May 5, 2015 - 02:01
So thinking about this project, I was thinking about how flexible it was and whether or not that was a good or bad thing. I think the good was that it was able to work around other people's activities, but not really. I was hoping that it would tie into Teresa's art interpretation project, but I am very appreciative that Nkechi was able to twist it into a way that fit what I was going for, while not taking too much time. I think in the sense of all of us deciding something that was able to represent our class on the paper and through objects that people brought (Thank you for bringing them!), I liked the feeling of involvement from everyone. Even though we only had 1 minute to write down onto the small piece of paper, I think it really pushed us to find something, a value/idea/thought/emotion, that resonated with us as we thought about the semester.
Looking back, I think I didn't explain geocaching as much as I should have. Geocaching.com describes it as a "real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices." I was first introduced to geocaching during an outdoor service weekend with the Student Conservation Association. This was one of our "Environmental Education" activities. We went out in teams to see who could find the most caches. I can't remember, but my team probably won. I'm guessing. I never kept up with it, but thinking back to the idea of geocaching that was thrown around, druing our discussion of ways to make our site sits more ecological. Geocaching started in 2000, when the government (it is unclear which government) removed the selective availiability of GPS. On May 3, David Ulmer elected to test the accuracy of GPS by his own cache in the woods and leaving users in a GPS group the coordinates of the black box. He called it the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt." The eventually evolved into geocaching, but the principle is still the same. Hiding something and hoping that someone who wants to find it will. More on the history: here!
I thought that geocaching would be a way for us to be connected to the future and past (ecological). A way for us to not forget all the values we've learned in this class and having a palce to go back to, to reflect upon them, even after we've finished the class. I thought this teach-in really forced us to think about something that signifies what we've taken from this class in a way that allows outsiders to have a small taste of the journey that we've taken as a class. In that sense, I am really happy the geocache was able to be made. I hoped for us to choose the site collectively, but I also liked Nkechi's suggestion that I hide it myself (because of time).
I got the coordinates of the place that I have left it, but there's a tiny problem. As I tried to register it, geocaching.com, told me that there was a conflict with another geocache/wayward point. I still submitted the geocache for review and you can view the page here. Tell me what you think! Should I edit the description at all?? Anything I should add? Let me know! It was a bit hard for me to decide on my own what a "description" of the cache and our class would look like.
To find the cache. You can download the app by searching "geocache" on your phone and downloading the free app. Or, here are the approximate location coordinates for where I left our cache: N 40° 01.808 W 075° 18.670. You can plug these values into google maps. As a hint, it's on the same trail we took to get into Morris Woods and in the area that has the bench and memorial tablet. Look for an object of "permanence" and that has markers that could also have some degree of "permanence" (marked tree, since it's on the description on geocahcing.com)