Member Submssions, Newsletters

Member Submission: Little CITO on the Prairie

Group shot at CITO on the Prairie
Group shot at CITO on the Prairie

“Little CITO on the Prairie” by Sandlanders

When one thinks of CITO events, picking up trash and pulling garlic mustard usually come to mind. This is what many geocachers did during the last weekend of April to make a difference and earn a souvenir. Here in Sandland (Adams County) we chose to host an event to clear the prairie in Roche-A-Cri State Park of some of the scrub oak that has been growing there for years. Budgets for parks have been historically tight, and with recent and future cuts in funding, many properties are relying on volunteers and Friends groups to pick up the slack and help when and where they can. We are members of the Friends of Roche-A-Cri State Park, and at our meeting in March, we asked what was something that a group of geocachers could do in a few hours on a day in a late April, and our CITO event was created.

Cachers, kids, dogs... We had them all!
Cachers, kids, dogs… We had them all!

We had a sunny spring day in which to do two hours of work, and we had eleven adults, two children, and a dog show up to do their parts. With loppers and clippers and hand saws, the scrub oak on the prairie at the south end of the park became less as the brush pile towards the woods became higher. We were working in proximity to the trail that people were taking from the winter parking area into the main part of the park, so we also had the chance to do some PR work for the park, the Friends group, and geocaching while we were working.

Cutting down the scrub oak brush
Cutting down the scrub oak brush

Those in attendance at the CITO event were Jean from the Friends group, plus cachers Tupacthepug, 1TheSister, Trekkin’ and Birdin’, labrat_wr, jar42, all four members of Team Honeybunnies, and both sandlanders. There is still some oak that will need to be cleared by volunteers at a future time, but for now, a part of the prairie has a new clean look. As cachers, we don’t need special days and souvenirs to volunteer at the places where we love to play. We can always pick up trash and pull invasive plants when we go caching, but if you live near a park or other property that is special to you, why not check to see how you can help out in any capacity at any time of the year?

View of the work area from the brush pile
View of the work area from the brush pile

Don’t wait until an event to make a difference. Just like geocaching, CITO can be done every day of the year.