Activities

Pokemon Go: Teaching Your Kids to Use Pokemon Go Safely

July 27, 2016 by Erica Hargreave 1 Comment

Pokemon spotted at the at Mei Foo Skatepark. — Pokemon spotted at the at Mei Foo Skatepark, by Warren RM Stuart.

Love it or hate it – if you have school age kids, you can’t simply ignore the Pokemon Go App, hope it goes away or hope that your kids don’t discover it. The fact of the matter, even if your kids don’t have a smartphone or tablet, they’ve probably already been playing Pokemon Go with their friends on their devices. So just like having that dreaded sex talk with your kids, I’d advice not hiding the smartphone or tablet, hoping that they don’t try it. Have the Pokemon Go safety talk with them before it’s too late.

Pokemon Go hunter in Japan. — Photo of a Pokemon Go hunter in Japan, care of Nagi Usano.

If you think, “not my kid – they won’t play – I’ve told them not to”, think again. A friend and I were chatting about this the other day on the phone. She’d told her teens the app was dangerous and had them delete it from their phones; then as we were talking, she saw them wandering up the road, staring into their phones, oblivious to the rest of their surroundings. They are good kids and are smart, but friends had been playing it at the beach, earlier in the day, and they were hooked again – “what harm could it do?” So my friend hopped off the phone with me, to sit down with them and have ‘the talk’.

Pokemon spotted by by Charlie Boy Criscola.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not against the Pokemon Go App – it kind of opens up a world of magic, which I love, but I’d love to see it kept in the realm of good magic, as oppose to opening up to tragedy and horrors, which often go hand in hand with good magic in the storybook realm. In that bent, it is good to understand the potential dangers associated with the Pokeman Go App, so that you can advice your kids (and yourselves) on how to stay safe while you have fun playing. Here is a great video on just that, that the Miami PD recently shared: Social Media 101:Pokemon Go. Do give it a watch.

Here are a few tips to keep your kids (and yourself) safe while playing Pokemon Go:

Hunting for Pokemon. — Photo care of Angie Six.

Stay aware of your surroundings.
- Predators have been known to hangout at Pokemon Go hotspots, watching for the unsuspecting players.
- Watch where you are going, so you don’t put yourself in harm’s way – like in traffic.

Don’t meet up with strangers to hunt Pokemon, especially at night.

Hunt Pokemon with a friend (that you actually know from the real world – not just online), rather than on your own.
- Watch out for each other’s safety.
- Just because someone approaches you that is also playing the game, does not mean that they are safe. Listen to your spidey senses and use the usual cautions that you would with a stranger.

Put the game away while riding a bike, roller blades, a skateboard or driving a car.

Respect private property.
- A virtual critter inside someone’s home or someone else’s land does not give you the right to enter, and by doing so you could put yourself in danger or at risk of criminal charges.

On the note of respect, also remind your kids to be respectful of the places they are in. Just as you should respect other people’s property, it is also important to respect memorial sites. They are plenty of other places to hunt Pokemon, without disturbing a sacred place and upsetting others. (I suspect with how the app works, Pokemon are only showing up in those places, as they are geolocating where you are, and popping Pokemon up nearby. If you leave this area be, those Pokemon will pop up in more respectful place instead.)

A couple of kids making new Pokemon friends with their Dad. Photo by Andrés Alvarez.

Now go have fun hunting Pokemon with your kids, and teach them how to be safe and respectful about it in the process.

Digitally yours,

Erica

History & Technology Merge with the Fairmont Château Laurier’s History App

August 28, 2013 by Erica Hargreave 1 Comment

I am a bit of a history buff! One of my secret desires is to one day write a historic thriller.

For that reason, one of my favourite past times in a new place is actually taking a historic tour of the place I am staying in. I can almost hear as I say this, the cringing of some of those I’ve travelled with, who find hotel tours to be a sales / marketing pitch, and while some can be, others can be the most magnificent journeys back in history. As I write this, I am remembering a glorious afternoon in Memphis spent with the Assistant Duckmaster & Hotel Historian at the Peabody, Doug Weatherford. I really could not have asked for a more delightful way to have spent the afternoon, then walking back in Memphis history with Doug. In fact, this visit was one of the highlights of trip to Memphis, better than my tour of Gibson Guitars, better than my visit to Stax Records, and WAY better than the circus that was Graceland. At any rate, I will write more about my adventure back in time with Doug another day on Roamancing. Today, I want to to put my tech specs on in combination with my historian hat, as I take you further North to the Fairmont Château Laurier.

Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa — Fairmont Château Laurier, an Ottawa hotel rich in history.

This past spring on a visit to Ottawa, I was fortunate enough to stay at the Fairmont Château Laurier, a hotel steeped in history, a history I wanted to learn more about. Rather than give me an actual tour, the hotel asked me if I could try out their new interactive history tour. Being a bit of a tech nerd, and loving seeing and experiencing examples of technology being used to educate and tell story, I readily agreed.

Right now the Fairmont Château Laurier’s history tour is available on iPads and tablets, although I rather hope that it will at some point be available on other devices, like smart phones. Anybody with an iPad or tablet can take the tour for free, whether they are a guest or not, they just need to download the Fairmont Château Laurier History App (from the links I’ve provided in this paragraph). If you don’t have an iPad or tablet, but are fortunate enough to be a guest of the Fairmont Château Laurier, you can borrow an iPad for the tour from the front desk.

Fairmont Château Laurier History App — Beginning my walk back in history at the Château Laurier.

Once begun this digital tour takes visitors to the Fairmont Château Laurier on a walking tour, starting in the hotel’s lobby. It provides an informative and interesting narrative, including historic photos, as it walks you through various rooms of the hotel, intertwining history with the current space visitors see before their eyes.

So my take on the experience? I very much enjoyed it, as it gave me context to the space I was walking through (oh, if the walls could only talk), and snippets of history I’d been hearing about (like, did you now there is an historic connection between the Château Laurier and the Titanic?). It also got me to explore deeper into the hotel, right into the depths of the basement. I only wish that I’d taken this tour at the beginning of our stay, rather than at the end, as it would have ensured that I made it down to the basement for a dip in that fabulous art deco pool, and would have enriched my stay so much more, with the stories of the history that surrounded me.

Now does this compare to the kind of tour that a Hotel Historian and Storyteller, like the Peabody’s Doug Weatherford gave me? No, but afternoons such as that one are special, to be cherished, that cannot happen all the time due to scheduling and the likes. There are after all only so many Historians and Storytellers, like Doug Weatherford around, and they can’t be scheduled around the clock to suit visitor’s schedules. Catering to visitor’s schedules and the access to historic imagery are what made this technology driven digital walk back in time such a win in my mind. The weary traveller could even take the tour digitally from the awfully comfy Fairmont Château Laurier bed, as a form of a bed time story, or the uber organized traveller could watch in prep for their stay, even on-route to Ottawa on the plane or train. I, however, think it is enjoyed best as a leisurely stroll through the Fairmont Château Laurier’s historic halls.

Enjoy!

A Holiday Activity: Vegetable Scrap Gardens

January 2, 2013 by Erica Hargreave 2 Comments

As is tradition at Ahimsa Media, we take a few moments over the winter holidays to write up an activity for you, our wonderful community, to unwind over the holidays. This year, as News Year’s Eve has past and much of Canada is covered in a wintery wonderland, I for one am craving fresh vegetables, so I thought I’d share some fun ideas (for all ages) for turning your vegetable scraps into a kitchen garden.

These are really very simple, allowing you to dig in the dirt in the winter (which I dearly love) and reuse your vegetable scraps, creating something green and growing in the kitchen.

Before getting started, gather the following:

potting soil
small pots or clean plastic containers (with drainage holes poked in the bottom)
plates or plastic lids (to sit under the plastic containers, once potted, for drainage)
clear glasses or jars

Avocado Pits

The pit of an avocado is, of course, it’s seed, and as such you can grow an avocado tree from it. Here is how to get it sprouting …

You’ll need:

an avocado
a clear glass or jar
water
sturdy toothpicks

Simply,

Cut open the avocado (make something scrumptious with the flesh inside) and remove the pit.
Skewer the pit near the top (pointed side) with 3 or 4 toothpicks (like shown in the picture above) so that the toothpicks will act as a bridge over a glass of water.
Fill the glass with water.
Suspend the pit with the toothpicks over the glass of water (pointy side up), so that 2/3 of the pit is covered by water.
Now patiently wait, making sure the water levels stay up. If you are successful, you should see the beginnings of roots in 3- 4 weeks.
After 2 weeks, you can gently peel off the outer skin of the avocado pit to speed up the process.
Eventually when you have a sturdy root and stem, you can transplant your avocado tree into a pot.

With a lot of loving care and a little luck, hopefully a few years down the road, you just might be able to show up at a party carrying your very own homegrown guacamole.

Sweet Potatoes

Technically, this one doesn’t use leftover vegetable scraps, but rather a full sweet potato. I’ve decided to overlook that detail for the simple reason that I love sweet potatoes.

You’ll need:

a sweet potato tuber
a clear glass or jar
water
sturdy toothpicks

Simply,

Place the tuber in a jar of water, pointy end down. You can place it suspended on the jar with toothpicks, or just as is.
Wait a few days for the shoots (or slips as they are called) to appear.
Once the slips are about 4 or 5 inches long, pull them off of the tuber and place them in another little jar of water. Wait for a few more days, and little roots will appear.

Congratulations! Your sweet potatoes are ready to plant!

Carrot Tops

One of the cool things about carrots and parsnips is that you can replant the tops after chopping a carrot or parsnip up, provided you leave a bit of the tuber attached. In fact, if you look closely at a carrot or parsnip, you’ll see it has tiny hair-like structures growing on the tuber. These are roots and the reason why this works!

You’ll need:

carrots (or parsnips) with their tops on
mid-sized, clean plastic containers (with drainage holes poked in the bottom)
plastic lids (to sit under the plastic containers, once potted, for drainage)

Simply,

Cut the carrot, leaving an inch or two of the tuber at the base of the stem.
Place the carrot in a pot of soil, covering the tuber with soil, while leaving the green stem exposed.
Place in a sunny window, water regularly and transplant into a bigger pot, as necessary, as it grows.

*Apparently this works with pineapples too. I haven’t had any luck with this yet with a pineapple, but I know people that have.*

Roots on Your Veggies?

Many of the vegetables we purchase, have live roots on them. Just think about the leeks and green onions you buy. If replanted, these will grow.

You’ll need:

vegetables with live roots (green onions, leeks, lettuce …)
clear glass, jar or dish (in the case of the lettuce)
water

Simply,

Place your cut vegetable (leaving about an inch of the vegetable attached to the roots) in a glass of water, roots down.
Top up the water as needed.

Before long you’ll have the beginnings of what appears to be new plants. Either chop it up for a meal or plant them, as desired.

It’s Sprouting!!!

If you’re like me, then from time to time you’ll discover something sprouting in your vegetable drawer, like cloves of garlic and potatoes. Rather then composting them, why not plant them.

You’ll need:

sprouting vegetables (like cloves of garlic or potatoes)
clean plastic containers (with drainage holes poked in the bottom)
potting soil
plastic lids (to sit under the plastic containers, once potted, for drainage)

Simply,

Place the sprouting vegetables in a pot of soil, covering it with soil, while leaving the green stem / leaves exposed.
Place in a sunny window, water it regularly and transplant into a bigger pot, as necessary, as it grows.

Collecting Seeds

Don’t forget those seeds in your fruit are the beginnings of new plants. Why not save them and try to germinate them in some soil.

You’ll need:

seeds from fruits
clean plastic containers (with drainage holes poked in the bottom)
potting soil
plastic lids (to sit under the plastic containers, once potted, for drainage)

Simply,

Fill a small pot with soil.
Bury fruit seeds shallowly beneath the soil
Place in a sunny window, water and transplant into a bigger pot, as necessary, as it grows.

Have fun planting and eating!

You can also catch up with some fun winter treats for your feathery neighbours with this post we did on Holiday Decorations for the Birds for one of our clients.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

Happy New Year!

~ from the gang at Ahimsa Media

The Green Chain: A Film Review

March 8, 2009 by Erica Hargreave 1 Comment

Full Disclosure: The Green Chain’s producers, Tony Wosk and Mark Leiren-Young are friends mine, but that does not mean that I’d automatically like their movie. And to be honest I didn’t like it ….. I loved it! I knew Mark was a good writer, but this isn’t just good writing, this is great writing.

If you don’t know what The Green Chain is about, here’s the synopses:

The Green Chain is a powerful, funny and thought-provoking film about the conflicts between people on both sides of the battle who love trees — and are willing to risk anything to protect their personal visions of the forest.

‘Powerful’ is the perfect descriptor for this film. It really hit a chord for me and rang so true to many of my own experiences. I’ve worked in the forestry industry, am a biologist and been an environmentalist, and I saw so much of the dialog and characters in myself and the people I met along the way. It’s uncanny how Mark writes them so perfectly. In my late teens, I was the kid that would have found it to be an adventure to live in the tree and as a biologist I would have been there for many of the reasons that the Raging Granny shared. As I matured and spent more time in the smaller towns of BC, I discovered that my youthful ideals were a little naive. It doesn’t matter that I now recognize that the story has more sides, to the forestry workers in the small towns I will always be seen as an educator and one time forestry researcher, and they’ll be too busy defending their right to log to hear me say, ‘I understand’. My cousin will get into actual fights with me where I don’t say a single word, because in her mind I’m still that scrappy, tree hugging, granola eating, 19 year old, who’d still love to live in a tree (I’d be lying to say I’d never considered it).

I love the way in Mark’s account of this age old story, all the characters touch each others lives. He does this so seamlessly, but so that it really pulls at the heart strings of our own connectivity, just like that of the ecosystem. And the beauty is this isn’t just a story about logging. This is a tale that speaks to many small towns and natural resource based industries. Speaking from the BC perspective, this story could just as easily be fish or rocks.

Green Chain - Reading is Sexy — Photographed by Robert Shaer

Oh and I don’t think you have to be an uber science geek like myself to enjoy The Green Chain. It is simply a good story and I’ll be the first to admit I am a critical audience. I’m critical of science stories as I am a scientist and storyteller. There’s nothing to be critical of here, it’s just a darn good story and accurate. And unlike some science stories, it’s far from boring. In fact, I will likely watch it numerous time, as I enjoyed it that much!

Go see it! You still have time to make the late show! It starts at 9:10 pm.

Failing that, the daily show times of The Green Chain at Fifth Avenue Cinema, between now to Thursday March 11th, are 1:30, 4:45, 7:10 and 9:10 pm.

My Holiday Present to You: Paper Making

December 18, 2008 by Erica Hargreave 4 Comments

At Ahimsa Media, we have a winter holiday tradition of posting an environmentally friendly activity that you can do with your families. This is our present to the many wonderful people in our lives and that we meet throughout the year. As the Ahimsa Media site is a little out of date and doesn’t reflect our current projects, I am posting this year’s holiday activity here, and will update to Ahimsa Media, as we update the site in the New Year. This is not just from me, but from all of the wonderful guys and gals that work with me at Ahimsa Media.

Paper Making

Photo by pusteblume

Paper making has always been a favourite holiday past time of mine, is a great way to recycle used paper, makes great gifts and is just a fun way to pass the time with family and friends of any age. Although there are times when the mess I make in the living room would cause my Dad to disagree. That mess comes naturally to me though. I’m guessing that most of you can do this in a much tidier fashion.

Supplies

Recycled Paper
An Old Blender
Bowls
Ladles
Tupperware and Recyclable Plastic Containers (yogurt, ice cream containers…etc)
Assorted Sizes of Elastic Bands
Door Screen (can be purchased cheaply from a hardware store)
Old Newspaper
Old Towels
Dull Knife (a plastic one is good for kids)
Cookie Cutters (optional)
Flower Petals (optional)
Leaves (optional)
Seeds (optional)

The Paper Scrap Box- the beginning of our papermaking by AlaskaTeacher.

Photo by Angela

Making the Pulp

Photo by Benjamin Chan

Separate the paper by colour.
In a blender, place two handfuls of one colour of paper with at least two cups of water. Blend. **Note – do not over fill – or else your kitchen will be covered in pulp.**
Add more paper and water as needed.
If you are short a particular colour, you can add white paper to augment the coloured paper.
Once you have a nice papery mud like consistency, your pulp is made!!! Pour into a bowl.
Make the next colour.

Photo by Benjamin Chan

Building the Screen

Get a series of different shaped tupperware / recyclable containers and cut out door screen to cover the containers with at least 2 inches of overlap on all sides.
Place screen over the open side of the container.
Fasten screen to the container with an elastic band and pull screen taut.
Presto! One screen done. Make more of different sizes and shapes.

Photo by Amazing Podgirl

Making the Paper

Place a small amount of pulp on the screen.
Use a knife to spread the pulp out across the entire screen. I find this is done best in soft chopping motions. The thinner the pulp, the thinner the paper.
Create designs on the pulp by using different colours, placing the cookie cutters on the screen and using them to create different coloured objects (by putting different coloured pulp in a thin layer inside the cookie cutter on the screen before removing the actual cookie cutter), and by placing leaves and flower petals on top of the pulp.
Take two pieces of newspaper and fold into a size that will cover the container.
Place folded paper on top of the pulp covered screen.
Over a bowl, turn the container sideways, to allow the water to pour off whilst holding the newspaper firmly in place.
Turn container upside down, whilst holding the newspaper in place.
Carefully lift the container, leaving the pulp on the newspaper.
Fold a second newspaper and cover the pulp.
Fold newspaper bundle up in an old towel.
If you want thin paper, place a heavy book on top of the bundle.
Leave for 24 – 48 hours, then pull back the towel and newspaper to reveal your handmade paper.

Photo by Benjamin Chan

Ideas for the Kids:

Make extra thick paper on round yogurt containers to make paper ornaments for the tree.
Add seeds to the pulp and you can plant and water your paper when you are done with it. I usually use wildflower seeds, place the paper in a sunny spot, sprinkle it with top soil and water it.

Hope you have as much fun with this as I do. Don’t be afraid to comment or email, if you have a tip, a modification or a question.

Happy Holidays!

Erica

Pokemon Go: Teaching Your Kids to Use Pokemon Go Safely

History & Technology Merge with the Fairmont Château Laurier’s History App

A Holiday Activity: Vegetable Scrap Gardens

The Green Chain: A Film Review