Hosted by Bincombe Valley Primary School, and led by the Dorset Youth Association with the support of Artsreach and Aster Group, the ‘Bincombe Geocache Trail’ has been developed by children aged 8-9 to tell some of the ancient stories that surround this fascinating landscape.
Alongside a leaflet, the trail has been made available online to the wider world through the Geocaching platform, meaning anyone who has a phone or a Geocache device can begin their search for the boxes that have been hidden across the stretch of land.
Jack Welch, who has facilitated the project with the school children, says “Working with primary school children, from delivering an initial workshop all about Geocaching to creating the posters for the caches themselves has been incredibly exciting. The school has been doing some fantastic work which we had to include!”
With the backing of Dorset Youth Association, two young adults who have previously volunteered in heritage projects were employed to oversee the project’s management. They undertook training from the AONB South Dorset Ridgeway Team to be briefed about the potential stories and to include that as part of a series of special workshops that were delivered for the pupils at the school.
Yvonne Gallimore, Artsreach Co Director said “The geocache trail is a really creative and interactive way of getting children and families outdoors to explore the South Dorset Ridgeway together. It’s such a beautiful area, teeming with history, and to bring it to life in this way with pupils from Bincombe has been exciting.”
Karen Mason from Bincombe Valley Primary School said “The pupils have really enjoyed finding out about The Ridgeway and exploring the trail leading up to the Bincombe Bumps. We are hoping the Geocache trail will encourage families to participate in this activity and we have two GPS devices at the school donated to us by Dorchester Youth Association for families to use.”
So what are you waiting for; download the geocache leaflet below and begin your outdoor advenuture on the South Dorset Ridgeway!
Have a go at Geocaching!
