Pokemon amass at Clary Gardens
Adam Alvarez is pictured using his phone at Clary Gardens to play Pokémon Go. Josie Sellers | Beacon
COSHOCTON – All the Pokémon Go hype right now is a huge benefit to Clary Gardens. They are receiving large amounts of visitors hearing about the exciting “catches” that can be found throughout the garden property and the garden staff is getting in on the fun.
“We have about a dozen youth that come and work with us at the gardens each summer and they are stoked to come to work each day and find the new Pokémon and perks awaiting them in different areas of the garden,” said Jandi Adams, director at Clary Gardens. “Pokémon Go players have an elaborate 20 acres of terrain they can cover. It’s a shame that there is so much negativity surrounding the game in the media. I will say that it is important for families to find safe places to play, and what a better area than the gardens.”
Adam Alvarez, one of the summer youth workers at the gardens explained that it is very useful to look for Pokémon in historic, well-travelled areas, like cemeteries and community parks.
“It brings a fun aspect to work because almost all the summer workers at the gardens are in on the game – which definitely gives the garden the potential to become a widespread, more well-known area possibly containing stronger Pokémon and rarer finds that are more difficult to acquire,” he said.
One of the aspects that parents and families can get excited about is the amount of physical activity that is required to hatch incubated Pokémon eggs – children and adults cannot cheat the system. The game tracks players’ movement using GPS, not a pedometer, so walking on a treadmill and riding slowly in a car does not seem to work. Players with the app must be prepared to walk around any given area quite extensively to get the eggs to hatch. Players can use real-life money to buy incubators to reduce the amount of physical exertion – but not necessary if you can walk.
“One of the workers shared that they were so excited to complete the nine miles required to hatch an egg at the garden one day. I was in disbelief,” said Adams.
Adams explains that the game is very competitive, and to put into terms that most will understand, players compete over having control of different physical locations. Once you have control of a space for 24 hours or more, you will get a substantial daily package of currency to use in the game. Also, the Pokémon “evolve,” in a sense, to a higher level by using candy and expensive “stardust infusions.” But it’s probably smarter to keep your highest leveled Pokémon because sometimes you can waste a lot of energy pumping them up to this level, and then you’ll find their already heightened evolved form in the wild.
Adams has done some research and listened to augmented reality lectures at The Ohio State University.
“I never saw this coming, but it is a very neat way to turn the real world into an extensive hunting ground for these little creatures that my generation loved growing up,” she said.
Businesses in the area should download the game to lure in potential customers that might not normally visit. We’ve experienced first-hand this phenomenal way to get younger families of the X/Y generation and millennials to come and see what the garden has to offer.
“Like” Clary Gardens’ Facebook page to see when they plan to drop a Lure Module at the gardens – which will attract Pokémon to a PokéStop for a short period of time. Clary Gardens is open 365 days a year and free to the public. Come visit the new garden exhibits and know that Pokémon, like plants, flourish at Clary Gardens.
Category: Uncategorized
