School of Communications and Interactive Media graduate Lars Bredahl ’10, G’11 has received media attention from USA Today and Florida news outlets for a project he completed in his iMedia Capstone course in the spring for the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel, Fla.
Bredahl said the refuge, which receives more than 800,000 visitors a year, was looking for ways to enhance the visitor experience. So Bredahl developed an interactive nature trail, or “iNature Trail” as he calls it, that featured QR codes on 10 trail signs.
Visitors can scan the QR codes with their smart phones to be connected to video content with the refuge rangers, who reveal information about the plants and wildlife near the signs.
“I envisioned it as a way to add another layer of interactivity to the refuge and give visitors a ‘pocket tour guide’ they can utilize as they explore the refuge at their own pace,” said Bredahl, who’s from Sanibel.
The trail opened June 28, and Bredahl said other national refuges are interested in using similar interactive elements.
To date, his project has been covered in USA Today, the News-Press in Florida and WINK-CBS News in Florida.