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During university I got an internship placement as part of my undergraduate requirements at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. I was given the task to create outreach materials which the biologists would use, distribute and install at various outreach touch points to communicate the current threats facing Canadian Aquatic Species focusing mainly on endangered or threatened fish, mussels and marine life and conservation efforts and initiatives.
During this placement I worked with a team of conservation biologists to created a wide variety of outreach materials. This included federally protected habitat signs which we installed along lakes and river ways; power points for collage classes; temporary tattoos and free standing Parks Canada signage. Part of this also included brainstorming new and innovative outreach products to engage the public in a new way that could be used by some partner companies which I presented to the Department Minister, Deputy Minister and associated press.
At Fisheries and Oceans Canada I was given the task to "make mussel interesting" - my response to this challenge was inspired out of a personal passion for 3D modeling and Virtual Reality. Using one of our mussel specimens I prototyped an interactive 3D field guide as a potential outreach product to be used in mussel ID workshops or as an interactive exhibit for the Toronto Zoo. During my internship I also exhibited my prototype at the Canadian Centre for Inland Water's open Lab day where I was one of the co-runners of the Aquatic Species at Risk booth. In my second summer at this internship I was requested to present my prototype to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans as a potential future tool. I also exhibited my now high-fidelity product at Open Lab day for a second time as well as presented it to a press team who were visiting the center as a potential future outreach product of the future.
It is my hope that with the advancement of technology that our environment is not left behind.
My initial prototype was made using a phone app and a turn table that I had created out of kinex lego during my first week of the internship on the side of my assigned work. With some buzz and interest I was encouraged to seek out creating a more high-fidelity version of the prototype so that we could exhibit a very detailed version of the mussels for specific species identification.
If you're interested, you can check out the original prototype
