Creating a better experience for visitors to a nature reserve
Ngā Manu Nature Reserve asked StudioC to help them design a vision for an improved visitor experience. This included:
- understanding the current visitor experience, what works well and what doesn’t
- re-designing the visitor experience to tell Ngā Manu’s unique story
- developing a roadmap for action, including quick wins and longer-term projects.
We started by summarising all of their existing work into a one-page summary for stakeholders. This helped everyone see what had been achieved so far, and to agree on what else needed to be done.
We then conducted empathy conversations (interviews) and observations at the reserve to understand the current visitor experience. These insights were used to develop recommendations for improving the future experience.
We've introduced a simplified pathway for the reserve, which guides visitors through a journey from the environment of Aotearoa past, to the environmental damage being done currently, into a future vision of conserving our natural environment and taonga.
We've also crafted a unified vision and phased strategy for the reserve's next decade, grounded in genuine user insights. This includes practical steps for key structures, interactive zones, signage, and wayfinding – all of which will inspire visitors to do their own bit to protect te taiao | our natural world.
“Your creativity has been amazing. The range of stuff you do from concept development to implementing and construction - you are a one-stop-shop!
I also appreciate you are genuine people. We didn’t come away from conversations wading through what was real and not real…You were also very responsive when we asked to do things differently.”
— Chriss Bull, Project Manager
