Montreal Botanical Garden & Charlie tango

Through its various activities for the general public, the Montreal Botanical Garden sought, among other things, to counter “botanical blindness”, in other words, the indifference to plants that their immobility in particular inspires.

What doesn’t move attracts less attention and arouses less curiosity. And yet, just like animals, plants are complex and fascinating living beings.

The aim of this project was to transform the way we perceive plants. Through it, the Montreal Botanical Garden wanted to raise awareness of the fact that plants are living beings, and against all appearances, even in winter.

Case study

À la recherche de la noisette rouge :

A Quest to Go at the Montreal Botanical Garden

The story behind the experience

The Montreal Botanical Garden wanted to enhance its winter offering with a digital treasure hunt, accessible via a mobile application. The aim was to fill visitors with wonder, encourage cooperation and introduce them to the Garden in winter through a fantastic adventure.

Their business objectives :

Complete the winter/spring 2025 program with an outdoor activity.
Offer a playful experience that brings the Garden to life in winter.
Showcase the winter vegetation in an original way, nurturing curiosity and transforming the way we look at it.
Delight the imagination with a fantastic quest and encourage cooperation in its pursuit.

Their content objectives :

Understand :

That plants are complex living beings… even in winter!
What plants do in winter and their strategies for getting through the cold season.

Discover :

The diversity, roles and functions of bark, buds and needles in a winter context.

The result : À la recherche de la Noisette Rouge

An exploration game to discover and rediscover the Garden in winter!

The trail offers a fun, interactive experience through the Jardin Botanique de Montréal. Through an outdoor exploration game, participants are invited to take a fresh look at winter vegetation and unravel its mysteries.

Equipped with a mobile app, players follow a path strewn with enigmas and clues scattered throughout the garden. At each stage, they are encouraged to observe their surroundings closely, discovering plants’ amazing strategies for surviving winter and understanding their essential role in the ecosystem.

Tree bark, buds and conifer needles become key elements in the game, revealing often unsuspected secrets.

More than a simple activity, this quest invites cooperation and wonder through a fantastic story. By stimulating curiosity and imagination, the game transforms the perception of plants and highlights their resilience and complexity, even in the middle of winter.

Game Synopsis

In the enchanting setting of the Montreal Botanical Garden, a little squirrel named Élio stumbles upon a brilliant red hazelnut, a botanical treasure whose existence is extremely rare. Amazed by his find, Élio wants to share this jewel with his friends. However, in a moment of absent-mindedness, he hid the precious hazelnut for the winter and forgot its location, as happens with 85% of hidden hazelnuts…

Élio only remembers that the hazelnut was deposited near an exceptional tree, not an ordinary tree, but one of the many unique specimens present at the Montreal Botanical Garden.

Your mission is to help Élio and his friends find the red hazelnut by exploring the botanical wonders of the garden in winter. To help you, he calls on La Veilleuse, the animal customer service manager!

They talked about the project