lilbrownpony

I am pleased to be able to post the news that Michelle Hopkins has accepted the post of Geocaching Project Manager on behalf of Trailnet and ECC Country Parks. Alan Farrow has also accepted a position especially created for him on a part time basis to support Michelle in her role. Many of you will know both of these cachers and I hope you will join me in wishing them both all the very best for 2010 in their new roles. They have both been tremendously helpful with getting the project to where is currently stands and I have every confidence that they with take it from strength to strength. As this will probably be my last posting in an 'official' capacity I would also like to thank Geotrowel who was brilliant in many ways and is generally an all round good egg! You will all see the evidence of his work when the coin is produced............. thank you, it was and will always be appreciated. Thank you all for such support during the past 12 months of trying to get this project off the ground. Jo Phillips

thank you, I would really appreciate your advise on access for some of the caches. Do you mind if I ask the person when in post to contact you directly to discuss this? regards Jo

Hello again. After 12 months ticking along in the background the money is now in the bank and we are very grateful to the HLF and excited to have it there. This means that the Country Parks in Essex will have someone whose job it will be to entertain and educate in all things geocaching. If you are interested in the position please follow this link I look forward to hearing from you. Jo Phillips www.visitparks.co.uk or the job centre REF No. BRJ/37707 Any further questions or queries you can email me jo.phillips@essex.gov.uk

Sorry about your dog someone gave this poem to me when my terrier died suddenly. They also gave me a suncatcher which hangs in the corner of the room where she slept. I still talk to her, however, here is the poem; Is the pleasure worth the pain? Yes, I say, and yes again, But when fate decrees we part, Oh! the agony of a broken heart Moulting hair and muddy paws, Chewed up slippers, paint stratched doors, Walkies in the pouring rain, Is the pleasure worth the pain? But Oh! What love, no questions asked, Greeting that are surpassed, Willing ears for my senseless talk, Making friends on a country walk. Laughter at antics with ball or bone, company so I am not alone, Need I ask if we lose or gain? Yes the pleasure's worth the pain. xxxxx

Thank you for offering. It sounds like you should make a good team. Can you let me know if any of you will be at Hadleigh on Sunday? Geotrowel met up with our Ranger at Cudmore on Mersea yesterday and he has been in touch and is full of enthusiam for the project. It may seem like it has gone alittle quite on the forum front but I am still beavering away in the background with the help of some very helpful local cachers. Dont forget that anyone is welcome to contact me with regards to the progress of the project. I am more than happy to keep everyone who is interested involved and up to date.................... typical cacher hey, talk the hind legs off a donkey about it! Jo.Phillips@essex.gov.uk

They look great, I bet that you are chuffed to bits with them. What a great design for the region. Jo

Hello everyone I am still here and reading with interest! As you said getting back on topic I do still need someone to help me look after Belhus. I hope that those of you who have been paired up with parks are able to get intouch with the rangers. I have advised them that they need their cache locations by the middle of Feb. If you have offered and I havent yet been intouch please give me a prod. I have been filtering emails and postings and things sometimes get missed and I certainly dont want to miss any offers of help. Dont forget that I will be at the Hadleigh bash on the 11th Jan. Thanks to alfarrow for this one, its a convienient time for me to meet up with some of you and blow away some Christmas cobwebs. lovely looking coin by the way!

Hello some of this maybe repeated from previous posts. I have copied it from the East Anglian site so that everyone is receiving the same information. As I always have said anyone is welcome to contact me directly to find out more. Those of you who have kindly volunteered, I appreciate your help enormously. If you havent heard from me for awhile, please dont think that I have disappeared. I am doing this project as an add on to my normal job as I see such great value in it. "I am here to answer some of the questions about geocaching in Essex. I have been working in the country parks on a casual basis for 6 years. In July this year I took over as Education Officer for all of the Country Parks. I felt that I needed something different and a new direction for education and feel that geocaching ticks loads of different boxes in a huge number of different areas............. you guys already know them! So what you read has no hidden agenda. Dependent on funding Geocaching will launch in Essex CP at Easter. The events that follow will depend upon the support it receives. I hope to have some lovely geocoins produced to make the day a bit more exciting, I have a lovely design in the shape of a tree and would like there to be a series of 4, one for each season. Geotrowel has done an amazing job. Hertitage lottery funding is being applied for and will fund someone to work 20 hours per week to train members of the public, DOE, Scouts, school groups etc to use GPS. Other responsiblities of this role will be to maintain caches and run events. I am happy to talk to anyone about geocaching and the plans if you wish to contact me, my work address it is jo.phillips@essex.gov.uk I will call you back if you leave a number." Jo

Hi I have sent you a personal message which I hope that you have received. There is another thread running alongside this one on www.eacachers.org.uk. That may answer some of your immediate queries. My email address is Jo.Phillips@essex.gov.uk you are welcome to contact me but please be aware that email contact to that address maybe sporadic over the Christmas break. Jo

Hi Yes I will be there on the 11th and I will be able to explain to all those that ask! I will be hanging around the Roundhouse wearing my Rangers uniform. I am looking forward to it................. see you then. cheers Jo

Hi Tom (Great Notley and Flitch Way Ranger for everyone elses benefit)! Good to see you here..... have a look at www.EACachers.org.uk as well, there is another thread for you to follow. No one has come forward to adopt Braintree yet but fingers crossed. Thorndon, Weald, Cudmore, Danbury and Hadleigh have all been adopted just two to go! I will keep in touch. Jo

I have a nice design for a geocoin, can anyone pass on a company that they have used and would recommend. Clare and Becky how far is weald CP from you? Its a beautiful park and huge so plenty of room to play with.

If someone would like to get in touch I can fill them in on all the plans, and these do include a Heritage Lottery application that has gone in.

Hi Thanks for that, Have a look at a map and the locations of the parks and then let me know where you think would be most suitable. I will also have a look close to Harlow and see if there is any ECC land that maybe able to join in with us. With regards to Thorndon, I have thought long and hard about the current caches in parks and there NO PLANS TO REMOVE ANY CACHES. I think, and hope that others will agree with me that the size of Thorndon will be able to take a few more.......... it might just mean that you may have to take your sandwiches with you! Jo

The country parks are open 7 days a week so I am sure we could fit in around your times. I would like to have a group of people that are real living geocachers who can advise on what you want and where......... sort of like an expert panel. OK, Sign me up then Hurrah... youre in, and what a fine bunch you join too! I will be in touch to fill you in on the details and where we are up to so far. Many thanks Jo

The country parks are open 7 days a week so I am sure we could fit in around your times. I would like to have a group of people that are real living geocachers who can advise on what you want and where......... sort of like an expert panel.

Some of you may have seen my ocassional posts asking for help or information to help get geocaching off the ground in the Essex County Parks. After a great meeting with a certain 'party hardcore' and a job list that reaches from here to the north pole I am asking for help again. I am planning to launch Geocaching at Easter in 8 of the Country Parks. I would ideally like someone in each area to adopt a park. This will mean being the local contact for the Site Manager to discuss suitability of cache sites etc. As I said there are 8 parks to start with. 5 cache sites in each park............. all on one day. So could be quite a party............... fancy hog roast anyone! The parks that are available to adopt are: Thorndon Weald Belhus Cudmore Grove Marsh Farm Great Notley Discovery Centre This project is developing at quite a pace so know is the time to get in there and mould it how you want it! Please email me through this website or jo.phillips@essex.gov.uk if you would like to join in. thanks

Thats one of the benefits of asking for permission. I work for Essex County council and look after the Education for 9 country parks, all of which have caches in and we have only once been asked for permission! If the rangers knew where they were going to go we would be able to advise if not appropriate. Not that I have a problem with cachers................... in fact because of all you lovely people showing what a good job you do of maintaining your hobby, those of you living in or near Essex are up for a real treat at Easter, keep it free its going to be a biggun! Perhaps a simple solution would be to indicate the possibility on the co ordinates sheet. Wear gloves or not suitable for young children etc. jo

Hello Have a look at the Essex Help with numbers thread. That might help. Is this just idle curiosity or are you looking for a purpose. I have been trying to find out numbers to go onto a funding bid. I did find out that there are approximately 31335 caches in the UK. For those of you in Essex or willing to travel the project all seems to be going along very well. I hope to be able to start spreading news about an event that will take place in March/April that will involve all of the Essex County Council country parks very shortly. I need to run through things with two very helpful 'experts' next week at Hadleigh before I can type anything that maybe completley wrong. Jo

Hello Have a look at the Essex Help with numbers thread. That might help. Is this just idle curiosity or are you looking for a purpose. I have been trying to find out numbers to go onto a funding bid. I did find out that there are approximately 31335 caches in the UK. For those of you in Essex or willing to travel the project all seems to be going along very well. I hope to be able to start spreading news about an event that will take place in March/April that will involve all of the Essex County Council country parks very shortly. I need to run through things with two very helpful 'experts' next week at Hadleigh before I can type anything that maybe completley wrong. Jo

Hello This started out as an idea at a management meeting that I thought someone might be interested in. It didnt fit into anyone's job description so I took it on. It is only now that I realise how lucky I am to have stumbled onto something that I really enjoy and so I do now know how lucky I am to be filling in grant forms for caching! If this all comes off the cachers in Essex will have something very nice to look forward to................ ta to all those that have helped direct so far. Jo

Hello Does anyone know where I can find some statistics on Geocachers............. numbers of people involved, average age, favorite crisp flavour etc???? I really need some figures to complete a funding application and cant find anything anywhere. I would be grateful for any little snippet of info you may have. Thanks

Hello I am hoping that you are going to be involved with the Essex Launch Event next year. I have been on my hols but will be in touch this week to see if we can meet up. Jo

Hi I for one am a 'newbie' and trying really hard to grasp alot of different elements of geocaching in a short space of time. I am very grateful for all the help that I have recieved so far and that will hopefully continue with my Essex project in the making. Can I make a request when those of you who are clearly very experienced discuss newcomers/newbies to Geocaching that you dont abreviate or explain terms that we are unlikely to know about. Thank you.

Hi There are some differences between the Country Parks that I deal with for Essex County Council and Basildon and the surrounding areas. However, that does not mean that we are unable to work together on this. I look forward to getting in touch with him and seeing what his plans are. This is just the sort of information that I need to help make this project work. Thank you. I am still in need of some figures............. I have been asked to provide numbers of people who reguarly geocache. Do you know if anyone has ever carried out a survey? Many thanks Jo