Category: Geocaching for Schools

We have been exploring the use of place-responsive teaching strategies to promote learning about scientific concepts and sustainability through the use of geocaching.

See:  http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/commissioned_reports/476.pdf     (page 25)

This activity is perhaps not place-essential –  however it is place-sensitive to an outdoor environment – ideally, in a woodland area.

 

 

 

Our geocache contents provide a starter activity for soil as an important and finite resource, aimed as a motivational hook for children working at First Level. It was hidden, as the name suggests, under the soil remains of a fallen tree (see picture). The finder is provided with a ‘Who Am I?’ riddle to, firstly, work out which organism they’ll be learning more about.

 

 

The finder will then be encouraged, through the use of the concept cartoon (below), to discuss facts and misconceptions about these superheroes of the soil, beginning with features of a worm itself. Tools such as a trowel and magnifying glass are provided to discover this creature for themselves so they can take a closer look. The concept cartoon progresses the discussion from features of worms to their role as indicators of soil quality.

 

 

This activity provides opportunities for further investigation within a range of scientific concepts, including: decomposition, soil quality, nutrient cycling, indicator species and soil as a finite resource.

In terms of outdoor management, small groups would be required to ensure all children are fully engaged and able to participate in the activity. Guidance should be sought to ensure children are not disturbing and destroying natural habitats. They should not dig in sensitive areas and should restore the site to its original form after investigation. Furthermore, worms should be handled with care.

 

Laura Johnston and Louise Stewart

 

 

This cash design looks at the role of invasive species in woodland settings.

This temporary ‘way marked’ cache location was in a wooded area near Pathfoot building at the University of Stirling. There are several surrounding Spruce Pine trees in this area, making Grey Squrriels and half eaten pine cones a common sight. There is an open, somewhat flat area within this small piece of woodland which is ideal for carrying out the planned tasks and activities. In addition, this site is close to the Pathfoot building, which means there is a very short travel time to this site. The final activity for this site, discussed below, asks children to record the number of Grey and Red Squirrels they see on the campus. This site’s closeness to the university building is intended to allow for this geocache to be visited early on in the pupil’s day of geocaching, allowing pupil’s adequate time to complete the final take away activity.

The contents of the geocache include:

• Task and information cards (sequential cards which are intended to be read out by the teacher who will lead the activities)
• ‘Alien invader’ matching activity cards
• Four follow up activity cards
• Grey and Red Squirrel identification cards (to help with the take away activity)
• A sign in sheet and pencil

 

 

 

 

 

 

The activities (found on the task and information cards) are as follows:

1. Ask pupils to look around the immediate area for wildlife, or signs of wildlife (ideally, pupils will either spot some Grey Squirrels or discover eaten pine cones).
2. Once completed a discussion on what pupil’s know about Grey Squirrels can take place, followed by brief explanation of Grey Squirrels being an invasive species, what invasive species are, and how Red Squirrels are native species and suffering from the presence of Greys (all this information is on the cards).
3. Next is the ‘alien invaders’ matching activity, where pupils will be given either a picture or fact and asked to find the matching pair.
4. A follow up discussion on the matching activity can then take place, with each pair sharing the invasive species and related fact. The facts introduce the idea that invasive species are harmful to both humans and native species, and that invasive species can also be plants as well as animals.
5. Finally, there pupils can keep a tally or record of all the Grey and Red Squirrels they see while travelling back to class or to other geocache sites. The Grey and Red Squirrel identification cards can be shown here so pupils know what to lookout for. This feeds into the first follow up activity (above & below).

 

Potential issues with this site are that, at times, no Squirrels are visible. Commonly, Squirrels can be seen when getting to the site, but they soon run off and hide when people arrive. This could potentially mean that pupils do not see any Squirrels, which could spoil the pupil’s enjoyment of this geocache. For this reason we feel it is vital that this site is visited early on during the pupil’s visit to the University Campus, to give them enough time to carrying out the take away activity and spot, record, and tally all the Red and Grey Squirrels possible.

 

Craig Alexander and Jennifer Hutton

This smaller geocache was simple but effective. Placed at the edge of the loch on campus where the wind naturally collected the floating waste against the shore was a great place to engage geocachers with the issue of unwanted plastic and other rubbish that can be a hazard for wildlife. The inquiry was to collect and consider the effects of different kinds of waste on different kinds of wildlife  … and to collect some of it in the litter bags provided in the cache.   Cache in Trash Out! (or CITO in geocache speak)

But there is a debate – which pupils should consider – is geocaching itself a form of ‘organised littering’ ? See:  http://100peaks.com/2012/12/22/geocaching-organized-littering/  or http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=177646

See this Facebook page for an anti-geocaching movement

https://www.facebook.com/GeocachingIsLittering

 

One response is to make sure geocachers collect litter on route. Some have micro CITO (Cache in Trash out) caches which contain a rubbish bag and a latex glove. Another is Earthcaches : http://www.earthcache.org (which are not using containers at all and look at Earth science topics)

 

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In our project, local teachers and students of the university were charged with designing some new kinds of caches. Our task was to design caches that would inspire the finder to engage in some form of inquiry in the setting where the cache was located and, by doing so to learn a bit about some scientific concept or process. In doing this, we hoped that geocaching could be made more responsive to the place in which caches are located whilst also enabling the geocachers to learn by doing in a fun and interesting way.

 

In this cache (pictured above), the cache was cleverly embedded in a very large and very rotten log. The finder was encouraged to go mini-beast hunting and to try to identify the critters with the inquiry tools provided. There was some basic i.d. information in there too in laminated form. Fun for all the family! There was also some information about how decomposers go about their work in the woods and a nudge to help us consider what we might do with all our own household waste. … so place-responsive science-based geocaching with a sustainability twist!