3. Results
In total, 750 questionnaires were distributed. A relatively high percentage of questionnaires (62.3%) was returned, often accompanied by enthusiastic comments and encouraging words (i.e. a postcard, or a poem). The sample size is N=467, prevalently constituted by female (52.7%). Age classes ranged from 15 to 65 and the mean age of the total sample is about 42 years (S.D.=15.19).
Both quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques have been used to analyze and interpret the data collected. Closed questions have been subjected to basic descriptive statistics, analysis of variance and factor analysis, while the open question has been content analyzed.
In the following paragraphs results obtained will be presented and discussed.
3.1. Motives for nature
People’s motives to visit natural areas and the various activities they carry out reflect the demands people place on natural areas, and the needs they expect to be fulfilled. This information can help decision makers to formulate strategies in tune with public needs and expectations. To collect data about people’s motives to visit the park, the respondent was asked: “Why do you come here?”. The following alternative options were given. To sport, to meet others, to play with children, to walk the dog, to listen and observe nature, to contemplate and meditate, to get artistic inspiration, and other. A frequency analysis of people’s motives to visit nature shows that “To relax” is the motive most frequently mentioned by the visitors, accounting for the 73% of the answers (Fig. 2). This result should not come with surprise: in urban contexts the need to relax and step away from the hectic rhythm of the city is particularly strong. As many of us have surely experienced, in the silent and timeless atmosphere of natural environments one can forget the daily worries, breathe fresh air and relax, both mentally and physically.