QR codes give Broward tourists self guided nature tours

QR codes on trees support learning

Visitors to this Florida county can now use smartphones to take eNature tours through quick response codes.

Broward County Parks and Recreation Division have announced that three of the natural areas that they manage will now be equipped with QR codes that can be scanned by visitors to the regions so that they can take self guided eNature tours.

The eNaturalist system has now been implemented within those three areas for tourists and locals to enjoy.

The three areas that are now equipped with the QR codes include Woodmont in Tamarac, Tall Cypress in Coral Springs, and Hillsboro Pineland in Coconut Creek. To use the quick response codes, visitors can scan the barcodes using any free reader app. This will allow them to gain more information on the plants and animals that they will see in that immediate area. This is another of a growing number of examples of the advantage that technology can bring to the experience of nature.

The QR codes are displayed so that they are easy to find and simple to scan to gain more information about the surroundings.

QR codes on trees support learningThese barcodes make it possible for visitors who have smartphones (as the majority of them do), or even tablets such as iPads, can take out their devices along the trail and give them a scan. This automatically redirects them to short videos that provide interesting information about the plants and the animals that they are likely to see at or near their current position.

The trail signs also include short URLs that mobile device users can type in manually if they would prefer not to use QRcodes. These URLs lead to the same videos. Information is also available in Braille in order to open up the information to the visually impaired.

According to a Quiet Waters Park naturalist in Deerfield Beach, Katharine Hendrickson, “The more you learn about the nature around you, the more excited you become about it. You remember everything you saw so much more vividly.” The QR codes are designed to embrace that concept and to enhance the overall experience of visitors to these areas.

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