancy of Canada found a growing detachment between Canadians and the great outdoors.
Nearly 90% of respondents said they felt happier and healthier when in nature. But three-quarters said they found it much easier to stay inside, and 66% lamented that they no longer spent as much time outside as they once did.
Television wasn’t the only reason Canadian’s aren’t out in nature as much: many pointed to rain, snow and insects as deterrents from venturing outside.
Most of the 2,000 respondents extolled the benefits they gained from venturing outdoors, including feelings of happiness and reduced stress – and even reduced blood pressure.
Despite the fact that the number of national and provincial parks is increasing, the survey also found that 80% of Canadians feared that nature might not be available to future generations.
“It’s time to talk boldly about the tangible benefits nature provides, and the urgency and importance of protecting it,” Nature Conservancy president John Lounds said in a statement.
The Nature Conservancy report, administered by polling firm Ipsos Reid, comes as the organization seeks to double its projected land and water to 2.4m hectares (5.9m acres).
Canada currently has 347m hectares (857m acres) of forest, according to Natural Resources Canada, making up nearly one-tenth of the world’s forests.
Despite the cooling motivation towards getting outside, Canada’s collection of famed national parks are still getting heavy traffic. In 2017, a record 24.6 million people visited parks and historic sites across the country – prompted by waves of tourists and an advertising campaign from Parks Canada that waived all entry fees for the year.