Forest’s tale of kookaburra in flight

DISCOVER the tale of Nanna Kookaburra while you wander the Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory Trail at Woowookarung Regional Park.

In partnership with the Bigger Hearts Dementia Alliance, Parks Victoria, and Virtual Bean web design, a new interactive Storybook Adventure Trail experience has been developed by Federation University final-year information technology students Seth Leslie and Kurt Horsley.

Lifelike native animal sculptures have been placed throughout the trail to be found, with corresponding scannable QR codes, which take visitors to a site where they can read or hear chapters of the Storybook Adventure starring Nanna Kookaburra, written and narrated by Leslie.

Facts about the species calling Woowookarung home, their indigenous names, photos, and the sounds that they make are also on the site.

“It’s been wonderful to work on a project where I can tackle technical challenges, as well as write and narrate a fun, interactive story that will have real benefits for people living with dementia,” Mr Leslie said.

“It’s so accessible to everyone. My 93-year-old grandmother is excited to come up from Melbourne and explore it, and my two boys are going to love it.”

Bigger Hearts Dementia Alliance Ballarat co-founder Anne Tudor said the Storybook Adventure Trail is high-quality, professional, technical, and valuable, enhancing the park’s established sensory experiences, while helping people understand dementia through the eyes of Nanna Kookaburra.

“Nanna Kookaburra interacts with all her friends that live in the Dementia Friendly Forest and Sensory Trail,” she said.

“Nanna Kookaburra is not sure where she lives anymore, and it’s not until she speaks to the last animal at the end of the story that she realises this is her home, and all the animals are her friends.

“Seth and Kurt have created something special which will be enjoyed by the young, not so young, and those impacted or not impacted by dementia.”

Mr Horsley, also an intern at IBM, said the project journey has been an “incredible” learning experience.

“The project has helped me enhance my technical and non-technical skills, while allowing me the chance to give back to the community in a positive way,” he said.

“It works, and it’s a relief to see it all come together. I am extremely proud of what we achieved.”

School of Engineering, IT and Physical Sciences senior lecturer and program coordinator Dr Kathleen Keogh said her faculty is very proud of Mr Leslie and Mr Horsley’s work on the trail; the final task of their degree.

“The project has provided them with an opportunity to apply the skills developed throughout their degree toward solving a real problem,” she said.

“The project is an excellent example of how the work we do at Federation makes a positive impact on the communities we serve.”

Visit biggerhearts.com.au to for more information, or to check out the story at home.