(8) Branch/House/Track #8: Nature & Environmental Sciences
The current House 8 frame includes a one-room Japanese-style location with a manicured garden for events (shown above). As of January 29, 2026, it has not been decorated or assigned to host regular activities.
BH-08 Nature & Environmental Sciences
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Frame Type |
Branch House |
Status |
OPEN |
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Track / Branch |
Natural & Environmental Sciences |
Capacity |
50 users |
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FrameVR URL |
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Notes |
Book Club Activities |
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Frame Purpose
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The disciplinary home for immersive learning in ecology, environmental science, and nature-based education. XR offers unique affordances for environmental education — transporting learners to ecosystems they cannot visit, visualising climate data, and building environmental empathy. This Frame also hosts ongoing Book Club activities. |
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Frame type context: Branch House — persistent disciplinary anchor with active Book Club programming. Book Club activities should be scheduled and posted on the events board, with connection to the Thirsty Scholar social space. |
1 Ownership & Governance
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Frame Lead / Owner |
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Content Contributors |
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Technical Steward |
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Accessibility Reviewer |
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Last Updated |
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2 Learning Design Requirements — + UDL 3.0
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: Context-rich learning is central to environmental education. emphasis on providing real-world context maps directly: the Frame should ground content in real ecosystems and place-based learning experiences, not abstract descriptions. |
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UDL: Nature and environmental contexts are naturally multi-sensory — XR can represent them through visual, audio, and spatial modalities. This Frame should model Representation richness: not just images of nature, but immersive or spatial representations where possible. |
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Universal Requirements (all frames) |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Purpose statement posted in Frame at entry zone |
Visible within 10 sec of entering |
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Orientation cues for newcomers (what this space is, what to do) |
Confirmed by blind test with volunteer |
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Asynchronous contribution pathway available (forum, Codex, Discord link) |
At least 1 async pathway; URL live |
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Content accessible in text form via Codex (Representation — UDL) |
Codex page live and linked in Frame |
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No colour-only navigation cues — all zones/portals have text labels |
Confirmed by reviewer |
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Emotional tone is welcoming; language is jargon-free at entry |
Confirmed by reviewer external to Frame team |
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Frame-Specific Requirements |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Book Club schedule posted on events board (upcoming sessions, recurring cadence) |
Dates confirmed with Book Club organiser |
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Link to Thirsty Scholar social space present (Book Club community) |
Portal or board link confirmed live |
3 Design & Build Checklist
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Layout & Purpose |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Frame purpose defined in one sentence, posted at entry |
Written purpose statement visible |
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Environment size matches use case |
Appropriate environment selected; not over/undersized |
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Central meeting / focal area identifiable within 10–15 sec |
Walk-through test by reviewer |
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Navigation |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Minimum 2 outgoing portal links to other Frames |
≥ 2 portals; 0 dead ends |
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Consistent portal visual language (campus-wide asset style) |
Matches campus portal standard |
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Navigation path from entry to any key area ≤ 15 seconds |
Timed walk-through by reviewer |
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All portal destinations confirmed live |
Click-tested by reviewer |
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Signage |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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All text legible on mobile screen at default eye level without zooming |
Phone screen test |
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No signage relies on colour alone |
Label or icon accompanies all colour-coded elements |
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Zone Setup (if zones are used) |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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'Restrict all assets to zones' enabled if zones are in use |
Frame settings → restrict assets = ON |
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Each zone has a named purpose |
Zone names visible in Frame settings |
4 Performance & Asset Budget — check via Frame Settings → Performance Rating or ?debug=true
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FrameVR targets: ≤ 200 draw calls · ≤ 130,000 active faces · ≤ 20 materials. FPS target: 60 desktop, ≥ 40 minimum desktop, ≥ 30 iOS Safari. |
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Performance Monitor Readings |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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FPS ≥ 40 on desktop (Chrome/Edge) |
Target 60; below 40 = must fix |
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FPS ≥ 30 on iOS Safari mobile |
Must pass before launch |
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Draw call count ≤ 200 |
Babylon Inspector → Stats |
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Active face/poly count ≤ 130,000 |
Babylon Inspector → Stats |
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Material count ≤ 20 |
Babylon Inspector → Stats |
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Performance Rating not flagged RED in Frame Settings |
Yellow = caution; Red = block launch |
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Asset Hygiene |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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All images compressed before import (squoosh.app) |
No raw camera/screen captures |
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No Sketchfab model imported without poly-count review |
Flagged models resolved or documented |
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Unused assets deleted (not just hidden) |
Assets list contains only active assets |
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Media Settings |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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All videos set to NOT autoplay |
Each video asset → autoplay = OFF |
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Webcam/streaming screens disabled unless live event |
Default OFF; enable only during live sessions |
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No Smoke particle effects in use |
High GPU cost; zero tolerance |
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Animated objects minimised |
Each loop adds ongoing GPU cost |
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FPS Desktop |
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FPS iOS Safari |
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Draw Calls |
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Poly Count |
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Materials |
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Perf. Rating |
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5 Content & Boards Checklist
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Codex & Community Links |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Codex page URL embedded as board or link in Frame |
BookStack page URL live and linked |
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Forum / InVision Community thread linked |
Thread URL confirmed live |
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Content Boards |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Image board(s) populated with track-relevant content |
At least 1 board with real content, not placeholder |
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Upcoming events board posted and dated |
Event title + date visible; past events removed |
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Showcase zone set up for presenter / author work |
Distinct area labelled Showcase or equivalent |
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Presenter / author content loaded or linked |
Confirmed with content owner |
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Conference-Specific Elements |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Greek cultural / scavenger hunt artifact placed (if assigned) |
Confirm with George / Greek team |
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Quest clue placed correctly (if this Frame is a quest stop) |
Cross-check against quest master list |
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Tally.so submission form linked (if track accepts submissions) |
Tally form URL confirmed and tested |
6 Planned Activities & Events
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Activity / Event |
Date |
Owner |
Status |
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7 Connected Frames & Portals
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Destination Frame |
Portal Type |
Notes |
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iLRN Central (HUB-03) |
Return portal |
Primary inbound route |
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Climate / Sustainability (SP-02) |
Branch-to-Special |
Environmental science overlap |
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STEM (BH-05) |
Branch-to-Branch |
Science education |
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The Thirsty Scholar (CS-08) |
Branch-to-Social |
Book Club connection |
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8 Asset Inventory
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Asset Name / Description |
Poly Count |
File Size |
Owner |
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9 Accessibility Sign-Off — reviewer must complete this, not the Frame owner
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Wayfinding & Legibility |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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New user orients within 10 seconds without prior knowledge |
Blind test with volunteer |
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All text boards legible on mobile at default eye level |
Phone screen test |
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No element identified by colour or spatial position alone |
Confirmed with audio OFF |
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Inclusivity |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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No flashing or strobing effects |
Zero tolerance — photosensitivity risk |
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Critical content accessible from a stationary avatar position |
No movement required to read key boards |
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Language on all boards is plain and welcoming to newcomers |
Reviewed by someone outside Frame team |
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Device & Bandwidth |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Fully usable on Chrome / Edge desktop |
Full navigation completed without crash |
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Usable on iOS Safari mobile |
Full navigation completed without crash or major lag |
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Loads within 30 sec on Slow 3G (Chrome DevTools → Network → Slow 3G) |
Slow 3G test completed and passed |
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Sign-Off |
Criterion / Pass Threshold |
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Reviewer name and date recorded below |
Required before Frame status = Ready |
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Reviewed By |
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Review Date |
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Outcome |
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Follow-Up Items |
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10 Codex Integration (BookStack)
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Codex Book / Chapter |
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Codex Page URL |
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Last Synced |
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Outstanding Codex Tasks |
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11 Additional Notes & Open Questions
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