Zeroes to Heroes | Gaylord Nelson Mystery Cache
Zeroes to Heroes | Gaylord Nelson
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Welcome to the Bruce B. Purdy Nature Preserve
and the "Zeroes to Heroes" naturalist cache collection, a series of
puzzle caches that highlights some of the most influential
Naturalists either from Wisconsin or with many ties to the state.
Our hope is that you will come to learn a thing or two about
Wisconsin's rich progressive preservationist and protectionist
history, spearheaded by these incredible individuals who began
their humble journeys with one singular purpose: To pass on our
rich natural heritage to our offspring of tomorrow by doing our
best to preserve it today.
The series is also an attempt to bolster the confidence of cachers
who may have never considered creating or placing a puzzle cache by
pairing them with some of the valley's most prolific puzzle and
traditional cache placers.
GAYLORD ANTON
NELSON
"There was a special adventure to being a young
boy in northwestern Wisconsin. There was the adventure of exploring
a deep green pine forest, crunching noisily through the crisp
leaves and pine needles on a sharp fall day, or taking a cool drink
from a fast running trout stream or a hidden lake." -- Gaylord
Nelson
In 1969, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Nelson came up with
one of the most powerful ideas of his time: Earth Day. Inspired by
the teach-ins formed to protest the Vietnam War, Earth Day was an
instant success. On April 22nd 1970, 20 million Americans (20% of
the U.S. population at the time) took to the streets, parks, and
auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable
environment.
Nelson proposed the first nationwide environmental protest "to
shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the
national agenda. " "It was a gamble," he recalls, "but it
worked."
American Heritage Magazine called the first Earth Day "one of the
most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy."
Earth Day introduced the Environmental Decade, an unparalleled
period of legislative and grassroots activity to protect the
nation’s environment. More significant environmental
legislation was signed into law during the eleven-year
“decade” (1970-1980) than during the 170-year period
prior to Earth Day. Congress passed twenty-eight major
environmental laws, and hundreds of other public lands bills to
protect and conserve natural resources.
When Senator Nelson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in
1995, President Clinton noted, “as the founder of Earth Day,
he is the grandfather of all that grew out of that event —
the Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean
Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act. He also set a standard for
people in public service to care about the environment and try to
do something about it.”
"If we intrude on this work of nature, what
will the consequences be?" --Gaylord Nelson
N 44 20. NEL W 088 21.
SON
N = On March 25th,
196N Nelson made his first
speech before the U.S. Senate in support of a bill to ban
detergents from water supplies. Nelson described that
N.8 billion pounds were used
each year resulting in serious foaming of rivers and lakes. "We
need a comprehensive and nationwide program to save the national
resources of America," he said.
E = In
19E0, Nelson called for
Congressional hearings on the safety of contraceptive pills, which
were famously called "The Nelson Pill Hearings."
L = In
196L Wisconsin Governor Nelson
created the Outdoor Recreation Acquisition Program, a plan to
expand state-protected parks and wetlands that was financed through
a penny tax on packs of cigarettes.
S = Senator Nelson
authored and sponsored legislation to preserve the 2,170 mile
Appalachian Trail which became law in 196S.
O = Nelson
introduced the first legislation to ban
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a synthetic pesticide in
196O. The US ban on DDT is
cited by scientists as a major factor in the comeback of the bald
eagle from near-extinction.
N = Gaylord Anton
Nelson was 8N years old when he
died of a heart attack on July 3rd, 2005.
E = September
2E, 1969 Senator Nelson announced
his idea for a nation-wide teach-in day on the environment in a
speech in Seattle.
A = Five months before
Earth Day on Nov A0, The New York
Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on
environmental events.
R = The name "Earth
Day" (rhymes with Birth Day) was recommended by many including a
friend of Nelson's, a New York advertising executive (born April
22nd 192R), who designed the ad
campaign "Timex: It takes a licking, and keeps on ticking".
T = A big "break" in
organizing the event came when New York City Mayor John Lindsay
agreed to close down Tth Avenue
for the Event and offered his office and staff to help out.
H = Some thought Earth
Day should be on April 2H, John
Muir's Birthday. Unfortunately, event organizers mistakenly thought
Muir's birthday was on April 22.
D = Rock band,
Dramarama, wrote a song about Earth Day called What Are We Gonna
Do? which was released on the album Vinyl in 19D1.
A = In
199A Earth Day went global,
mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the
status of environmental issues on to the world stage.
Y = Earth Day inspired
the creation of an independent agency that began operations
December 2nd, 19Y0 that
eventually created the voluntary Energy Star program that fosters
energy efficiency.
This cache is a multi-cache so be prepared with all of the puzzle
answers from the cache page when you hunt the cache. The answers
for NELSON will lead
you to
WP1. Answers for EARTHDAY will be used in the field to
find your way to the final. It will be clear which A is which in
the field.
Regarding the cache, you are looking for a small container with
enough room for Geocoins and small swag. It's initially well
stocked and has 1 pathtag for you collectors out there. BYOP.
Please re-hide as good or better than you found it so muggles do
not see the cache.
Watch out for the thorns near WP1 and the final i.e. don't hunt
this one in shorts! The terrain has been increased a half star for
the thorns. Cache was hidden in Winter and should be huntable and
findable in Winter. Snowshoes definitely recommended!
Geocaching Check-in Procedures:
All geocachers must sign-in at the Apple Creek YMCA (2851 E. Apple
Creek Rd- just across the road from the preserve) before geocaching
on the preserve. A guest sign-in book is located at the front desk.
You do not need to speak with staff to sign in nor do you need to
sign out after you are done caching. The sign in log will be
checked against the on-line logs to verify that this procedure is
being followed. If geocachers do not follow this procedure, all
geocaches will be removed from the Purdy Preserve. The Apple Creek
YMCA is open M-F 5:00 AM-9:00 PM, Sat 5:45 AM-4:00 PM, and closed
on Sundays. Geocaching must take place during these same
hours.
Preserve Rules as follows; Trails open dawn to dusk, Hike on
marked trails only, Carry-in and Carry-out, Respect property
boundaries, All users must possess a YMCA membership, guest pass,
(or guest book sign-in), or reside in Apple Hill Farms. The
following are prohibited; Pets, Bicycles, Motorized vehicles,
Cross-country skiing, Smoking, Drugs/Alcohol, Camping and Removal
or destruction of plant or animal life. Please enjoy the preserve
responsibly while respecting wildlife and other preserve users. All
questions regarding this preserve may be directed to the Apple
Creek YMCA at 733-9622
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)