Two high school students, Mari-Ann Ganson and Ellora James, has created a smartphone app that encourages children to enjoy the outdoors more often. The app, Envirocache, was designed as a part of a competition.
Both Mari-Ann and Ellora are 17 and are the students of the Wick High School, Scotland. Ellora’s work on the project has helped her to win 2017’s Scottish Women in Technology One to Watch award.
“It’s so humbling to be at the beginning of my journey and yet still recognised for my passion for technology. I hope that I can use this success to continue to be a role model for others, work to improve diversity in technology and show how schools can work to encourage this too,” Ellora said after receiving the award.
The app: Envirocache
Envirocache is a mobile app that allows people to upload walking routes with tagged interesting plants, wildlife, landmarks and facts about them. Others can then walk the routes, seeing what they can spot and learn along the way, like a nature treasure hunt. The app also has unlockable virtual medals and badges, as well as competitive local leaderboards. The idea behind this is to get children outside and learn more about the world around them.
The vision
The vision behind the app by Mari-Ann Ganson and Ellora James was to get children go outside more often. They knew that children just aren’t experiencing the outdoors enough because they are addicted to technology. They were also aware that it’s not possible to get rid of everyone’s tech. So they thought of a solution, a way to use what was already out there. That’s when they came up with the idea of ‘Envirocache’. The idea to encourage children to get outdoors, active and educated about the world they live in.
We congratulate the girls for their achievement and wish them success for their future.
