A virtual reality forest for a walk in the woods of the future

Graphs and reports about climate change can be hard to relate to. So to help people connect with how forests may change as the climate warms, researchers at Penn State University are experimenting with virtual reality.
Wearing a VR headset, users can explore the woods, modeled after a forest in northern Wisconsin. They can look up at the sky, down at the sun-dappled ground, and even hear birds chirping.
The technology incorporates detailed data about the tree and plant species in the forest, and projections of how warmer, drier conditions could affect them. And they can toggle between how the forest looks today, and how it may look decades in the future.
Immersive experiences can convey something more tangible than data alone.
Learn more https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/06/a-virtual-reality-forest-takes-users-for-a-walk-in-the-woods-of-the-future/ (Photo: Courtesy of Jiawei Huang)