1

Short Program for Conservation Field Days

20 min.

 Limited to brief geocaching introduction.

I. Introductiona. Imagine yourself walking through the forest, when you find a little green box,

about the size of a shoe box sticking out from behind a pile of rocks and brush.What are you going to do? You’d probably be curious to open it, and see what’sinside, wouldn’t you?

 b. And once you look inside, what if you found TOYS! Or Stickers! Or Pens! Or even money from foreign countries! That would be great!

c. And what about a log book, to see who else has found this same cache?d. What if I told you that there were over 310,000 of these little hideaways all over 

the world (over 200 countries!)! That would be pretty exciting!e. And whats more? What if I told you that there were over 37,000 people out there

looking for all these little treasure chests?f. The game is called Geocaching, and it started in 2000, when the government

turned on 24 satellites up the sky, and let people like you and I use our GPS unitsto track things all over the world.

II. So what is a GPSr, anyway?a. A GPSr is a “Global Positioning System receiver”, and you can buy one for about

$100.00 at many sporting goods or electronic stores. Even most departmentstores will carry them. A GPSr receives information from satellites up in space,and can pinpoint it’s own exact location on earth, within about 8 feet!

 b. There are 24 satellites up in space that are dedicated to Global PositioningSystems. Your GPS needs to pick up signals from at least 3 of these satellites inorder to identify your location.

III. And what does a GPS have to do with Geocaching?a. PLENTY! When someone hides a treasure box (aka a Cache!), they use a GPSr 

to mark their exact location. b. Then they log on to the internet, and log their cache on one of the geocaching

sites, so other people know where to look, and what they are looking for.c. If you want to look for a cache, you log on to one of those sites, and look up the

caches in your area. Chances are, you’ll find that there are over 50 caches within10 miles of your home!

d. Then program your GPSr to the coordinates of the cache, and go out to look for your cache!

IV. Different types of caches:a. Explain

i. Traditionalii. Multi

iii. Puzzleiv. Earthcache

 Prepared January 2008 By Jim Hooper, Educator, 4-H Camp Bristol Hills

 

2

v. Virtualvi. Event (they can log their first find TODAY!)

 b. What makes a good cache container?i. Micros are ideal in the urban/suburban environment, but may drive you

nuts in the forest. Micros do not contain trade items usually, but mustcontain a log book.

ii. Caches should be watertight! A soggy cache is not fun to find.iii. Caches should be durable. The cache will be out in the elements,

 potentially for years to come. Think about the rain, snow, heat, etc, andhow it may affect your cache.

iv. Caches should be located in places that are a pleasure to visit. Hiding acache at the corner of the local landfill may be a great hide, but no onewill give you rave reviews about the wonderful views from the cache.

v. Not really a type of container, but it’s worth noting that a cache cannot beBURIED, nor can any cache be located within .1 miles (528 feet) of anyother cache.

c. What to/not to put into a cache:i. Most trade items are low value trinkets. Think of the kinds of things that

kids would get excited over finding.ii. Explain Travel bugs and Geocoins.

iii. “Adult” things are not appropriate for caches. No knives, matches, glasscontainers of any sort, alcohol, or porn should ever be stashed.

iv. Food is another big no-no. Animals will find it and destroy it long beforeany cacher gets to it.

V. Using your GPSr:a. Explain how to navigate the screens of the GPS. Identify each of the buttons on

the Etrex Legend. b. There will be a cache hidden nearby with coordinates already confirmed. Use

these coordinates and explain how to enter coordinates manually.c. Explain how to set up the Goto Feature. Ask each group to point towards “their”

cache.d. Explain that the arrow won’t be very accurate once they are moving less than

4mph (“loose bearings”, but that the “distance to target” should be pretty accurate.So, move in the direction that shows your “distance to target” as going down,closer to zero.

e. The cache will be located within 100 feet of the site.f. Ask them to go find their cache, but not to disturb the hiding spot, because we

will need to hide our caches back in the same spot when we are done.g. Let the group navigate to the cache. Once they find it, have them sign the

logbook inside. They can trade any trade items if they wish to.h. And finally, ask them to re-hide their cache!

VI. Geocaching is a great way to get out and see the nature around us. But beware!There are some concerns about the activities of geocachers.a. Poison Ivy, mosquitoes, ticks, snakes, etc…

 Prepared January 2008 By Jim Hooper, Educator, 4-H Camp Bristol Hills

 

3

 b. The bigger danger though, is the effect of lots of geocachers coming to onelocation.

i. Trampled vegetation.ii. Erosion

iii. Trash. Explain CITO, and why it is important.VII. Conclusion

a. Distribute the walking tour of camp (A handout I will provide) and invite them to practice with their units.

 b. Stay to answer any questions.c. If families want to hold onto their borrowed GPS units for the day, they are

welcome to do so. They will need to fill out the GPS Checkout sheet that I will provide. Note: It is not necessary to fill out the form if they are using the GPS just for the demo. Encourage families to limit to one GPS/family for the borrow period. In other words, if a family of 4 wants to use 4 units for the class, it’s fineas long as we have the units on hand. After class, ask that they return three, andsign out ONE for the family.

d. Thank them for coming out!

 Prepared January 2008 By Jim Hooper, Educator, 4-H Camp Bristol Hills