(by Hack1of2)
Geocaching CITO events are all about making our outdoor spaces better and cleaner than they were, whether it’s trash pickup, removing invasive plants, landscaping, planting trees, gathering sticks & broken tree limbs, or something more creative. AND having a bit of fun and fellowship in the process.
Cudahy’s Sheridan Park (just outside of Milwaukee) is about a mile long at the street level, overlooking Lake Michigan 100 to 200 feet below. There are a fair amount of sticks and trash that accumulate each year, much of which is picked up by locals on the upper level (if it’s by a path), but there is a LOT more trash that accumulates off trail, and especially more at the base of the bluffs at the shore level, including things washed up on shore, such as boat parts, bottles & cans, and unidentifiable machinery parts. So that’s actually TWO miles of ground to potentially cover: above and below. So if hosting a CITO cleanup event, how does one insure that the entire park gets needed attention when it’s so large?
So for the Sheridan Park CITO held on Earth Day, Hack1of2 and WisJanine took a fun and strategic approach this year and marked coordinates for 35 of the highest concentrations of trash all over those two miles, almost all of which are OFF TRAIL, where geocachers aren’t afraid to go but most others will rarely visit. Some locations were above the bluffs at the street level, and some were below where the waves of Lake Michigan crash again the rocky shore. There were not any geocaches placed for the event, focusing instead of cleanup throughout the park. At each of those 35 spots a cache container was hidden among the trash, complete with camouflage tape, a log book, a geocaching label, and swag (and a hint to find it without difficulty). Participants were given a choice: roam the park wherever to pick up trash, or receive one of the 35 assignments in a sealed envelope, clean the assigned area, and KEEP the container they find that was placed there just for them as a thank you gift. Why not add a bit of additional fun and incentive to make it interesting? Most of those containers will likely turn into geocaches at some point, already being pre-labeled and containing a log book. The street level areas were 1.5 to 2.0 terrains; the shore level areas were mostly 2.5 to 3.5 terrains. Almost everyone wanted an assignment. And as a result the entire two miles was visited by geocachers cleaning up the park.
The trash bags were piled in three staging areas throughout the park for park workers to pick up. After cleanup the 40 or so geocachers met up at the park’s shelter building for snacks and a quick raffle, which included a Geocaching premium membership certificate and several other items donated by the Wisconsin Geocaching Association. The WGA encourages CITO events and helps those sponsoring them. Thanks to all who participated!
