So that you don't have to go thru 4 pages of the previous thread on this subject, and since it is a new year, I'll start a new one.

Last year our group participated in the summer camp program at Elachee Nature Center near Gainesville. They hold a day camp for kids and devote a day to canoeing, a day to studying nature, and a day devoted to learning about basic orienteering, GPS use, and geocaching.

Last year we had a group of 20 to 30 middle school aged kids and about a half dozen GGA volunteers (and several chaperones from Elachee) spend from about 10:00 to 2:00 looking for ten geocaches after a short classroom session. It was a whole lot of fun.

Elachee has a new camp director, so they're getting off to a somewhat late start compared to last year, but they'd really like our help again.

There will be two sessions - one the first week in June, one the third week in June. I tentatively picked the 4th and the 18th so we'd have some specific days we could work with and that they could put on their schedule. Those dates are both Fridays. If the concensus is that another day of the week would be better we could change it, but it's easier for most people to plan a three day weekend rather than taking a day off in the middle of the week.

Let me know if you can help on one or both days ASAP, so I can call Roanne (the lady at Elachee) back and confirm our participation.

The Elachee Nature Center and adjoining Chicopee Woods hosts several of our caches, so it's a nice way to give something back to them, and expose more folks to geocaching.

~erik~

Erik,

You are a great ambassador to our sport. Thanks for your hard work.

I'm going to look into taking some time on one of those Fridays to help out. Just not sure how much time I have available to me.

I'll more than likely end up getting taught as much as I'll learn while out there.

Thanks again,

S-4-C

I will be able to attend the class on the 4th. Not the 18th though, Ill be in transit back from Russia.
Looking forward to doing this again as it was great fun last year!

put me down for the 18th

I am good for the 4th.
On the 18th I will be setting up for the Hydro Event

I think I'm gonna bow out this time unless you don't get the counts you need for helpers.
I've enjoyed doing it before and want to give others a chance to participate.

I did want to suggest that if someone wants (or wants me) to update the firmware in Elachee's Magellan Meridians, loading time of the coords in can be greatly reduced since you can load them from an SD card.
Let me know if want me to help with this part.

Thanks,
Kenneth

I'm in for the 4th as long as work doesn't call me away to a customer location.

Right now, calendar's clear, but that could change based on customers' whims and needs. If it does, I will let you know, Erik, otherwise I'm all for a vacation day to help out.

Erik,

I may not be able to assist after all. People in my office got in requests for time off on those days before I could, so it's pretty much up to management to decide if I can get away on one of the two days to help out. Considering the office coverage is pretty slim as it is, I'm thinking I'll probably be sitting at my desk instead of being out in the sunshine.

I'll notify you of any changes to the current situation. Wish me luck.

- Mark (S-4-C)

My thanks to those who've volunteered so far, though we will need more help, as well as some cache containers.

I went ahead and phoned Roanne, who's the new camp director, to let her know we'd be there.

Keep on volunteering folks! It'll be a lot of fun. Last year we spent out two hours out in the woods in the late morning, then another hour after lunch having a final hunt for an "injured child" who's coords we mysteriously were given. We'll have to come up with another ploy for the afternoon hunt this time in case we get kids who were there last year too.

~erik~

Erik,
I have four standard size ammo boxes that I have awaiting as caches and will bring those.
I also have 3 giant ammo cans that are 18"x14"x8" (length,height,width). While they are big, I can bring them if need be.

Count me in both days. I also have five ammo boxes and three or four small (almost micro) containers. Don't have the "stuffings" though.

And if we also want to play micro caches this year for what ever readon, I have 6 film canisters ready to go.

I also have a .30 and a .50 can available, though they're not fixed up yet (thanks for bringin' 'em to me, trailerman!).

Though the .30 might be... er.. "situated" this Saturday or Sunday.

I've already requested to have June 4th off, so unless a customer situation occurs, I'm clear.

Thanks for the new offers of help!

I have five of the ten .50 cal ammo cans that I purchased for last years event left over, plus a .30 cal one.

Last year ten caches seemed to be just the right ammount to give each group the opportunity to find ten caches without interfering with another group. I'll need to get the gift shop at Elachee to donate enough trinkets so each kid will end up with at least one.

The micro caches might be a good switch for the hour or so that we'll have after lunch....

~erik~

I think you need to take the rat geocache and some other sneaky cache containers.

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I think you need to take the rat geocache and some other sneaky cache containers.

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That might be fun. Get the smart aleck kids complacent before lunch, then throw some sneaky caches at them later. hehe

~erik~

My thanks to those who've raised their hands so far. I think we'll need more help though, so I'll create an "event cache" page to help solicit more geocachers and GPSs.

Last time we had about a half dozen geocachers with their GPSs, so the groups were small enough to give each child a chance to use the GPS to hunt a cache. The more the merrier! Which reminds me, there are some real caches to hunt in that area "after school".

~erik~

Before this thread was started, I had plans for the 18th and got it off. The plans have fell through so I may be able to help that day. The caveat is that 5wmb0 has made noise about wanting me to do something that day. I’ll try to let know if I can use “GPS Summer School” as an excuse to get out of it.

Hope you can join us Allen. Bring 5wmb0 along!

I went ahead and posted an event cache page to help drum up some more volunteers:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1b0ddf3b-a8bc-40ac-9b0b-d3ab52da0fc6

~erik~

quote:

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Originally posted by ~erik~:
Hope you can join us Allen. Bring 5wmb0 along!

I went ahead and posted an event cache page to help drum up some more volunteers:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1b0ddf3b-a8bc-40ac-9b0b-d3ab52da0fc6

~erik~

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Erik,

Don't forget I'm your "bench" player in case you don't get enough "starters".
Now we get a smiley too this time!
That should bring some more cachers into play.

quote:

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The more the merrier! Which reminds me, there are some real caches to hunt in that area "after school".

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Yes there are...just don't plan on attempting them all in one day.
You can get about 2-3 and maybe 4 of them if you plan well.

Kenneth