Klimaerlebnispfad Oerlinghausen: Augmented Reality Along Five Kilometers of Hiking Trail

How do you explain to children and teenagers what climate change is doing to the forest on their doorstep? The Klimaerlebnispfad (climate discovery trail) in Oerlinghausen does it where it happens: outdoors. On a loop trail of about five kilometers (three miles), visitors use their own smartphones to bring animals, trees, and entire landscapes into their real surroundings.

The project

The Klimaerlebnispfad is located in the Urland (in German) in the district of Lippe. It starts at the Klimaerlebniswelt Oerlinghausen, leads through forest and the Senne heathland, and ends at the Archaeological Open-Air Museum. Its eleven stations cover forests, biodiversity, forestry, and climate adaptation. The trail is run by Lippe Tourismus & Marketing GmbH and funded by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia through the EU funding programs ERDF and JTF. It opened in July 2026.

The trail is open year-round, free of charge. Visitors download the app via QR codes at the stations.

Our task

We designed, created, and built the augmented reality tour. It runs on iOS and Android smartphones in the app of the AR platform YONA. The boards and films along the trail were produced by the realTV group, and the stations were planned by the firm cognitio.

Three requirements shaped the concept:

• Working outdoors: Mobile reception along the trail is weak. That is why visitors download the tour in advance over the Klimaerlebniswelt Wi-Fi. On the way, the app finds the stations via GPS and QR codes.
• Made for families: The tour is designed for children ages six and up. Everything can be used without explanation.
• Hands-on: A points system runs through the entire route. Anyone who completes all stations picks up a reward at the Klimaerlebniswelt.

Urli guides visitors along the trail

Urli, a Highland cow, accompanies visitors through every station. We modeled and animated the mascot in 3D. It moves its mouth, looks for eye contact, and speaks directly to visitors. Filmed presenters were originally planned. The mascot was our suggestion: in augmented reality, it really stands on the trail, and children would rather follow it than an explainer video.

What visitors experience

Station	What happens
Collecting wildlife	Seven animals appear along the trail, from the fox to the edible dormouse. The smartphone alerts visitors when one is nearby.
Forestry then and now	First a forest worker saws by hand, then a harvester goes to work. The comparison shows how work in the forest has changed.
Time travel at the sand pit	Glaciers, tundra, heathland, and possible landscapes of the future are laid over the real valley.
Bird flight quiz	Visitors steer a bird by tilting the smartphone and fly through the correct answer.
Avenue of future trees	Visitors create their own forest from 20 trees and shrubs. A thermometer shows how well it is prepared for the climate of tomorrow.
Quiz course	Five quizzes on animal tracks, tree species, and bird calls, with a leaderboard.

In its press release on the opening (in German), the district of Lippe calls the time travel at the sand pit “a highlight of the project.”

Voices from the project

“A special app lets you access augmented reality content at every station. In other words, we enhance the on-site experience with virtual elements. From animations in front of the real landscape to quizzes and games of skill, there is a lot to discover.” (translated from German)

Olrik Meyer, head of the environmental department at the district of Lippe, in the press release of July 8, 2026

What carries over

The Klimaerlebnispfad shows what augmented reality can do in tourism and environmental education: it makes visible what used to be at a place, what is coming, and what would otherwise stay hidden. It takes no headset and no loaner device. Visitors already have their smartphones with them.

The same principle works for educational trails, open-air museums, company sites, and city tours. Learn more on our page about augmented reality.