WWT Washington Wetland Centre, nestled on the banks of the River Wear in Tyne & Wear, is one of ten wetland sites managed by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)—the UK’s leading wetland conservation charity. The 105-acre reserve offers a peaceful, immersive experience where visitors of all ages can connect with wildlife, discover the importance of wetland habitats, and explore nature through hands-on education.

Welcoming families, school groups, conservation enthusiasts, and casual day-trippers alike, WWT Washington plays a vital role in advancing WWTs mission: to create and protect wetland habitats for endangered species and future generations. 

The site features rare and exotic waterfowl, native British wildlife, bird hides, sculpture trails, seasonal events, and award-winning learning programmes.

With over 1 million visitors to WWT sites each year, the organisation sought to enhance its digital capabilities to improve visitor experience, strengthen conservation messaging, and support its broader education and sustainability goals. The launch of a new visitor app powered by n-gage.io marked a bold step forward in WWT Washington’s digital transformation.

WWT Washington wanted to create a more dynamic, accessible, and connected on-site experience. Key challenges included:

• A need for interactive navigation tools to help guests explore the reserve more easily.
  
  
• Opportunities to digitally deliver conservation education without relying on traditional signage.
  
  
• A desire to promote interactive nature trails that support self-led exploration.
  
  
• Limited ability to send real-time visitor communications, such as species alerts or campaign updates.
  
  
• A need to collect behavioural data to inform visitor engagement strategies and improve site operations.
  
  
• An ambition to reduce printed materials in line with their sustainability commitments.
  
  

WWT Washington’s team turned to n-gage.io to implement a visitor-facing mobile platform that could deliver on all of these fronts—while staying true to the Trust’s values of conservation, learning, and public engagement.

The n-gage.io solution brought together a fully branded guest mobile app with a powerful attraction management system, enabling the WWT Washington team to deliver real-time content, interactive trails, navigation tools, and targeted messaging—all in one place.

Key features included:

Custom-Branded Mobile App
Visitors use the WWT Washington app to explore the reserve via an intuitive map, receive real-time updates on talk times and species alerts, access rich educational content, and store digital tickets. The app incorporates both GPS and Beacon-based navigation. 

Interactive GPS Map & Wayfinding
Visitors can explore the full 105-acre reserve with live GPS navigation and a customisable digital map, helping them find bird hides, exhibits, rest points, and event areas with ease.

In-App Nature Trails
Using n-gage.io’s market-leading digital trails feature, the team created automated, educational nature walks, guiding visitors through key habitats and wildlife zones with audio, media and messaging at every step.

Push Notifications & Species Alerts
Guests receive real-time updates on wildlife sightings, talk times, and seasonal activity—encouraging exploration and extending dwell time.

Rich Content Delivery
Visitors can access species facts, conservation messages, and campaign updates through an engaging mix of video, audio, text and imagery, all delivered in context via the app.

Analytics & Insights Dashboard

The WWT team now tracks visitor behaviour, app usage, popular routes, and content engagement to refine programming and enhance visitor services.

Deborah Nolan, Marketing and Communications Manager at WWT Washington, praised the value and results of the partnership:

“We’re really pleased with the launch of our new mobile app, developed in partnership with n-gage.io. It helps us engage with visitors in real-time, deliver important conservation messages, and make the site more accessible and enjoyable to explore.”

“As the UK’s leading wetland charity, we’re always looking for ways to improve the way we connect with the public. The app is already proving to be a powerful tool for delivering targeted messages and inspiring people to care more about wetlands and wildlife.”