Caching the Rain Geotrail

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Department of Environmental Protection (MCDEP) established the Caching the Rain (CTR) Geotrail via a grant through the Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT) and the Conservation Corps program in 2014. The CTR program takes a fun, family-friendly, outdoor scavenger hunt activity called “geocaching,” and utilizes it as a means to educate and engage citizens about stormwater pollution, County stormwater management programs and volunteer opportunities available to reduce pollution and improve water quality. While focused in Montgomery County, citizens of all ages and jurisdictions are able to participate in the program. Under the program, participants (known as “geocachers”) use Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled devices, such as smartphones, to locate and find camouflaged containers of a variety of shapes and sizes called “geocaches.” The geocaches are placed on public property near stormwater improvement practices, such as rain gardens, and stormwater ponds. Each geocache contains interactive educational information, activities, and trivia questions that educate participants about the stormwater improvement practice and actions they can adopt to improve the health of our local streams. Participants who complete the geotrail are eligible to receive a souvenir geocoin. Since the June 2014 launch, the low-cost program has recorded 921 “logs,” with 124 participants having completed the geotrail and 99% recommending it to others.