Wild Walk
Wild Walk was born from the need to expand Knight Owl. When having discussions with local zoos, one thing was clear. Knight Owl had many great features, but what zoos really wanted was something that could educate and engage guests on their behalf whilst they focussed on animal care.
I sat down with my Animal Husbandry advisor and together we found a way to make this work. We've had this in the works now for a few years in concept phase. Then I saw a dark walk at popular Cornwall attraction Bodmin Jail and realised this is the time to reconsider this project as priority.
A good zoos main function besides animal care is to educate and in todays age, tourist information boards just aren't enough. We want to create something that will really capture the visitors imagination and take them on a journey they will never forget.
Client
Web Develop Wolf Ltd
Date
Ongoing
Tools
Ionic, CSS3, Photoshop, Invision, .NET 7
Category
The Challenges
Resources
I'm working on this project solo, in-between the social media channels and full-time work. That does unfortunately make a slow burn project, but with techniques learned through work such as the use of platforms like Jira I've been abale to manage this more effectively that ever before.
Establishment
To ask a popular, working zoo to take this on as a beta test has come with a whole new set of challeneges. Both myself and the zoo director have massive time constraints and finding the time to come together to work on this can be one of the biggest challenges we've faced.
Start-up Cost
For this to be a recognised, usable app I need to pay for some of the start-up coists for Apple developer licences and such out of my own pocket as I won't ever expect the zoo to pay for this out of their own pocket. My mission to enrich animals lives by engaging people is still at the heart of what I do.
Client Review
"It's great to be able to spend more time with the animals doing what we do best which Knight Owl does it's best to help us. It's easy to use and our Keepers love it! We're only a small sanctuary but the virtual tour mobile application turns a thirty minute visit into a half a day activity."
-- Jenny Morgan, Director, Gentleshaw Wildlife Centre