I am happy to say that I will be presenting at the Fourth Symposium of Environmental Historians of Southern Ontario this Saturday (March 22, 2014). The University of Toronto, with support from NiCHE, is hosting the event which will be focusing on energy and forestry. I will be presenting some of my research about PoWsContinue reading “Fourth Symposium of Environmental Historians of Southern Ontario”
Category Archives: Digital History
Interactive Model of a PoW Camp!
Well I finally settled on a project for my Interactive Exhibit Design class: an interactive model of the prisoner of war camp in Riding Mountain National Park. Having created a digital model of the camp last semester, I wanted to incorporate that work into something that could theoretically be used for a public display. Here’sContinue reading “Interactive Model of a PoW Camp!”
Mapping the Canadian Forestry Corps in Keppernach (Scotland)
One of my more recent interests is the work of the Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC) during the First World War. The CFC was raised specifically to supply the Allied armies with a desperately-needed resource: timber. Whether it was to needed to support dugouts, hold barbed-wire, or aircraft frames, wood became one of the most basicContinue reading “Mapping the Canadian Forestry Corps in Keppernach (Scotland)”
Next Project – Interactive Exhibit Design
This semester I am taking a Interactive Exhibit Design course in which each student designs and creates an interactive exhibit of any shape or form. At the moment, I have two ideas for my project and I’m going to share my first (more on the second later). I am always looking at new ways ofContinue reading “Next Project – Interactive Exhibit Design”
Reconstructing the Past
From October 1943 to October 1945, over 400 German prisoners of war (PoWs) were employed in a woodcutting operation in Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park. Housed in a newly built camp on the shore of Whitewater Lake, the PoWs had better living conditions than the majority of civilians living around the park. When the buildingsContinue reading “Reconstructing the Past”
GIS Day at Western!
Tomorrow, Josh MacFadyen and I will be presenting at Western’s Map and Data Centre for its GIS Day event! If you are interested in learning more about Geographic Information Systems and how we can use use GIS in historical research, come out to see our presentation! The morning’s events begin at 9:30 and Josh andContinue reading “GIS Day at Western!”
Canada’s History Forum – History and Technology
Today was the 2013 Canada’s History Forum “Is Technology altering our History? Fortunately for viewers across the country who could not attend, myself included, the forum was broadcast online. This in itself should be some indication of how technology is changing the way we look at history! Unfortunately I was not able to catch allContinue reading “Canada’s History Forum – History and Technology”
Sketchup Learning Curve
Now that I have my GIS basemap to work from, my next project is creating a 3D model of the camp with SketchUp. While I really don’t have any experience with modelling, here’s what I’ve been working on recently. This is one wing of a standard H-Hut that served as barracks for the PoWs atContinue reading “Sketchup Learning Curve”
Lasting Effects: PoWs in Riding Mountain National Park
The following video is the result of a digital history assignment that I’m currently taken. The assignment tasked us with using digital methods to examine a significant or interesting landscape and naturally I chose the site of the Riding Mountain Park Labour Project in Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park. For those not familiar with it,Continue reading “Lasting Effects: PoWs in Riding Mountain National Park”
Adventures in Arc – Part II
Here’s the “teaser” of what I have been working on. This is an excerpt of a longer that video that looks at how German PoWs transformed a little part of Riding Mountain National Park.
POWs in Canada 