Volunteer work for the geocaching community
May 22 is Volunteer Day. Geocaching would not be possible without voluntary commitment. One more reason to take a closer look at the many helpers in the geocaching community in this blog post and to appreciate their commitment.
What does geocaching have to do with volunteering?
Did you know that thousands of volunteers around the world help us all play our favorite outdoor game? Before we take a look together at who the volunteers are, let's see what geocaching has to do with volunteering.
We generally refer to volunteer work as an activity that takes place outside of our day-to-day work, with which we earn our living. Not only in geocaching do volunteers ensure that we humans as a global community are better off. Just think of the many conservationists who devote their free time to protecting flora and fauna around the world.
Who are the volunteers?
A wide variety of people from all walks of life are involved in geocaching. Above all, the Community Volunteer Reviewers, who are responsible for compliance with the guidelines. No geocache will be published without your involvement. They assess whether a placed cache is really compliant with all local regulations. Checking seemingly abandoned cache cans is also one of their responsibilities. So we're glad that the 400 or so reviewers ensure that everything runs correctly on our huge playground.
EarthCache reviewers also use their talent to help our geocaching community. You don't know the EarthCache cache type yet? No problem, here's the definition: “An EarthCache takes geocachers to a place where they can learn more about a unique geological feature. Visitors to an EarthCache can see how geological processes shaped our planet, how we manage its resources, and how scientists collate evidence.” (Source: geocaching.com) And there As is well known, knowledge does not fall from the sky, this is where EarthCache reviewers come into play with their concentrated geological knowledge. GPS treasure hunts aren't just fun, they're smarter too!
As the next volunteer group, we introduce you to the forum moderators: In geocaching discussion forums, the committed people ensure that the discussions are topic-related and helpful. Negative comments or even rioting trolls are immediately banned by the moderators.
Of course, we also need translators for a globally available game like geocaching. They ensure that the texts on the geocaching portal, in the apps and within other text-based sources are available in various languages. Not every geocacher speaks and understands English. For this reason, the field of volunteer translators is indispensable for many of us. At this point a heartfelt THANK YOU, THANK YOU, MERCI etc.
Local and global engagement
The list of volunteers goes on: what would geocaching be without the cache owners who bring their creativity and passion locally to the global game? Right, unthinkable! Nobody else knows what's going on there and where great locations are suitable for geocaches. They build treasures of all shapes and colors. They spread geocaching across the globe and show you places you might never have gone otherwise.
Geocaching thrives on the community spirit and this is particularly noticeable at geocaching events. But events do not organize themselves and so it is the volunteer event owners who put their heart and soul into the social aspects. From the rather small but fine breakfast event to the huge giga event, all of which are organized voluntarily, event owners are the pioneers. Not to be forgotten: the GIFF and CITO events, which immediately bring community power to life. On our website you will find cacher trips to all kinds of geocaching events worldwide.
Last but not least, there are the pioneers who are constantly working on the further development of geocaching. The game testers get active when there is something to try: beta versions, new functions in the app and much more. The Geocaching HQ treats the feedback like a pot of gold, after all a sustainable improvement is based on the votes from the community! Bugs and errors are spotted by the playtesters and then fixed by the teams at HQ.
All in all, you've seen from this blog post that geocaching is more than meets the eye. 22 years of geocaching with increasing popularity can be traced back to the tireless efforts of many volunteers. Only by working together for a good cause and our favorite outdoor game can we continue to go on a treasure hunt and curiously explore the world using GPS signals and coordinates.
How you too can become active in the geocaching community!
There are many avenues of activity for the geocaching community, and the volunteer groups featured above may have inspired you to get involved and get involved. Great! Only in this way will the community spirit live on. At geocaching events, the dates of which you can see on geocaching.com, you can easily get into conversation with dedicated geocachers. Benefit from their experiences, where and how they got started.
The geocaching discussion forums already mentioned are also good communication spaces where you can learn where and how help and your involvement is needed. Here is the link that you can use to easily navigate to the right place for you: forums.geocaching.com
Anyway, we're glad you're part of the geocaching community and that you read to the end of this blog post. You are also welcome to contact our team and find out which cacher trips might be of interest to you. After all, on the tours we organize you will meet exciting people who care about geocaching just as much as you do. So then: See you soon in the forest!
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