Young Nova Scotians Kick Off High-Tech Treasure Hunt

Young Nova Scotians are being encouraged to join a high-tech game of treasure hunting for limited edition coins through the province's Community Access Program.

Geocaching is played around the world by adventure seekers of all ages equipped with global positioning system devices. The goal is to locate treasures in containers, called geocaches, that are hidden outdoors, and report the find online.

The treasure is sometimes a geocoin with an ID for tracking its movement online. In Nova Scotia, a new geocoin was launched today, Oct. 22. There are 250 of the special coins hidden in geocaches throughout the province, engaging thousands of Nova Scotia geocachers to explore parks, shorelines, waterfalls and other interesting locations.

"This adventure game encourages young people to get outdoors and be active," said Economic Development Minister Angus MacIsaac. "Geocaching is an exciting way of allowing Nova Scotians to make creative use of technology and learn about their environment at the same time."

Each of the copper and metal alloy geocoins is inscribed in both English and French. The GPS coordinates to find them are available at www.geocaching.com . Their movement from one geocache to another and from person to person can be viewed through logs and photos on the site.

The geocoins were developed by the Halifax Regional Community Access Program Association in co-operation with the Department of Economic Development and the Nova Scotia Community Access Program.

"We encourage all regions of the province to engage in geocaching and go beyond the computer screen, fostering healthy gaming habits and active lifestyles," said Dan Robichaud, coordinator of the Halifax association. "This exciting project is an ideal fit with our Connecting Canadians initiative to make Canada the most technologically connected nation in the world."

The Community Access Program is a government of Canada initiative, administered by Industry Canada, that aims to provide Canadians with affordable public access to the Internet and the skills they need to use it effectively.

With the combined efforts of the federal, provincial and territorial governments, community groups, social agencies, libraries, schools, volunteer groups and the business community, the program helps Canadians, wherever they live, take advantage of emerging opportunities in the new global knowledge-based economy.