Spent a few hours out at the Educational Centre in Holyrood Park this morning finding out about Earthcaches at an event organised by the Scottish Geodiversity Forum. Earthcaches are a subset of geocaches. What makes them different is that they have a geological objective and, as such, they do not involve the placing of physical objects in the outdoor environment. So, yes, there WILL be a quiz in order to add the site to your log.
We had input from a number of people and some useful discussion about how the sites might tie in with the forthcoming Scottish Geoheritage Festival in October 2017. Fiona Tweedie came along and provided a considerable amount of information about both geocaching and Earthcaches and provided some examples of her Earthcaches. I was delighted to find that one of her Edinburgh Earthcaches has a strong ‘pavement palaeontology’ element.
The discussion about the rules and regulations for setting up Earthcaches was illuminating, as was finding out that Edinburgh is a hotspot for Earthcache and geocache sites. As Earthcaches offer a range of badges for both finding and setting up caches, it seems an excellent possible activity for outdoor education and awards such as the John Muir Award or elements of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award schemes.
After our discussions in-of-doors we headed out-of-doors to look at a couple of well-known sites within the park to consider how they might be used for Earthcaches in future. This gave me the chance to get some good photos of the park in the low winter sun.
Haggis Knowe with the large erratic boulder of St Anthony’s Well in the distance on the path
Fiona Tweedie examines the fossil fish beside Rockstar North building.
After the workshop ended we all headed our separate ways but not before I had arranged to meet Fiona just across the road from to show her one of the ‘pavement fishes’ outside the former Scotsman building on corner of Holyrood Road and Holyrood Gait.
After the workshop ended we all headed our separate ways but not before I had arranged to meet Fiona just across the road from Our Dynamic Earth to show her one of the ‘pavement fishes’ outside the former Scotsman building on corner of Holyrood Road and Holyrood Gait.
I am a palaeobiologist in my early 40's carrying out research work. I am based in Scotland.
Hills of Hame 
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