NNJC Spring Picnic & Great Swamp Scavenger hunt Event Cache

Everyone is Welcome to join The Northern New Jersey's Cachers (NNJC) for a fun filled day of activities at the 2013 Spring Picnic and optional Great Swamp Scavenger Hunt.

NNJC is happy to partner again with the Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) to participate and hold our annual Spring Picnic in conjunction with a family fun scavenger hunt.

Come and participate in the fun scavenger hunt with raffle prizes, while looking for new caches throughout the watershed properties, then hang out and enjoy the spring picnic food!

 EVENT DATE: Saturday, May 11th 2013

EVENT LOCATION: Kitchel Pond Pavilion, Loantaka Reservation, Morris County Park.

SCAVENGER HUNT INFO / START TIME: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM ~ return by 4:00 PM

NNJC PICNIC TIME: OPENS AT 12:00 NOON, picnic food all afternoon... BUT HOT "grilled" FOOD SERVED 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

PLEASE BRING FOOD AND DRINKS TO SHARE ~ (K8), SlinkyPink is NNJC"s event Planner and has volunteered to keep the list of donated food for the picnic. Please contact Kate or post what you will bring to the picnic.

THE GREAT SWAMP SCAVENGER HUNT

The NNJC / Great Swamp Scavenger Hunt is located throughout the Great Swamp Watershed, a 55-square-mile region in Morris and Somerset Counties, and includes portions of ten towns. The locations are at many GSWA / NNJC land partners.

The NNJC / Great Swamp Scavenger Hunt is optional to geocachers, is to encourage families and individuals to get outdoors and explore and learn more about our local natural, cultural, and historic areas.

The NNJC / Great Swamp Scavenger Hunt will take you to many NNJC partnering organizations such as: Great Swamp Watershed Association, Morristown National Historical Park, Somerset County Park Commission/Lord Stirling Park, Morris County Park Commission, Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Friends of Great Swamp, Harding Land Trust, The Raptor Trust, NJ Audubon Society. Most of these locations have worked with NNJC and have active geocaching programs and some will have new geocaches.

REGISTRATION / PRIZES

Participants will register and pick up their Scavenger Hunt clue sheets between 9:00 -2:00 at Kitchell Pond Pavilion. If you start in the morning you will have enough time to complete the scavenger hunt which will take approximately 2-3 hours depending how much time you spend at each location to hunt for the answers and solve clues around the watershed. There are 20 locations, some being a simple drive by, whereas you need some info off a sign while other are at an environmental center where you will get out and walk around for the clues. You can do as few or as many locations as you choose, so if you start in the morning you can travel to all the locations, if you start later you can do fewer locations.

At scavernger Hunt locations you will pick up a token to bring back to the picnic, the more tokens you collect the greater chances you have to win a prize!

There will be a map of the watershed with all partners marked on it for inclusion with the scavenger hunt. Coordinates to these locations will be handed out on the scavenger hunt form.The Scavenger Hunt consists of (20) locations with a series of specific questions designed to bring participants to a location to learn something about the location and obtain the answers to a scavenger hunt question.

There will be a number of prizes for participants of the Scavenger hunt. You must complete the scavenger hunt to be entered into a raffle for a prize. The more locations you visit the better your chances to win a raffle prize. At each location there will be a token or clue to retrieve, when you return to the Kitchell Pond Pavilion you will receive a raffle tickets for each of the completed locations. So the more you do, the better your chances are of winning a prize.

NEW CACHES:

There will be new caches located at some of the participating scavenger hunt partner locations. Stop by the NNJC registration table for the NEW CACHE coordinates.

SPRING PICNIC

If you are not participating in the Scavenger Hunt, you are welcome to join the NNJC Spring Picnic at Loantaka Reservation after 12:00 noon , Hot "Grilled" food will be served at 4:00 PM when all participants are back from the scavenger hunt.

THIS IS A POT LUCK PICNIC ~ We need everything to host a Picnic, We ask for NNJC members to please bring your favorite food, desserts and drinks for all to share. (No Alcohol). Please post on your attendance log what you will be bringing. Not sure what to bring; Please contact K8, (SlinkyPink) who will be keeping a list of food and supplies needed for the event.

GEOCOIN'S, TRACKABLE'S & SIGNATURE ITEM MINIFEST

We would like to give folks the opportunity to see the variety of geocoins, trackables, and signature items minted and have been collected since the inception of the geocaching. We will have an afternoon geocoin minifest at the spring picnic from 2:00 - 6:00. Everyone is welcome to bring and share their collections to show or trade. This gives new cachers the opportunity to learn about geocoins, trackables, and signature items and get a chance to see a variety of these geocaching collectables, and possibly obtain something from a veteran geocoin collectors.

GEOCACHING-101 TABLE

NNJC will set up a Introduction to Geocaching 101 demonstration table at the Picnic for anyone who wants to come learn about this growing sport, meet other cachers, hear stories about favorite hides and experience this family activity. This event is a great chance for those who know nothing or little about Geocaching, bring your friends! This picnic is open to the public to promote geocaching.

Everyone is welcome; you don't have to be a member of NNJC to attend, so mark your calendars now! Plan to participate in the Scavenger hunt, go geocaching for new caches, geo-chat with your friends at the spring picnic, enjoy the food and bring you family and your friends for a very fun filled day.

VOLUNTEERS

We always need volunteers, please contact Old Navy or SlinkyPink if you are available.