National Parks & Wildlife combats nature deficit disorder with virtual rainforest iPad app

When our friends at the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Society told us they were embarking on a campaign to combat nature deficit disorder in children, the irony of using mobile technology was not lost on us.  However, we’ve been developing mobile solutions for some time now with family focused partners like Nickelodeon and Taronga. The analytics show that kids are increasingly evolving beyond a shared PC and onto more personal and portable mobile and tablet devices.

Nature Deficit Disorder, a term coined by Richard Louv in his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods, refers to the alleged trend[1] that children are spending less time outdoors,[2] resulting in a wide range of behavioural problems.Source Wikipedia

Official census stats show that 50% of children between five and eight in NSW have limited access to natural spaces because they live in the greater Sydney metropolitan area.  It’s estimated that more than 60% of children have regular access to a smartphone.

If you’re going to reach kids to motivate them to engage with nature, you need to start the dialogue in the media they’re using most – better still, one that works in nature and bridges the gap between the urban environment and nature.

Nomad created an immersive virtual environment that encourages kids to interact, look around and discover the nature around them.  It’s a phase 1 for NPWS and we’re already looking at ways to evolve the applications with more data, nature engagement and additional environments.

Download the app

Check out the case study