Matilde Peixoto

Pollinators

Pollinators

Pollinators

A participatory workshop where people learn about pollinators through virtual reality and create features to support them in cities.

A participatory workshop where people learn about pollinators through virtual reality and create features to support them in cities.

A participatory workshop where people learn about pollinators through virtual reality and create features to support them in cities.

Project

Project

The project educates people about pollinators through a virtual reality (VR) experience and empowers them to create pollinator features in urban spaces like gardens and balconies through a a hands-on activity. Both are delivered in a participatory workshop attended by members of London community gardens, including the Hammersmith Community Gardens Association and Phoenix Community Garden. The VR experience I designed simulates a community garden where people embody a bee, exploring the space from its perspective, and observing various pollinators and their habitats up close. The aim is to educate people about various pollinators and their unique needs.


The project educates people about pollinators through a virtual reality (VR) experience and empowers them to create pollinator features in urban spaces like gardens and balconies through a hands-on activity. Both are delivered in a participatory workshop attended by members of London community gardens, including the Hammersmith Community Gardens Association and Phoenix Community Garden. The VR experience I designed simulates a community garden where people embody a bee, exploring the space from its perspective, and observing various pollinators and their habitats up close. The aim is to educate people about various pollinators and their unique needs.

My Role

My Role

I collaborated with another person on this project; they created the hands on activity while I made the virtual reality (VR) experience and coordinated the workshops with community gardens. My responsibilities included selecting assets, building the virtual environment, adding animations and interactions, and optimizing VR performance for headset use. I also coordinated with community gardens, handled event logistics, and refined the workshop based on their feedback.


A video of the virtual reality experience. Press play to start.


These are screenshots of different areas inside the virtual reality environment from a bees perspective. At the end of the slideshow there is a photo in color which shows the comparison of human vision to the bee vision.



These are screenshots of different areas inside the virtual reality environment from a bees perspective. At the end of the slideshow there is a photo in color which shows the comparison of human vision to the bee vision.

These are photos of the workshop participants participating in the virtual reality experience.


These are photos of the workshop participants participating in the hands on activity after the VR experience. The hands on activity involved people using the stamping blocks to design their own pollinator features for their urban green spaces.

Community Garden Suggestions

Community Garden Suggestions

Before designing the virtual reality experience and planning how we were going to conduct the workshops, my team member and I spoke to the community gardens who we were going to run the workshops with to get their ideas and suggestions. 

1. Seeing Pollinators

“It would be great for the volunteers to see different pollinators because a lot of them don’t get the opportunity to see them in the garden.”

1. Seeing Pollinators

“It would be great for the volunteers to see different pollinators because a lot of them don’t get the opportunity to see them in the garden.”

1. Seeing Pollinators

“It would be great for the volunteers to see different pollinators because a lot of them don’t get the opportunity to see them in the garden.”

1. Seeing Pollinators

“It would be great for the volunteers to see different pollinators because a lot of them don’t get the opportunity to see them in the garden.”

2. Pollinator Habitats

“It would also be great to know where you can find different pollinators. Where do they live?"

2. Pollinator Habitats

“It would also be great to know where you can find different pollinators. Where do they live?"

2. Pollinator Habitats

“It would also be great to know where you can find different pollinators. Where do they live?"

2. Pollinator Habitats

“It would also be great to know where you can find different pollinators. Where do they live?"

3. New Opportunity

“Many community garden members are aged 60 and up, and for a lot of them it’ll be their first time using VR which is an exciting opportunity.”

3. New Opportunity

“Many community garden members are aged 60 and up, and for a lot of them it’ll be their first time using VR which is an exciting opportunity.”

3. New Opportunity

“Many community garden members are aged 60 and up, and for a lot of them it’ll be their first time using VR which is an exciting opportunity.”

3. New Opportunity

“Many community garden members are aged 60 and up, and for a lot of them it’ll be their first time using VR which is an exciting opportunity.”

4. Clear Instructions

“There needs to be clear instructions on how to navigate the VR as typically when we run workshops with the members a lot of them need to be given a lot of guidance.”

4. Clear Instructions

“There needs to be clear instructions on how to navigate the VR as typically when we run workshops with the members a lot of them need to be given a lot of guidance.”

4. Clear Instructions

“There needs to be clear instructions on how to navigate the VR as typically when we run workshops with the members a lot of them need to be given a lot of guidance.”

4. Clear Instructions

“There needs to be clear instructions on how to navigate the VR as typically when we run workshops with the members a lot of them need to be given a lot of guidance.”

Initial VR Sketches

Initial VR Sketches


These are initial sketches of the virtual reality experience, where I envisioned several scenes, including a detailed community garden with habitats for different pollinators. I also explored two scenes depicting a world without pollinators, a deserted supermarket and barren farmland, but decided against including them to avoid creating a negative tone to the experience and to reduce complexity. In the final version, I simplified the community garden design to ensure better performance and intuitive navigation on VR headsets.

Insights from Workshop Feedback

Insights from Workshop Feedback

After conducting our first workshop we asked participants to provide feedback on their experience, which we collected through in person conversations and a survey. These are the comments people made which influenced the final design of the workshop and virtual reality experience.

1. Simplified Interactions

Navigation challenges were mentioned, with one participant stating, “Perhaps a better experience if one is accustomed to navigation, it can be a bit disorientating.” To address this, I simplified the interactions in the VR experience that the participants found bothersome and difficult.

1. Simplified Interactions

Navigation challenges were mentioned, with one participant stating, “Perhaps a better experience if one is accustomed to navigation, it can be a bit disorientating.” To address this, I simplified the interactions in the VR experience that the participants found bothersome and difficult.

1. Simplified Interactions

Navigation challenges were mentioned, with one participant stating, “Perhaps a better experience if one is accustomed to navigation, it can be a bit disorientating.” To address this, I simplified the interactions in the VR experience that the participants found bothersome and difficult.

1. Simplified Interactions

Navigation challenges were mentioned, with one participant stating, “Perhaps a better experience if one is accustomed to navigation, it can be a bit disorientating.” To address this, I simplified the interactions in the VR experience that the participants found bothersome and difficult.

2. Controller Issues

Several participants found the controls challenging, noting, “Found the VR controls a bit tricky” and “Found it difficult to use and get the hang of.” In response, the control scheme was revised to be more intuitive by reducing it to a single trigger button and assigning the same navigation function to both joysticks.

2. Controller Issues

Several participants found the controls challenging, noting, “Found the VR controls a bit tricky” and “Found it difficult to use and get the hang of.” In response, the control scheme was revised to be more intuitive by reducing it to a single trigger button and assigning the same navigation function to both joysticks.

2. Controller Issues

Several participants found the controls challenging, noting, “Found the VR controls a bit tricky” and “Found it difficult to use and get the hang of.” In response, the control scheme was revised to be more intuitive by reducing it to a single trigger button and assigning the same navigation function to both joysticks.

2. Controller Issues

Several participants found the controls challenging, noting, “Found the VR controls a bit tricky” and “Found it difficult to use and get the hang of.” In response, the control scheme was revised to be more intuitive by reducing it to a single trigger button and assigning the same navigation function to both joysticks.

3. Perspective Change

Participants expressed interest in experiencing the VR garden from a pollinator’s point of view, suggesting, “It would be cool if you could click on the insect and then see the garden from their perspective.” In response, I made the final VR expereince from the perspective of a bee itself. Offering a more immersive and empathetic experience.

3. Perspective Change

Participants expressed interest in experiencing the VR garden from a pollinator’s point of view, suggesting, “It would be cool if you could click on the insect and then see the garden from their perspective.” In response, I made the final VR expereince from the perspective of a bee itself. Offering a more immersive and empathetic experience.

3. Perspective Change

Participants expressed interest in experiencing the VR garden from a pollinator’s point of view, suggesting, “It would be cool if you could click on the insect and then see the garden from their perspective.” In response, I made the final VR expereince from the perspective of a bee itself. Offering a more immersive and empathetic experience.

3. Perspective Change

Participants expressed interest in experiencing the VR garden from a pollinator’s point of view, suggesting, “It would be cool if you could click on the insect and then see the garden from their perspective.” In response, I made the final VR expereince from the perspective of a bee itself. Offering a more immersive and empathetic experience.

VR Asset Credits

VR Asset Credits

All assets used in this project are either under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) or Unity Asset Store licenses. Full details available here: Creative Commons License Information.


Sketchfab  Assets:


Unity Asset Store Assets:

  • Honey Bee Animated by WDallgraphics, Used under Single Entity License

  • Bumblebee by WDallgraphics, Used under Single Entity License

  • Wasp by WDallgraphics, Used under Single Entity License

  • Rock by Unity Technologies, Used under Extension Asset License

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