Help Pokemon Go lead into outdoors and nature
2024 Summer Camp Guide
2024 Summer Camp Guidep

Community News

Help Pokemon Go lead into outdoors and nature
7/21/2016 Volume XLIX, No. 28

For years, health and outdoor advocates have worried that computer games, tablets, smartphones and TVs have kept too many kids indoors and sedentary.

Those complaints flew out the window earlier this month when Pokemon Go, a mobile game app, became a worldwide sensation.  For the first time, gamers can’t just sit indoors in front of a screen; Pokemon Go drives them off their couches and into the world – parks, public gardens, communities and neighborhoods – to find and capture Pokemon creatures.

Instead of eye and brain strain, Pokemon Go’ers  are getting sore legs as they walk for miles in search of the Pikachu behind the tree, the Squirtle by the pond and the Bulbasaur in the meadow. Gotta catch ‘em all, as they say!

Pokemon first became popular in the late 1990s, and part of their charm is that they’re fantasy versions of real animals and plants. There are Pokemon bats and turtles, birds and moths, cats and rats, sea creatures, flowers and plants, and lots more.

But wouldn’t it be even better if Pokemon Go launched a new phenomenon: Players, in their quest to catch Pokemon, actually start exploring and enjoying the natural world? They may discover that there’s lots of real-life cool stuff out there - birds in trees, salamanders under rocks, butterflies on flowers, and constellations in the night sky.

There’s already evidence of this happening. Pokemon Go players who have encountered real animals while playing the game started a new Twitter hashtag, #PokeBlitz, for sharing their sightings.

Luckily, the same mobile technology that gave us Pokemon Go has generated multitudes of apps to help nature lovers navigate and interpret the great outdoors.

For instance, while there are many bird-like Pokemon, New Jersey has many more real birds, from hummingbirds to Golden eagles. Bird identification apps include the popular iBird, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. For most bird apps, there’s both a paid version and a free “lite” version.

Pokemon come in plant and flower forms, but they can’t compare to the variety of flora in New Jersey’s forests, meadows and wetlands. If you want to identify  trees and plants, try an electronic field guide like Leafsnap.  

A similar visual recognition app called Project Noah identifies your photos of animals, insects, reptiles and birds. There’s also iNaturalist, which allows you to post photos of nature sightings and get experts to identify them.

While you’re outside at night, perhaps searching for nocturnal Pokemon like Zubat and Golbat, you may become curious about the stars, planets, constellations and meteors above you. Check out apps like Sky Guide, Star Walk 2, Star Map, Night Sky and Sky Safari to learn about the night sky.

And if you like the challenging of finding Pokemon, you may also like geocaching, the popular GPS-based “treasure hunt” pastime. Instead of running through parks in search of imaginary creatures, you can find real hidden caches … usually small prizes or tokens. Try out apps like Geocaching, Commander Compass Lite and Geocaching Buddy to guide your search for loot stashed in parks and forests.

And if you’d like to spend more time in New Jersey’s parks and forests – exploring trails, visiting historic sites and finding access points for boating, fishing and wildlife observation – there’s a free app for that, known as Pocket Ranger, offered by the State of New Jersey.

It’s a big world with so much to discover, and outdoor apps make it easier. And if Pokemon Go can help ignite a love of the outdoors and exercise, all the better! Studies show that time spent outdoors benefits both physical and mental health.

To learn more about preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org.

POSTS

Still the Garden State!

Protect New Jersey's wildlife homes

Preserved lands protect clean air and water

To tree or not to tree?

Hard cider in the Garden State

Turkey Time

American shad return to New Jersey river after 173 years

Act now to avoid worst climate impacts

NJ Natural Lands Trust celebrates 50 years

Must love bats!

Move and improve your health!

Renewable energy: Save money and our land, water, air and health

Speak up for endangered species!

Save the bugs!

Check out New Jersey's fall bird migration

A little bit of respect...for native plants!

Explore New Jersey's wildflower meadows

All aboard floating classrooms

Catch the Perseids meteor shower!

Check out the 'fun' in fungi

Too hot to think? Studies shows heat affects your brain

Love NJ's outdoors? Take action now!

New Jersey's official reptile, the bog turtle

Sea level rise and New Jersey: Not perfect together

These New Jersey plants have an appetite for insects

Explore the Pine Barrens through paddles, hikes and tours

Like to jog? 'Plog' instead and keep NJ clean

Love Jersey fruit? Thank our native pollinators!

Good news for globally rare swamp pink lilies

Say cheese! Remote cameras aid wildlife research

Begone, single-use plastic bags!

3,000 birds and counting for 'bluebird grandfather'

The Pine Barrens gets some help from its friends

A clean energy future for New Jersey

Cowtown and rare grassland birds, perfect together

Fight light pollution during International Dark Sky Week

New film tells story of how Petty's Island was saved

Ten years of nipping invasive species in the bud

Welcome spring in a county park

Go for a walk and feel better!

Grab a friend and go outside

Recycle your way to zero waste!

Last call for winter wildlife watching on Jersey coast

Without its 'understory' layer, the forest will collapse

From whale songs to poetry, a remarkable journey

A cleaner, greener New Jersey

Let's keep New Jersey the Garden State, not the Pipeline State

New Jersey's winter hikes

'Trees don't vote' but Byrne saved Pine Barrens anyway

Governor-elect Murphy should set new course on the environment

ARCHIVE

December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011

CLICK FOR RECENT POSTS