As the community celebrates the 25th anniversary of geocaching in 2025, we look back on an earlier milestone that led to the creation of Cache In Trash Out® (CITO), a concept that has helped preserve the natural beauty of cache-friendly spaces around the world.

In early 2003, as geocaching approached its third anniversary, HQ co-founder Jeremy Irish introduced the idea of CITO in the Geocaching Forums. He encouraged groups to choose a park in their area to clean up on April 26, 2003.

Now, 22 years later, an estimated 844,000 people have volunteered at more than 47,400 CITOs worldwide. We asked The Leprechauns, host of one of the CITOs held on that very first day (GCE2F1), to share his memories.

You hosted your CITO at Raccoon Creek State Park in Hookstown, Pennsylvania. What made you want to get involved?
When I saw geocachers from all over posting in Jeremy’s thread about hosting CITOs on the same day, I was excited to host one myself.

At the time, geocachers in Pennsylvania were having discussions about permit requirements for caches in our state parks. The closest state park to my home west of Pittsburgh is Raccoon Creek State Park. The rangers there had recently removed the park’s only cache because it was hidden in a wildflower preserve without permission. They were concerned about damage to the delicate plants. I hoped that the CITO concept might help to change their perception of geocaching.

Jeremy’s initial CITO announcement was focused on park cleanup, but your CITO also included other efforts. How did that come about?
When planning the CITO, I asked the park rangers about their biggest needs. They identified three focus areas, so we split up the geocachers to clean a trail around the lake, to haul trash from an illegal dumping area, and to clear brush for a new trail using axes and saws. I think those multiple activities may have helped contribute to a legacy that CITOs don’t have to focus solely on litter pickup.

Shortly after hosting your CITO, you were asked to become a community volunteer reviewer. As a reviewer and longtime geocacher, what advice do you have for hosting a CITO?
Coordinate with the land manager before the CITO – both to make them aware of the geocachers’ good work and to find out if they have any special requirements. Be sure to make arrangements for trash disposal. (At my CITO, we filled six pickup trucks!)

Submit your CITO cache page well in advance, so that you can work out any issues with your local reviewer and still get your cache published well in advance of the CITO date, which can help increase attendance. Finally, offer an incentive to attend, like coffee and donuts before getting started, or new caches to be released right after the CITO. I also encourage people not to worry too much about every CITO being perfect, because every little bit helps!

What comes to mind when you think about the benefits of CITO around the world?
The environment has certainly benefited from the many tons of trash removed by geocachers from our gameboard. Also, I’m sure that the CITO ethic has helped land managers become more receptive to geocaching. When planning my own CITO, I worked with the park ranger to select great locations for four new caches, which demonstrated how a good permission policy could work. In the years since, the state park has granted permits for many other caches, and more Event Caches and CITOs have been hosted there.

Thanks to The Leprechauns (aka community volunteer reviewer Keystone) and the thousands of other geocachers who have helped make CITO such a positive aspect of geocaching!

Visit the Geocaching Help Center for more information about how to attend and host a CITO. Don’t forget to earn a souvenir for CITO Season 2 by attending a CITO between September 1, 2025 and November 30, 2025.