Trash Out Press release

[+MaxEntropy]

This just showed up in my mailbox:

 

Geocachers Tell Trash to Take a Hike!

 

International 'Cache In Trash Out' Day is Saturday, April 26 Sponsored by Thales Navigation (Magellan GPS) and Groundspeak (geocaching.com)

 

Thousands Worldwide Expected to Spring-Clean the Parks

 

That Serve as Their Playing Field

 

SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Geocaching's biggest fans -- Thales Navigation, manufacturer of Magellan® GPS solutions, including the first full-color handhelds, and Groundspeak, developer of the popular geocaching.com website -- have teamed up to sponsor an event to help participants in the hottest outdoor family fun sport demonstrate their commitment to the protection and preservation of the environment. In the continuing spirit of Earth Day (April 22), the first Cache In Trash Out Day, on Saturday, April 26, will bring together geocaching enthusiasts and Magellan GPS users from as many as 160 countries to pickup trash during their high-tech treasure hunts and hikes.

 

Geocaching.com members and other Magellan GPS users are preparing for Cache In Trash Out Day with a swirl of activity on the web. Thousands of these outdoor enthusiasts are expected to help clean up and protect their playing field -- public parks and outdoor recreation areas around the world.

 

"We're excited to team with Groundspeak, whose many dedicated geocaching members are equally as conscious as Magellan customers about preserving our natural resources and environment as they use GPS to navigate through forests, parks, mountains and on water," said Lonnie Arima, vice president of worldwide consumer sales and marketing for Thales Navigation. "We hope this event not only helps clean up parks and other public land around the globe, but instills in families a new level of appreciation for the outdoors, and an increased awareness of how easy and fun GPS navigation can be for an array of activities."

 

Begun in May 2000, geocaching has become a trail-blazing phenomenon for family fun and fitness that utilizes GPS navigation while exploring the outdoors. Geocaching has become a natural choice for a family activity because it combines handheld technology that children are accustomed to with the old-fashioned, outdoor, family fun parents want -- with little or no cost. Players log onto geocaching.com to determine the coordinates of a cache and then, using their Magellan GPS units, hike to find the awaiting treasure, which they leave or replace for another person to find. However, on April 26th, from London and Sydney to Seattle and New York, the emphasis will be on picking up a treasure-trove of ... trash.

 

"We applaud the geocaching community for its dedication to the environment, and we thank Thales Navigation for its commitment to geocaching and Cache In Trash Out Day," said Jeremy Irish, Groundspeak's co-founder and president. "The geocaching sport could not exist without innovative GPS receivers like those in the Magellan SporTrak GPS series."

 

The top five environmentally friendly rules guiding these high-tech treasure-hunts are:

 

1. Don't bury caches. Treasures are hidden or camouflaged, but kept on

 

the Earth's surface.

 

2. Stay on the trails.

 

3. Don't trample vegetation.

 

4. Keep cache contents safe, and make sure you sign the logbook.

 

5. Cache in, trash out!

 

Geocaching is great fun for 8- and 80-year-olds alike, and all it takes is an adventurous spirit, a handheld GPS unit, such as those in the Magellan SporTrak and Meridian® product families, and five minutes to log onto the global headquarters for geocaching: www.geocaching.com . In minutes, families get coordinates pinpointing the location of a cache, rated one to five for the type of terrain and difficulty of discovering the cache. The only other thing needed is the desire for good, old-fashioned family fun while hiking in the great outdoors.

 

About Thales Navigation

 

Thales (TAL-less) Navigation, is one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of positioning, navigation, communication, and guidance equipment with global operations. Thales Navigation markets its Magellan brand GPS products in the consumer electronics, recreation, and automotive markets, and its Thales Navigation GPS and GNSS professional solutions in the survey, GIS/Mapping, tracking, and OEM markets. Through its joint venture with Hertz, Thales Navigation has developed the Hertz NeverLost® vehicle navigation system. Thales Navigation's key innovations include the first U.S. commercial handheld GPS receiver for positioning and navigation, and the first handheld GPS units with industry standard Secure Digital Memory Card capabilities and full-color LCD displays.

 

Thales Navigation, headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with European headquarters in Carquefou, France, is a subsidiary of Thales, a leading professional electronics company headquartered in Paris, France, with activities in aerospace, defense and information technology and services. For more information, visit www.thalesnavigation.com .

 

About Groundspeak

 

Groundspeak, Inc. creates the toolset for building location-based adventures in the real world using a unique combination of technology and the Internet. Groundspeak owns and operates Geocaching.com, the Global Headquarters for the sport of Geocaching. Geocaching is the first hobby that combines Global Positioning System technology and the Internet for real-world treasure hunting. With hundreds of thousands of participants worldwide, Geocaching.com is the place where geocachers list their hidden caches for others to find, share stories and knowledge, and work together to create new outdoor adventures for others to share. Geocaching.com is one of five websites nominated for a 2003 Webby Award for Best Community Website. Groundspeak is currently developing new technology to enable the next level of geolocational entertainment. For more information, visit www.Groundspeak.com .

 

Magellan, Meridian, and SporTrak are trademarks of Thales Navigation Inc.

 

NeverLost is a registered trademark of Hertz Corporation.

 

SOURCE Thales Navigation; Magellan

 

CO: Thales Navigation Inc.; Groundspeak, Inc.; Magellan GPS; Hertz Corporation

 

ST: California, France

 

SU: NPT

 

http://www.prnewswire.com

 

04/14/2003 07:30 EDT

 

Mickey

Max Entropy

More than just a name, a lifestyle.

[+sis]

dang. check it out!

 

i'm seeing an explosion in my playing field. how 'bout you?

 

sis