Ecosphere

June 7, 2020 admin

Free Geography / Ecology WWF Partnership Meta Quest + Steam 🌟 Jackson Wild Award

PHORIA • WWF • Silverback Films

ecosphere

Award-winning VR nature documentary series exploring the great savannahs of Kenya, the ancient jungles of Borneo, and the rich coral reefs of Raja Ampat. Produced with WWF and narrated by Anna Friel.

Developer: PHORIA (Melbourne, Australia)

Partners: WWF • Silverback Films • Meta

Price: Free

Narration: Anna Friel (Emmy Award winner)

7.8

/10

XR School Score

Recommended

A beautifully produced, award-winning conservation documentary with genuine WWF and UN credentials — note the passive video format

🌿 WWF + UN DPPA Jackson Wild Award 2020
Anna Friel narration • Free

Overview

ecosphere is a free VR nature documentary series by Melbourne-based PHORIA, produced in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Silverback Films (producers of BBC Natural World and Attenborough productions), and Meta. Season 1, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actress Anna Friel, takes viewers to the Kenya savannah (elephants), the Borneo rainforest (orangutans), and the Raja Ampat coral reefs in Indonesia (manta rays). Season 2, produced in partnership with the United Nations Department of Political and Peace Affairs (UN DPPA), explores Fiji and Colombia.

The experience won Best 360° Storytelling at the Jackson Wild Media Awards 2020 and was a Webby Award Nominee for Best VR Video. UploadVR called it "Get ready for a VR safari." The approach consistently highlights the human communities at the front line of conservation — the Kenyan rangers, the Bornean guides, the Indonesian marine park wardens — rather than presenting nature as something apart from people.

Important: Format Note for Teachers ecosphere is a cinematic 180°/3D documentary experience, not an interactive VR exploration. You select an episode from a spinning globe menu and watch a curated 5–15 minute film. There is no locomotion, no spatial exploration, no interaction with wildlife. It is closer to an immersive cinema experience than to exploratory VR. This distinction matters for classroom planning: students watch rather than navigate. The immersive format still delivers a significantly greater sense of presence than a flat screen, but teachers should calibrate expectations accordingly.

A notable limitation is that each episode requires a separate download (which can take several minutes on Quest), creating a dead period between episodes that reviewers have found disruptive. Video compression has also been noted as variable, with some blurring on Quest. The experience works best when treated as a curated mini-documentary series rather than a free-roaming nature simulation.

The Three Ecosystems: Season 1

🌎

Kenya — The Savannah

🇺🇪 Africa / East Africa

Explore the great savannahs of Kenya where local communities work alongside wildlife rangers to protect one of Africa's most diverse ecosystems. The film focuses on the human stories behind conservation — the rangers, the pastoralists, the landowners creating wildlife corridors — alongside aerial and ground-level footage of the landscape and wildlife.

Elephants Lions Giraffes Wildlife corridors

🌿

Borneo — The Ancient Rainforest

🇲🇾 Malaysia

Discover the ancient jungles of Borneo, among the oldest rainforests on Earth, where indigenous and community-led conservation efforts are creating new space for biodiversity. The orangutan is the flagship species, but the film explores the broader ecosystem and the deforestation pressures threatening it.

Orangutans Hornbills Pygmy elephants Rainforest canopy

🌌

Raja Ampat — The Coral Reef

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Dive into the rich coral reefs of Raja Ampat, part of the Coral Triangle and considered the most biodiverse marine environment on Earth. 3D-180 camera work takes viewers beneath the surface alongside manta rays, reef sharks, and the extraordinary diversity of fish species that make this region globally significant.

Manta rays Reef sharks Sea turtles Coral biodiversity

Season 2: UN DPPA Partnership Season 2, produced in partnership with the United Nations Department of Political and Peace Affairs, extends the series to Fiji (Sea of Islands) and Colombia (Pathways Colombia), exploring how post-conflict peacebuilding and environmental sustainability intersect. A third episode, Musalem, is listed as coming soon. The UN partnership reflects the series' evolution from wildlife documentary toward a broader social impact platform.

Curriculum Fit

Geography (Ecosystems)

8.8

Biology (Ecology)

8.2

PSHE (Conservation)

8.0

Global Development (S2)

7.5

VR Spatial Exploration

3.2

All ages suitability

9.2

What Viewers Say

UploadVR Games media

"Get ready for a VR safari." An immersive nature documentary series that brings conservation filmmaking to the VR platform in a genuinely compelling way.

VR Voyaging (full review) Specialist review

"ecosphere stands out as an excellent curated collection of high-quality clips. Elephants, monkeys, manta rays, and more come to life. If you're looking to just sit back and get close with nature, this might be right for you. Since this is really a fancy menu system for watching documentaries, it's not very interactive."

Impulse Gamer (Quest review) Platform review

"The concept is terrific — short films explaining the importance of bio-diversity told by local guides — but the execution falls a tad short. Video compression is an issue in spots, and significant downloading is required per episode. Not to say non-enjoyable."

Strengths and Limitations

Strengths

Free on Meta Quest and SteamVR
WWF, Silverback Films, and UN DPPA partnerships: exceptional credibility
Narrated by Emmy Award-winning Anna Friel
Jackson Wild Award: Best 360° Storytelling 2020
Community-led conservation focus: human stories alongside wildlife
Three ecosystems covering Geography, Biology, and Global Development curricula
Season 2 adds UN collaboration content on Fiji and Colombia
Suitable for all ages

Considerations

Passive documentary format: no spatial exploration or wildlife interaction
Each episode requires separate download on Quest — waiting time
Video compression issues noted; some blurring on Quest hardware
5–15 minute episodes: short individual segments
Not interactive — closer to immersive cinema than VR exploration

FREE

Meta Quest • SteamVR

Get on Meta Quest → Get on Steam →

Quick Facts

Developer: PHORIA (Melbourne, Australia)
Partners: WWF • Silverback Films • Meta • UN DPPA (S2)
Price: Free
Platforms: Meta Quest • SteamVR
Narration: Anna Friel (Emmy Award winner, Season 1)
Season 1: Kenya, Borneo, Raja Ampat
Season 2: Fiji, Colombia (+ Musalem coming soon)
Format: 180°/3D cinematic documentary (passive)
Awards: Jackson Wild Best 360° Storytelling 2020; Webby Nominee
Age Rating: Everyone

Verdict

Beautifully produced conservation filmmaking with exceptional partner credibility — WWF, Silverback Films, UN DPPA, and an Emmy Award-winning narrator. The Jackson Wild Award reflects genuine quality. For Geography and Biology teachers covering ecosystems, biodiversity, and conservation, this is a strong free resource. The critical caveat is format: this is a passive cinematic experience, not interactive VR exploration. Plan sessions around watching short curated films in immersive 3D, not exploring wildlife habitats freely. Pre-download episodes before class to avoid waiting times.

The XR School

The XR School

Ecosphere

ecosphere