Data, Place and Lived Experience: Exploring the Value of Regional and National Datasets for Third Sector Organisations

Uncategorized Thursday 24 September 2026

“I live in a flat in Bransholme, there’s no green spaces.”

What happens when the data says green space is accessible, but young people do not experience it that way?

This new report, Data, Place and Lived Experience, explores this question through the work of Rewilding Youth CIC. Written by Ben Harris of Rewilding Youth CIC and edited by Guifré Ballesté Santacana of Yorkshire & Humber Office for Data Analytics (YHODA) and The University of Sheffield, the report examines the relationship between regional data, organisational evidence and lived experience.

Natural England‘s data places Bransholme in one of the highest categories for access to green space. Yet research with young people reveals feelings of disconnection and limited opportunity. Rewilding Youth works across Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, helping young people from predominantly urban and disadvantaged communities connect with nature. Over fourteen months, it engaged 1,220 unique participants in Bransholme.

The analysis brings together the Yorkshire Engagement Portal, Yorkshire Vitality Observatory, Yorkshire Vitality Jobs, evidence from Natural England and Hull City Council, Rewilding Youth’s monitoring data and young people’s voices.

The message is clear: numbers help us decide where to look, but communities help us understand what action should follow.

Read the full report here.

Find out more about the Yorkshire Engagement portal here.