Submitted
The Town of Ponoka is hosting its first ever Trail Awareness Day Geocaching Event on Sunday, May 28 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Scout’s Hall.
“The Geocaching event is a part of our community’s Choosewell Initiative and our trail awareness campaign to encourage people to explore the great trail system our community has to offer. Everyone in the community is invited to come out and enjoy,” says Wes Amendt, Town of Ponoka director of community services.
Similar to a Treasure Hunt
Geocaching is an activity similar to a treasure hunt using GPS on smart phones and mobile devices. With Geocaching, people will set out to explore the trail system in search of hidden caches that will be placed throughout the river valley trails. These caches will contain information about our trail system that participants can record and turn in following completion of the event for prize draws.
In preparation for the Trail Awareness Day Geocaching Event, committee members will begin hiding these caches along our trail system over the coming weeks. A detailed list of these caches will then be uploaded to a free ‘Geocaching’ app that will pinpoint the exact co-ordinates of the caches. Participants taking part in the event can download the free app from the App store on their phone or mobile devices. They can also create a Geocaching account by logging in to www.geocaching.com/play either before or at the event on May 28. Volunteers will be available to assist with downloading the app and creating a Geocaching account.
Treasure Maps
For those who do not have cell phones or are unable to download the Geocaching app, we will also have treasure maps available on the day of the event, which will allow people to participate without downloading the app. Participants can use the app or treasure map to follow the trail system to find the hidden caches. There will be refreshments served following the Geocaching activity for all those who have participated.
The event will begin and end at the Ponoka Scout Hall. Participants must stop by to register before beginning their Geocaching search.
The event was planned by the Trails Subcommittee of the Ponoka Recreation, Culture and Arts Committee and is sponsored by the Ponoka Rotary Club, Sunrise Village and the local Scouts who are donating use of the Scout Hall for free that day.
The Girl Guides will be donating their time as volunteers the day of the event.
Community Clean Up Month
May is also Community Clean Up month. For those wishing to help clean up our trail system, volunteers will be providing garbage bags at the Geocaching event to help keep our trail system garbage free.
We encourage everyone in the community to come and enjoy this fun event. It is a great opportunity to discover and experience the river valley trail system in Ponoka and all that it has to offer!