Wildlife Conservation
Virtual Reality Education/Experience
Unreal Engine + In-Situ VR Footage with Graphical Overlays
Brook Waimārama Sanctuary
The Brook Waimārama Sanctuary is the largest fenced sanctuary for endangered plants and animals in New Zealand's South Island.
The sanctuary recently welcomed 40 kiwi pukupuku to their new home, and before their arrival, sought a way to allow the community to learn about their new neighbours, and to inspire locals & visitors alike to experience the sanctuary for themselves.
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BACKGROUND
Digital Diligence was approached by Nelson Airport and Brook Waimārama Sanctuary to design an immersive activation to celebrate the impending arrival of 40 kiwi pukupuku to te tauihu and to showcase and inspire those engaging with the experience to visit the Sanctuary.
Working with a timeframe of less than 2 weeks, and zero starting content, DDL's team created a rapid concept for the experience combining a hybrid of real-world sanctuary footage, with animated elements to allow users to witness kiwi pukupuku in their natural habitat. The concept was readily approved and the project was underway.
Within the same timeline, three new headsets had to be sourced from overseas and provisioned - ready for setup in the Airport terminal.
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Solution & Implementation
In-Situ VR Footage Capture + Digital Overlay
A virtual reality (VR) educational experience was developed to inspire travellers at Nelson Airport to explore the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. The immersive experience combined in situ stereoscopic and monoscopic footage, overlaid with graphical elements and educational text such as fascinating kiwi facts. Additionally, rendered animated scenes in Unreal Engine were integrated to further enhance the experience and create engaging transitions. This blend of real-world and animated content provided an informative, visually captivating environment that showcased the unique ecological and cultural significance of the sanctuary. Despite a very tight timeframe of just eight days, the project was successfully completed and deployed for public use at the airport.
Experience Highlight
One of the project’s standout features was a dedicated Unreal-only animated scene that showcased the kiwi pukupuku in its natural nighttime habitat. This scene was enriched with visually striking native flora, and an immersive 360 soundscape with kiwi calls.
360° Exerience for Wider Audence Engagement
To ensure accessibility beyond VR headsets, the entire experience was rendered as a 360-degree video, optimised for viewing on mobile devices and desktops. This approach extended the project’s reach, enabling a much broader audience to connect with the content.
Device Management for Public Environments
With three Meta Quest 3S headsets being used for travellers at the Nelson Airport terminal, DDL needed a secure way to provide access to the experience, ensuring seamless ongoing playback without the need for controllers. DDL chose ManageXR as it's headset management platform, and created a kiosk environment that restricted headset access to the looping experience only.
A custom API was also built to monitor battery levels and notify the Airport staff so that devices could be swapped out for charged ones, allowing the experience to continue without downtime.
SEE THE EXPERIENCE
The following video provides a glimpse into the experience for non-VR users. For the best quality, change the video resolution to 4K using the settings cog on the bottom control bar.
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Results & Impact
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Increased Awareness and Engagement: Travellers were introduced to the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary in an engaging, interactive format, fostering interest in the sanctuary and its conservation efforts.
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Educational Impact: The inclusion of educational text and kiwi facts provided visitors with valuable information about the sanctuary's unique fauna, encouraging responsible and curious exploration.
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Enhanced Visitor Experience: The combination of stereoscopic and monoscopic footage with dynamic animations offered a memorable, high-quality VR experience for visitors in the airport environment - both from VR headsets and via mobile devices
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Rapid Deployment: Delivering the project within just eight days demonstrated an agile approach to content creation and deployment, making it accessible quickly to a wide audience.
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CONCLUSION
The virtual reality experience deployed at Nelson Airport successfully captured the essence of the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, blending real-world footage, engaging animations, and educational overlays to inspire and inform travellers. The tight delivery timeframe showcased the ability to adapt quickly and produce a professional, high-impact experience that not only entertains but also educates. Ultimately, this initiative has strengthened the sanctuary’s connection with the travelling public, encouraging them to explore and support one of New Zealand’s unique ecological treasures.