Combining Passions
Combining Passions
Landcare and Geocaching, a perfect match!
Community Participation -
LP039-009
The issue
How do Landcare Groups inform the broader community of their projects?
This question was posed at a recent Killabakh & Lower Cedar Party Group working bee.
The group has been transforming an old road reserve for years, installing a picnic table, native plantings and establishing a parking area for visitors. In fact, over the past twenty years KLCPLG has developed and maintained three Landcare sites that have public access. How can we boost visits to these sites to share the Landcare message with a new audience?
Landcare Co-ordinator Lyn Booth pondered on this question and decided to try something new, combining two of her passions, Landcare & Geocaching.
The solution
What’s Geocaching?
It’s a worldwide hunt that derives its name from a mashup of “geography” and “cache,” and the game itself transcends territorial, political, gender and age boundaries. Instead of paper map where X marks the spot, you use an app on a smartphone and your powers of observation. Instead of hunting for a buried chest, you're looking for a cache (usually a container) hidden in an eco-friendly site above ground. Think a mix of hiking/orienteering and hide & seek. Kids love it
Geocaching gets people outdoors to places they might not normally discover.
For fast facts about geocaching visit:
https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2022/01/geocaching-in-2021-a-year-in-review/
and to learn more about how the game works go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE-zMPhiAi0
A cache was placed at the Landcare site. Named, Killabakh Landcare Rest Stop, it’s accessible to anyone who downloads the geocaching app.
If this sounds like something you might enjoy, install the app, google your location and head outdoors to see what you can find. When you visit the Manning Valley look for our Landcare caches and come and see the great work Landcare volunteers have involved in.
The impact
This cache is the first in a “Killabakh Landcare Series” that will highlight public access sites that have been developed and maintained by the Landcare group.
We hope that visitors and cachers enjoy the sites and learn something about the local environment and the great work Landcarers contribute to enhancing our natural spaces.
Key facts
- Finding new ways to highlight Landcare group activities
- Engaging new people in a Landcare space
- Promoting outdoor activities