A promotional collage made for the project.
The goal of this project would be to educate visitors to the West Glenwood Open Space Preserve about the Nest Box Project located within the Preserve in a fun and interactive way, as well as generate interest for potential volunteers or donors.
The idea behind this project is that trailgoers could use wayfinding signs and augmented reality to see what's going on inside the nest boxes along the trail without disturbing the nesting birds, and they would be able to learn more about the local birds that frequent the preserve.
Signage and Environmental Mockups
A better view of the trailhead sign
The wayfinding signs for the Nest Box Trail are posted on tall black poles, similar to the poles that hold the nest boxes themselves. The pole at the trailhead specifically has a fake nest box to show visitors what they are looking for. The signs are maroon to distinguish them from the existing trail signs while not looking too out of place in nature. Maroon was also chosen as a nod to the adjacent High School, whose colors are maroon and gold, and the teacher at that school who originally founded the Nest Box Project.
The directional signs are shaped in the profile silhouette of a nest box and are pointed in the indicated direction. They also include a QR code that leads to the Nest Box Project website.
The informational signs are rectangular with rounded corners to align with current trail signs. When a Nest Box has a very visible path to it (that volunteers use to access the box), a barrier sign is posted to block the path and remind visitors to stay on the trail.
These signs are held with removable clips so that volunteers can still move them out of the way to access the boxes.
This map shows where the signs would be placed for the Nest Box Trail, as well as where the nest boxes are all located.
Companion App
The Companion Trail App uses Augmented Reality to show the user the most recent volunteer photo that was taken in the nest box that they are currently looking at, along with the species of bird that is in there, how many eggs or hatchlings there are, and when it was last checked.
Some boxes are viewable from multiple angles or points on the trail, and the user will be able to see the AR contents of the nest box as long as their phone camera is pointed in the box's direction, as seen above.
The app also contains a map feature that shows the users current location and the location of all the boxes.
App Prototype