Charlestown Girl Scout Troop 82476 placed a geocache in the Community Garden as part of their Outdoor Journey project this summer to showcase the nature in their backyard.
The girls came up with the idea after snowshoeing and hunting for geocache this winter with Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts.
Geocache hunters will find the geocache, called Community Birdhouse, on geocaching.com with the hint: “Hidden in a garden near where the gardeners keep their tools is a birdhouse without a nest. Open its door to learn more!”
The scouts made traditional New England knots to share, should they like to swap (a very Girl Scout tradition). The Birdhouse that hosts that Geocache was made by a community gardener, who donated it for the project. The troop is responsible for maintaining the geocache in the coming years and monitoring visitor comments and feedback.
Iris Cabot, a 13-year-old Girl Scout, said she had never done much geocaching, but has found it to be very fun through their new location in the Gardens.
“I have done some geocaching before, but not a lot,” she said. “I would say it’s like a world-wide scavenger hunt. It could be a piece of Tupperware in the wood even. They might leave information, or trinkets or souvenirs in there. They are actually all over the world and you can download the app and go out and find them – then comment on them.”
Cabot, who has been a Scout in Charlestown for about four years and attends Boston Latin School, said this is the first geocache in Charlestown that they know of – and many have found it already throughout the summer.
More than a few visitors that found the hidden home in Charlestown left some wonderful comments about the Garden. Here’s what a few visitors had to say:
“Hooray! I am on vacation this week and just got home from a trip to the White Mountains. I had completely melted into the couch when I saw the notification for this cache, just a short, straight shot drive away. I could not resist and I was thrilled to be the first to sign the log behind the names of the Girl Scouts that placed this cache. Gorgeous community garden with only one person working in it who seemed unbothered by my poking about. Adorable container. Happy to be first to find (FTF) here as a lover of flowers, birds and a former Girl Scout. Favorite point awarded for the experience, the abundance of my favorite flower blooming this evening (iris) and the cute hide.”
Said another, “What a very lovely spot; thank you for placing a cache here so we could visit. Took a moment to find it but then spotted it and quickly signed. Thanks!”
Added another visitor, “Wow! Such a large and beautifully managed community garden! Love it! I have been a community gardener for years, and last year took over the role of our garden coordinator, so know well about the ups and downs, and the highs and lows. After walking around and admiring the community garden, circled around with iPhone in hand, avoiding to disturb the working honey bees, as I finally located the nicely hidden Community Birdhouse! Thanks Girl Scout Troop 82476 for bringing me here for the first time, and for placing a new geocache in neighboring Charlestown!”
And one other busy geo-cacher said, “My first of nine finds for the day – it had been a while since I spent the afternoon out geocaching and this was a very pleasant start to the outing. What a great community garden! I looked around for a bit before finding the birdhouse. Very nice. I browsed the nearby ‘little library’ afterwards and swapped a book. All in all a very nice stop. Thanks for the cache Troop 82476!”