Ecocache

An EcoCache™ is a “green” variation of a traditional Geocache. Placed by geocachers at environmentally significant locations around the world, an EcoCache™ site helps raise awareness of the role we all play in restoring, preserving, and sharing the environment. The outdoor environmental treasure hunt game is played by participants using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called “caches" or “geocaches”) anywhere in the world an environmentally significant site is accessible to the public. As of December, 2009, there are over 960,114 active geocaches over the world.
Categories
There are various categories of EcoCache™ dependant on the type of environmental value the cache emphasizes.
1. Agriculture - An Agriculture EcoCache™ features natural farming, livestock, and fishing practices that does not causing severe or irreversible damage to ecosystem health.
2. Architecture - An Architecture EcoCache™ features environmentally-conscious design techniques in the field of architecture. Sustainable architecture seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by enhancing efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space.
3. Art - An Art EcoCache™ features creative works of art that value the environment, raises awareness, and inspire viewers to conserve nature.
4. Energy - An Energy EcoCache™ features the use of renewable, naturally replenished energy from sources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat.
5. Land Use - An Land Use EcoCache™ features the preservation of land intended to protect endangered species and ecosystems.
6. Technology - A Technology EcoCache™ features a clean, green technology application of the environmental science to conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement.
7. Recycling - A Recycling EcoCache™ features the collection or reuse of materials resulting in waste reduction and minimizing impact on the environment.
8. Wildlife - A Wildlife EcoCache™ features a naturally-occurring sanctuary that provides protection for species from hunting, predation or competition, or it may refer to a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected.
9. Waste Management - A Waste Management EcoCache™ features the collection, transport, processing, and recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials in a way that recovers resources and reduces negative effects on the environment.
10. Waterways - A Waterways EcoCache™ features any body of water including streams, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals that retain their environmentally significant within their surrounding habitat.
EcoCache™ Challenge
The EcoCache™ Challenge was launched on January 1, 2010 from the McDowell Rain Gardens EcoCache™ (N 35° 26.060 W 080° 49.370) in Huntersville, NC. The goal of the EcoCache™ Challenge is to expand the value of geocaching by entertaining, educating, and inspiring people to steward the environment and recognize places of environmental significance.
Placed inside the first EcoCache™ Challenge container was five laminated tags challenging finders to start an EcoCache™ of their own. Instructions on the tags included choosing a site that is valuable to the environment and to recycle the tag in a new EcoCache™. Also placed inside the cache was one “Nature’s Travel Bug” found on December 26, 2009 at the Bassett Pond EcoCache™ #1 (N 47° 44.920 W 122° 05.890) in Woodinville, WA.
Ethics
Though not universally required, EcoCaching™ follows the Geocacher's Creed which provides ethical hide and search guidelines. Government agencies and others responsible for publicly used land often establish their own guidelines for geocaching. Generally accepted rules are:
1. Do not endanger others.
2. Minimize the impact on nature.
3. Respect private property.
4. Avoid public alarm.

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