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cezanne

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By mere coincidence I came across this blog post about EC

http://www.geocaching.com/blog/2015/02/your-path-to-platinum-earthcaching/

 

This thread is first to attract the attention of those with a potential interest into the challenge mentioned there.

 

Moreover, I thought that some cachers might want to comment on the post in a forum which is more convenient for discussions than a blog in my opinion.

 

Personally, I'm not happy with another initiative based on numbers in geocaching, but I'm sure that other cachers will see it differently and will enjoy participating.

 

A side remark:

 

When I read the statement "A visit to an EarthCache involves a lesson, a opportunity to think, discuss and ponder and a chance to be rewarded with achievements beyond your number of finds." my first thought again was that there are indeed different EC realities.

 

When remembering my Earth cache finds, I have to say that only very few ECs I visited offered me with what is promised here. Quite often one does not even receive any answer at all when sending in some

answers (which for sure where not fully correct) and I actually never was rewarded with the feeling of an achievement after having finished an EC - sorry to say that.

 

The quality of the logging tasks has certainly improved over the last couple of years in the areas I'm familiar with but this does not turn the owners of ECs into people who necessarily understand what they are writing about and often the questions are suggested by the EC reviewers. Moreover, lots of EC owners are much too busy to care answering the answer mails. I'm already happy if I receive any reply at all. Discussions about the answers and additional explanations would certainly be welcome, but this almost never happens in my experience, but maybe I'm living in the wrong area.

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Here’s my challenge. Let’s see if we can’t double the number of people who are at each of the EarthCache Masters levels by International EarthCache Day (Sunday 11 October) this year. You have more than 18,000 EarthCaches to choose from to start!

 

Just a few thoughts here…

 

The blog does present an interesting challenge, in increasing the number of geocachers entering into the Masters‘ Program.

 

I personally think this may be a difficult challenge, first and foremost due to the restriction set by GSA/GS on certain types of EC’s, the “no more list” if you will. For many novices a waterfall may be their best introduction into creating an EC, but we all know what the outcome will be. So I can see where ones first attempt with this may be their last…

 

Perhaps if there were some type of known “proximity range” offered for the banned types, say a certain radial distance may help others enter into the CO status.

 

Now we in the Pittsburgh Area, attempt to create an Event for EC Day centered on an existing EC. It is our hope to demystify the concept of an EC and hopefully promote more interest. Now this may only affect visitation more so than creation. Many of us also offer assistance for those who wish to create an EC.

 

The proximity of EC’s in any given area, also limit the number of finds unless one is willing to travel a bit. My feeling is that this should be more noticeable in the Discovery Awards Categories.

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Personally, I'm not happy with another initiative based on numbers in geocaching...

I agree.

 

I took, "A visit to an EarthCache involves a lesson, a opportunity to think, discuss and ponder and a chance to be rewarded with achievements beyond your number of finds." to mean the learning experiences gained with this cache type were worth much more than simple find counts.

- But then say, "I realized early on that the effort required to place an EarthCache needed to be rewarded." kinda took me by surprise.

 

I thought that the educational area alone of this cache type would place a standard higher than the simple "for the numbers" caches we see today.

- But, "Here’s my challenge. Lets see if we can’t double the number of people who are at each of the EarthCache Masters levels by International EarthCache Day (Sunday 11 October) this year." kinda tells me that if it ever was, that isn't so any longer.

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My main issue with even trying to become an EarthCache Master is the sheer impossibility to get a new EarthCache started. And this is not just my experience, but I hear the same from many cachers in my area. Many people feel like getting an EC online is taking at least half a year of going back and forth with reviews, and most give up in the process because they cannot be bothered with the cumbersome process anymore. While I have no recollection of what the rules used to be to start a new EarthCache (as I've only started Geocaching about a year ago) some years back, I feel that the current rules that allow for new EarthCaches are prohibitively strong.

 

I live in the Netherlands, a country that is almost totally flat. No mountains, no volcanoes, sometimes just a fault here or there, some sand swept in by rivers, but that's about it really. From a hardcore geological view, there is not much to be seen around here. But due to being so flat and low lying, we do have plenty of waterways, salt and sweet water lakes, interesting natural and man made water draining systems, flora and fauna that goes with that environment, etc. Many of these come with very interesting backgrounds and stories, which are great for creating fun EarthCaches, lessons about the earth and our environment etc.

 

However, "the current rules" only allow for hardcore geological information to be used with a new EarthCache. Apart from being almost totally unable to start a new cache that adheres to these rules in this country, it's missing out completely on the interesting and fun lessons that could be had if the scope of EarthCaches was just a tad wider than it currently is. I very much feel that the rare new EC we see around here (according to the responsible reviewer only 5 in the last year) are now only using wording and are about subjects that are mostly only of interest to those that are deeply initiated, but cannot be followed by those that don't have a degree in the matter. This is partly due to apparently accepted technical writing styles and the almost exclusive use of technical terms to meet the rules. I know that somewhere in these new rules comes a mention that the text for ECs has to be readable and comprehensible for a 12 year (or so) old kid, but that part of the rules seems systematically overlooked.

 

I do actually see lots of interesting and fun EarthCaches in my country and surrounding countries. But most of these are not (or not just) about hardcore geology. Don't get me wrong, geology certainly has its place in most of these caches, but they are generally not just about geology, but take the current landscape and what can be seen there into account as well. These EC's can't be started anymore, while these in my view exactly represent the more fun caches. And I'm a strong believer of the idea that without any fun in it, there is usually not much to be learned for most of the people.

 

So I'm trying to say that I think that current rules for starting EC's are far too strict. And I feel very sorry about that. As there is so much to be learned and loved about our planet that goes just a little further than the pure geological side of things. I feel that both Geocaching.com and the GSA are missing out on many potential supporters as a result. As there is plenty of people who take an interest in this kind of thing (like I do) but don't feel the need to have to wade through pages of technical terms and hardcore geological lingo just to learn something of interest about our world. Geocaching is or should still primarily be a game, not a study. Which doesn't mean we can't learn something interesting and fun while playing the game.

 

In itself I find the Master program interesting though and would be happy to join in - if only I felt able to do so, as the creation of an EC seems almost impossible here right now. Like others I'm not too sure that the way of becoming a master should be build on numbers alone. I'd rather see some kind of quality aspect built in. But I have no immediate ideas of how to do that.

 

I don't want to rant too much, and hope it is not coming across like that either. Please take my 2 cents as a view from a geocacher that sees room for improvement. But I do hope that some of this is picked up by some of the people that have a say in it.

Edited by NLBokkie
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“I live in the Netherlands, a country that is almost totally flat. No mountains, no volcanoes, sometimes just a fault here or there, some sand swept in by rivers, but that's about it really.”

 

NL Bokkie

Perhaps this may help? Even though the Netherlands is flat so to speak, I think if you looked at how man uses the geology and geography you may be able to create something of value.

 

Let’s take a look at windmills. Traditionally they are used to grind grain and pump water. A more modern use would be generating electricity. Look at this from the perspective of how geology [landforms] dictate mans’ use of the land [LAND USE GEOLOGY and MAN GC34N38]. You have flat open areas, prevailing winds, an attempt to reclaim surface area below sea level, and a great source of “green energy” which by the way conserves the more traditional geology forms of energy.

 

I find the “Floating Houses of Amsterdam” a very interesting approach to overcoming the lack of land for increased habitation. Here again the engineering and the green energy concepts applied are worth noting.

 

And of course there is the stream morphology approach, you could build a lesson on what makes a stream, a component of a stream say a meander and the associated deposits, [Rocks In A Stream GC2FXQR] or even an engineering approach that may “correct” a problem found w/a stream [saving The Banks GC3XEM2].

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NL Bokkie - now that sounds like an African link???? :rolleyes:

 

Yes, but that's purely accidental. My nickname stems from the fact that I was born in late December, which makes me a Capricorn. Capricorn translates to steenbok in Dutch language, and together with all bucks they are commonly called bok or affectionally bokkie. Looking up that word on the Internet I found many references to the SA rugby team. But I did use the Bokkies cuddly toy for my avatar only as I thought it looks funny and there is this connection to my nickname. But I'm really not into rugby at all.

 

Maybe I should change my avatar.

 

Thanks!

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My main issue with even trying to become an EarthCache Master is the sheer impossibility to get a new EarthCache started. And this is not just my experience, but I hear the same from many cachers in my area. Many people feel like getting an EC online is taking at least half a year of going back and forth with reviews, and most give up in the process because they cannot be bothered with the cumbersome process anymore. While I have no recollection of what the rules used to be to start a new EarthCache (as I've only started Geocaching about a year ago) some years back, I feel that the current rules that allow for new EarthCaches are prohibitively strong.

 

I disagree. I've had three new ECs published in the last few weeks. But perhaps this is an issue with a specific reviewer.

 

I live in the Netherlands, a country that is almost totally flat. No mountains, no volcanoes, sometimes just a fault here or there, some sand swept in by rivers, but that's about it really. From a hardcore geological view, there is not much to be seen around here. But due to being so flat and low lying, we do have plenty of waterways, salt and sweet water lakes, interesting natural and man made water draining systems, flora and fauna that goes with that environment, etc. Many of these come with very interesting backgrounds and stories, which are great for creating fun EarthCaches, lessons about the earth and our environment etc.

 

However, "the current rules" only allow for hardcore geological information to be used with a new EarthCache. Apart from being almost totally unable to start a new cache that adheres to these rules in this country, it's missing out completely on the interesting and fun lessons that could be had if the scope of EarthCaches was just a tad wider than it currently is. I very much feel that the rare new EC we see around here (according to the responsible reviewer only 5 in the last year) are now only using wording and are about subjects that are mostly only of interest to those that are deeply initiated, but cannot be followed by those that don't have a degree in the matter. This is partly due to apparently accepted technical writing styles and the almost exclusive use of technical terms to meet the rules. I know that somewhere in these new rules comes a mention that the text for ECs has to be readable and comprehensible for a 12 year (or so) old kid, but that part of the rules seems systematically overlooked.

 

I also disagree here. The Netherlands contains a lot of rivers, wetlands and coastline, which means sedimentation and erosional processes. I think with enough effort, you could publish plenty of ECs associated with these bodies of water.

 

You should also have a fairly significant amount of glacial deposits which would make a great EarthCache.

Edited by blackdog7
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My main issue with even trying to become an EarthCache Master is the sheer impossibility to get a new EarthCache started. And this is not just my experience, but I hear the same from many cachers in my area. Many people feel like getting an EC online is taking at least half a year of going back and forth with reviews, and most give up in the process because they cannot be bothered with the cumbersome process anymore. While I have no recollection of what the rules used to be to start a new EarthCache (as I've only started Geocaching about a year ago) some years back, I feel that the current rules that allow for new EarthCaches are prohibitively strong.

 

I live in the Netherlands, a country that is almost totally flat. No mountains, no volcanoes, sometimes just a fault here or there, some sand swept in by rivers, but that's about it really. From a hardcore geological view, there is not much to be seen around here. But due to being so flat and low lying, we do have plenty of waterways, salt and sweet water lakes, interesting natural and man made water draining systems, flora and fauna that goes with that environment, etc. Many of these come with very interesting backgrounds and stories, which are great for creating fun EarthCaches, lessons about the earth and our environment etc.

 

However, "the current rules" only allow for hardcore geological information to be used with a new EarthCache. Apart from being almost totally unable to start a new cache that adheres to these rules in this country, it's missing out completely on the interesting and fun lessons that could be had if the scope of EarthCaches was just a tad wider than it currently is. I very much feel that the rare new EC we see around here (according to the responsible reviewer only 5 in the last year) are now only using wording and are about subjects that are mostly only of interest to those that are deeply initiated, but cannot be followed by those that don't have a degree in the matter. This is partly due to apparently accepted technical writing styles and the almost exclusive use of technical terms to meet the rules. I know that somewhere in these new rules comes a mention that the text for ECs has to be readable and comprehensible for a 12 year (or so) old kid, but that part of the rules seems systematically overlooked.

 

I do actually see lots of interesting and fun EarthCaches in my country and surrounding countries. But most of these are not (or not just) about hardcore geology. Don't get me wrong, geology certainly has its place in most of these caches, but they are generally not just about geology, but take the current landscape and what can be seen there into account as well. These EC's can't be started anymore, while these in my view exactly represent the more fun caches. And I'm a strong believer of the idea that without any fun in it, there is usually not much to be learned for most of the people.

 

So I'm trying to say that I think that current rules for starting EC's are far too strict. And I feel very sorry about that. As there is so much to be learned and loved about our planet that goes just a little further than the pure geological side of things. I feel that both Geocaching.com and the GSA are missing out on many potential supporters as a result. As there is plenty of people who take an interest in this kind of thing (like I do) but don't feel the need to have to wade through pages of technical terms and hardcore geological lingo just to learn something of interest about our world. Geocaching is or should still primarily be a game, not a study. Which doesn't mean we can't learn something interesting and fun while playing the game.

 

In itself I find the Master program interesting though and would be happy to join in - if only I felt able to do so, as the creation of an EC seems almost impossible here right now. Like others I'm not too sure that the way of becoming a master should be build on numbers alone. I'd rather see some kind of quality aspect built in. But I have no immediate ideas of how to do that.

 

I don't want to rant too much, and hope it is not coming across like that either. Please take my 2 cents as a view from a geocacher that sees room for improvement. But I do hope that some of this is picked up by some of the people that have a say in it.

 

All three of mine were published without incident.

 

If you'd like to highlight things with geocaching that are outside the purview of Earthcaching, then use other cache types to do it.

 

Earthcaching has grown enormously, and it's wonderful, but it's not for everyone. I'm glad the rules have tightened - Earthcaches have certainly improved in quality for it.

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I also disagree here. The Netherlands contains a lot of rivers, wetlands and coastline, which means sedimentation and erosional processes. I think with enough effort, you could publish plenty of ECs associated with these bodies of water.

 

You should also have a fairly significant amount of glacial deposits which would make a great EarthCache.

 

At the same time the Netherlands are a small country, and you cannot make an EarthCache of every pingo, every moraine or every glacial dune within a certain circle (guideline 3 about unique feature). Erratics are amongst the problematic topics in the helpcenter anyway. Yes, I agree that the Netherlands are difficult (as is Denmark with the exception of Bornholm), but when looking out of the box it should be possible to find some interesting topics.

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All three of mine were published without incident.

 

But a long time ago. In my area you would not manage to get 3 ECs listed that close to each other all dealing with eskers.

 

Earthcaching has grown enormously, and it's wonderful, but it's not for everyone.

 

It's just that in some areas it is considerably more difficult to come up with good ECs in particular if some already exist and one is not a person trained in geology.

terratin's post who knows the Netherlands and has a strong background in geology might convince you that your situation differs from the situation of the Dutch cacher.

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But a long time ago. In my area you would not manage to get 3 ECs listed that close to each other all dealing with eskers.

 

 

Dude, for a European you have a pretty weird idea of "close." The two closest ones are in the same county but more than 40km apart, and are different eskers. The third is 300km away from the first two, and is an entirely different esker yet again. I rarely see overlap between the cachers who find them, because they are in different places.

 

There are new Earthcaches popping up all the time around here. The thing about living on planet Earth is that geology is everywhere you look. It's not always some obvious majestic thing, but it's there.

 

Even with all the great Earthcaches we have inside the City of Ottawa, I have about half a dozen ideas for other ones that nobody else has done yet, I just need to find some time to put them together. Local universities are a great resource for ideas.

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Dude, for a European you have a pretty weird idea of "close." The two closest ones are in the same county but more than 40km apart, and are different eskers.

 

Well, the distance as the crow flies between two of your ECs is about 27 km - admittedly I did not then check for the third one.

I'm aware of cases where cachers in a volcanic region of my home province got ECs rejected as they dealt with volcanism again (not the same hider, and not the same writeup etc). The distance was not smaller than in the above case and the roads are windy and there are no highways etc.

So it appears to depend on the interpretation of the EC reviewers. In any case, they have apparently become more strict which is not necessarily something bad.

 

There are new Earthcaches popping up all the time around here. The thing about living on planet Earth is that geology is everywhere you look. It's not always some obvious majestic thing, but it's there.

 

I did not say that it is not possible to come up with new nice ECs in the Netherlands, but it is much more difficult there.

Like it would be so much more difficult to come up with 1000 unique history caches in Ottawa than in Vienna.

The fact that all the time new ECs pop around your place, does not prove anything about the Netherlands. Of course it's nice for you that you have plenty of ECs to choose from.

 

Of course, there exist also some untypical ECs, like e.g. this one http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4FGR8_der-ideale-friedhofsboden?guid=a4116ea9-ac0d-469a-b051-c6899c78bec1 , but there number is limited and I need to admit that I never would had the idea to even consider an EC about the soil suitable for graveyards. In some areas it is not realistic that everyone who would like to own 3 ECs ends up with this goal.

 

As the local universities are regarded, they might have a different attitude over there. I can hardly imagine that it would work well around here if someone contacted a university in order to come up with an Earthcache and the barrier for even trying to establish some contact would be enormously high for the average cacher.

 

Cezanne

Edited by cezanne
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As the local universities are regarded, they might have a different attitude over there. I can hardly imagine that it would work well around here if someone contacted a university in order to come up with an Earthcache and the barrier for even trying to establish some contact would be enormously high for the average cacher.

 

If that's true of universities there, it's a real shame. I've never known anybody working in a university here who wasn't thrilled to have a layperson show interest in their research.

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I think developing an earthcache is pretty hard for the average person. I asked for help here because I didn't understand the guidelines. And even if you manage to understand what you are supposed to do, and find a suitable topic, there are still obstacles to making the page such as writing in english and the language of the location as well as coding in html.

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As the local universities are regarded, they might have a different attitude over there. I can hardly imagine that it would work well around here if someone contacted a university in order to come up with an Earthcache and the barrier for even trying to establish some contact would be enormously high for the average cacher.

 

If that's true of universities there, it's a real shame. I've never known anybody working in a university here who wasn't thrilled to have a layperson show interest in their research.

Agreed. I'm working on an EC, and I emailed a geology professor who does public geology seminars in the field. Even though I couldn't get to one of his, he was happy to answer my questions about the area that I'm creating the EC. It actually turned out that he is a geocacher, too.

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Agreed. I'm working on an EC, and I emailed a geology professor who does public geology seminars in the field. Even though I couldn't get to one of his, he was happy to answer my questions about the area that I'm creating the EC. It actually turned out that he is a geocacher, too.

 

I'm going through something similar right now, working on a little-known feature in the area that is actually really cool and under threat. The scientists who conduct research there also do tours and seminars, and they are really happy about anything that gets people out to learn more about the site.

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I'm going through something similar right now, working on a little-known feature in the area that is actually really cool and under threat. The scientists who conduct research there also do tours and seminars, and they are really happy about anything that gets people out to learn more about the site.

 

I guess that this is a different situation than the one I had in mind. I they offer tours and other public outreach programs and also their personal research is related, they will of course be much more motivated to reply to questions than in the setting I had in mind where one simply contacts a specialist in the appropriate field.

 

In any case public outreach programs are something not valuable in an academic career path around here.

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I'm going through something similar right now, working on a little-known feature in the area that is actually really cool and under threat. The scientists who conduct research there also do tours and seminars, and they are really happy about anything that gets people out to learn more about the site.

 

I guess that this is a different situation than the one I had in mind. I they offer tours and other public outreach programs and also their personal research is related, they will of course be much more motivated to reply to questions than in the setting I had in mind where one simply contacts a specialist in the appropriate field.

 

In any case public outreach programs are something not valuable in an academic career path around here.

 

No, you see, that's the case I'm working with right now.

 

I've also reached out to researchers at local universities because I found their names in the bibliographies of research papers about the eskers I was researching.

 

I've also reached out to researchers for other reasons - to set up tours and demonstrations for school students, to locate information for kids doing science projects. I've sent photos of spiders and things to researchers just out of curiosity, to have them identified.

 

They have always been approachable and delighted to talk to someone about their work.

 

Again, it's really sad if that is NOT the case in other places, but I find it unlikely that this is actually the case.

 

But hey, if you're intent on claiming that it is oh-so-impossible to create an Earthcache because geologists and geographers are mean people who won't share their knowledge, have fun with that.

Edited by narcissa
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I've sent photos of spiders and things to researchers just out of curiosity, to have them identified.

 

Actually, I also know people who have asked for help in identifying plants and animals, but typically this works via people who are employed at schools, museums etc and not at

universities.

 

They have always been approachable and delighted to talk to someone about their work.

 

I do not know how occupied they are with other things, including mass teaching and having to cope with student cohorts of unlimited size.

Your university system works very differently - no university has to take more students than they have staff to cope with.

 

 

But hey, if you're intent on claiming that it is oh-so-impossible to create an Earthcache because geologists and geographers are mean people who won't share their knowledge, have fun with that.

 

No, that was definitely not my intent - neither the first part nor the second. What I stated about universities was not intended to be field specific. And my original point was just that there are certainly areas where coming up with a decent Earthcache is more difficult.

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I do not know how occupied they are with other things, including mass teaching and having to cope with student cohorts of unlimited size.

Your university system works very differently - no university has to take more students than they have staff to cope with.

 

To your first point, the worst they could possibly say is no. You aren't harming anything by sending an email. Maybe don't expect a fast reply during exams.

 

To your second point, bahahahahahahahahahaha! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

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I do not know how occupied they are with other things, including mass teaching and having to cope with student cohorts of unlimited size.

Your university system works very differently - no university has to take more students than they have staff to cope with.

 

To your first point, the worst they could possibly say is no. You aren't harming anything by sending an email. Maybe don't expect a fast reply during exams.

 

I guess what will happen often is no reply, but I did not mean to discourage anyone from trying.

 

To your second point, bahahahahahahahahahaha! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

 

Maybe I should have been more precise and made it clear that I meant that the universities over there and in many other countries decide on how many

students they take and/or have fees. If neither is the case, it becomes a different situation, but anyway that's not about ECs.

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“I live in the Netherlands, a country that is almost totally flat. No mountains, no volcanoes, sometimes just a fault here or there, some sand swept in by rivers, but that's about it really.”

 

NL Bokkie

Perhaps this may help? Even though the Netherlands is flat so to speak, I think if you looked at how man uses the geology and geography you may be able to create something of value.

 

Let’s take a look at windmills. Traditionally they are used to grind grain and pump water. A more modern use would be generating electricity. Look at this from the perspective of how geology [landforms] dictate mans’ use of the land [LAND USE GEOLOGY and MAN GC34N38]. You have flat open areas, prevailing winds, an attempt to reclaim surface area below sea level, and a great source of “green energy” which by the way conserves the more traditional geology forms of energy.

 

I find the “Floating Houses of Amsterdam” a very interesting approach to overcoming the lack of land for increased habitation. Here again the engineering and the green energy concepts applied are worth noting.

 

And of course there is the stream morphology approach, you could build a lesson on what makes a stream, a component of a stream say a meander and the associated deposits, [Rocks In A Stream GC2FXQR] or even an engineering approach that may “correct” a problem found w/a stream [saving The Banks GC3XEM2].

 

@Geo Walker: I totally agree. The subjects you mention are very good examples of what could be used for Earth Caches up until a few years back. Your own EC's are perfect examples for that. But some time ago the rules for new Earth Caches have changed. Where older ones are not adhering to the new rules set, they are grandfathered (like yours). But new ones have to be "hardcore" geology bound, making EC's like the idea of the "Floating Houses of Amsterdam", the use of windmills for energy etc. no longer acceptable for the reviewers. I feel that in having to use these new rules, we're left with very little options to come up with something new around here. And the interesting stuff like you mention (and I'd like to use for making an EC), is no longer accepted. All in all these new rules basically give us an enormous handicap here and drag us down to having to set up a GC based on almost academic geology levels.

 

I hope I did make a bit more clear what I was referring to in my earlier post.

Edited by NLBokkie
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@Geo Walker: I totally agree. The subjects you mention are very good examples of what could be used for Earth Caches up until a few years back. Your own EC's are perfect examples for that. But some time ago the rules for new Earth Caches have changed. Where older ones are not adhering to the new rules set, they are grandfathered (like yours). But new ones have to be "hardcore" geology bound, making EC's like the idea of the "Floating Houses of Amsterdam", the use of windmills for energy etc. no longer acceptable for the reviewers. I feel that in having to use these new rules, we're left with very little options to come up with something new around here. And the interesting stuff like you mention (and I'd like to use for making an EC), is no longer accepted. All in all these new rules basically give us an enormous handicap here and drag us down to having to set up a GC based on almost academic geology levels.

 

If you are interested in a topic, and it isn't something that meets Earthcache criteria, why not find another way to make a geocache about it? Multi-caches, puzzles, and letterboxes can be used to create educational experiences.

 

I think too many people look at this from the wrong direction (and that's in part spurred by the rewards system). Instead of scrounging around for an excuse to create an Earthcache, create appropriate geocache-types to bring people to places.

 

If you are really intent on creating an Earthcache there, then roll up your sleeves and turn that "academic geology" into a lesson for anyone. Talk to the experts, visit the sites, and get creative. The only reason a given topic is "academic" is because nobody has taken the academic research and distilled it into layman's terms yet. In addition to the researchers who pursue these topics, geography or science teachers from local schools could also be a good resource for helping you come up with lesson ideas.

Edited by narcissa
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I think too many people look at this from the wrong direction (and that's in part spurred by the rewards system). Instead of scrounging around for an excuse to create an Earthcache, create appropriate geocache-types to bring people to places.

 

I partially agree, however I started this thread due to the blog post I cited and that's about trying to increase the number of EC masters considerably. That goes well beyond the motivation of an indivual geocacher that may be spurred by the rewards system and is the part I find questionable.

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