The Bronte Heritage Trail is a new walking trail designed to bring Bronte Village history to life with location based content, e-beacons and interpretive signage , to highlight the unique roots of the community. E-beacons are Bluetooth transmitters that have the capability of sending messages to a user’s mobile device (Android or iPhone) through the Bronte BIA app.
There are 19 E-beacons located throughout the Bronte each containing information about Bronte Village history from an 1834 fishing village and busy Lake Ontario port. Some notable locations include the Bronte Outer Harbour Marina, The Lighthouse, The Fishermen’s Memorial, The Sovereign House, The Bronte Bluffs and The Bronte Beach. The entire trail is approximately 2km in length, which takes approximately one hour and thirty minutes to complete at a leisurely pace.
The Bronte BIA App currently houses the Bronte Heritage Trail content, event listings and a directory of all Bronte BIA businesses.
The use of digital beacons will improve the visitor experience and exponentially increase access to the unique heritage aspects of Bronte Village. The project begins with Bronte’s indigenous roots, to the establishment of Bronte as a small fishing village, to how the waterfront harbour became the central hub for all activity and growth into the increasingly diverse community it is today.
Beacon technology is used in different parts of the world. In fact, the very popular Leicester Castle in England is using beacons to tell the history of the castle. E-Beacon technology creates a more immersive experience than the traditional trail systems. A similar project was created as a one off installation with Luminato on Queen Street West which let exhibit goers identify different art installations along Queen Street. The program will also use Offline Sensors that will be able to track how many people visit Bronte Village over a given period of time.
The Bronte Village BIA received $50,000 from the Canada 150 fund, this went towards developing the app and the content for the Bronte Village history that is featured on the trail.
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