Birds VR

We set out to create a reality-based educational package consisting of two components: a learning manual and an immersive 360° VR film about the bird conservator Alfonso Godino. Our aim was to bri...

We set out to create a reality-based educational package consisting of two components: a learning manual and an immersive 360° VR film about the bird conservator Alfonso Godino. Our aim was to bring nature conservation into the classroom in a way that engages both intellect and emotion. VR was chosen because it offers something traditional film cannot—it surrounds the viewer, placing them inside a living landscape, where knowledge settles more deeply because the experience is felt, not just observed. The VR story focuses on the declining population of red kites in Spain, exploring how this local challenge reflects wider global threats to birds of prey, other species, and the climate at large. Through the combination of film and manual, we wanted students aged 12–16 to gain insight into conservation work and to begin imagining solutions of their own. SEO/BirdLife facilitated workshops with approximately 100 pupils, who tested the material in classroom settings. Their response was enthusiastic—they showed strong motivation to understand the role of conservators and to consider how they themselves could support the ongoing work of field technicians who operate daily in a fragile and changing natural world.

We produced an immersive VR experience, WINGS OF DESIRE, that showed how real conservationists work. On top of this, we designed and wrote new learning materials that introduced basic scientific concepts and put the immersive experience into context. By following the conservator Alfonso Godino in the 360° film, students formed a relationship with Godino, which made them listen to and empathise with him. The learning manual to go with the VR experiences contains a suggested procedure to perform the workshops and provides the knowledge about red kites, conservation, awareness and education.