| COMMUNITY CACHING WORKSHOPS |
Caching the Mountain
Combining Geocaching and Sustainable Tourism in the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve Geo-Caching
Geo- (ję-o) referring to the Earth Cache (kash), n., v., cached, cashing,
—-n. 1. A hiding place, 2. Anything hidden —-v. 3. To hide
Many existing treasures are hiding in our communities at this very moment. You probably pass by them everyday on your way to work or while running errands. These rich cultural and natural treasures can now be easily showcased to your community members, your neighbours or even to the world via a new and innovative activity called Geocaching.
Geocaching is an internationally growing recreational activity can be described as high-tech version of treasure hunting. Participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) Receivers (picture of person with GPS Receiver) to guide them to within 6 meters of any location on Earth. These places could include those hidden treasures such as an interesting cairn, fabulous viewscapes, or an actual physical container strategically placed to get participants to learn about a particular unique story of your community.
As part of the Caching the Mountain project, GPS-based Community Tourism Development workshops have been created to help communities develop and coordinate how these treasures will be showcased. This is a project initiative of the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve, in partnership with Friends of Riding Mountain and supported by the Parks Canada Agency, which helps these organization work with the local communities in appreciate and to have an ground-breaking way exemplify what this rich region has to offer.
These GPS-based Community workshops will cover:
· Geocaching
· Experiential Travel
· How your community can showcase its authenticity
· The benefits of geocaching and tourism for your businesses
· Next steps to make your community a geocaching destination
Who are these workshops for:
· Municipalities and Town Councillors
· Museum Volunteers
· Recreation Directors
· Leaders of community service organisations (4-H, Guides, Cadets…)
· Tourism and Business Owners
· Educators
· Anyone interested in GPS-based learning experiences
The Community Workshops take place from 8:30 am – 4:30
Interested communities and community members are invited to inquire about hosting a Community Workshop by calling Friends of Riding Mountain National Park at 848-4037.
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 photo by: Joe Shwaluk (edited)
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