[geoaware]

Due to financial and administrative constraints, we are sad to announce that from 1 August 2009 we will no longer be sending out Bronze and Silver pins to EarthCache Masters recipients. Gold and Platinum pins will continue to be sent out until further notice.

All EC masters recipients will be sent an icon image that they can add to their profiles when they submit for a level from 1 August.

Again we thank you all for supporting EC Masters and EarthCaching and hope you will all understand that during difficult fiscal times somethings often have to wound back.

Regards

Geoaware

[BSA534]

Any chance the pins could be offered for purchase? I'd gladly pay for the pins once I earn them.

[Ashallond]

Hmmm...I'm pretty sure I can get the requirements for Silver done before August 1st.

If I can find a nice spot to do an Earthcache from. Must do some research.

[Clarkbowman]

 BSA534, on Jun 13 2009, 02:19 PM, said:

Any chance the pins could be offered for purchase? I'd gladly pay for the pins once I earn them.

Both of my kids are close to getting their pins all so. We would be more then willing to pay for any of the four pins as we earn them.

[tzipora]

I probably won't be able to finish my bronze, because I live in Alaska and it's hard to get to another state from here. I probably won't until after August 1. But I would LOVE to have a pin or a patch or something like that. I'd gladly pay for it, and any others that follow.

[MTGeoPirates]

We'll second (or third) on paying for the pins. As soon as we can get to Yellowstone we'll earn our bronze, and be well on our way to silver. We'd definitely be willing to pay for our little tokens of recognition.

[wishing_on_a_star]

Kind of expected this to happen. GSA is currently calling people with past memberships who did not renew their memberships for 2009 and asking them if they are interested in renewing. Times are tough . I did not renew mine.

[geoaware]

 wishing_on_a_star, on Jun 13 2009, 10:49 PM, said:

GSA is currently calling people with past memberships who did not renew their memberships for 2009 and asking them if they are interested in renewing.

GSA has been doing this for years....it is common practice and not a result of the current financial situation.

However, times are tough almost everywhere. This really is a two pronged issue.....one is the pure cost of pins and postage (it is now costing over $15,000 a year) and the second is the incredible amount of time to package the pins and arrange labels and get them out. This has been done principally by volunteers, but the load is getting too high for even them.

We will look into the option of selling pins, if people think that is a good option.

This post has been edited by geoaware: 14 June 2009 - 03:26 AM

[mndvs737]

I just got my bronze pin the other week and am trying to figure out a "hide" so I can get to Silver -- I'm very proud of it, and would gladly have paid to have it. I add my vote to keeping bronze and silver available for purchase.

[Juicepig]

 geoaware, on Jun 14 2009, 07:22 AM, said:

We will look into the option of selling pins, if people think that is a good option.

Be sure to offer a few Levels above Platinum too, so those that have already completed all the requirements can send you some money too for new badges

[Konnarock Kid & Marge]

I vote for the option!

This post has been edited by Konnarock Kid & Marge: 15 June 2009 - 05:21 PM

[GATOULIS]

Huh! And I was hoping one day to win the bronze pin!

There is only 1 Earthcache in my island, and there are 2 others in other islands of Dodecanese! Of course for the Bronze I have to find 2 in my country and one in an other.... It doesn't count if to find the otehr earthcaches I have to go by ship for some hours....
Anyway... It is too bad that this is stoping but I am sure we all understand!

[tkm99]

I vote to have a pay option for the pins. Now that I completed my Bronze Level Earthcache Master I was sort of surprised that I didn't at least have to pay shipping. I would gladly do that in the future. Now that I got my bronze pin I am thinking about going for my silver pin but I know I won't be able to get it completed by August. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't do away with the pins. It is a great way to show off the achievement. I am proud to have the pin.

[Kealia]

I'd be happy to buy the pins as well.

Edit to add: I'm hoping to get an EC approved before then to earn my Silver.

This post has been edited by Kealia: 22 June 2009 - 12:50 PM

[OEnavigators]

That's really sad news. Hopefully we can meet the qualifications for silver before the deadline. I'd be more than happy to buy our silver if we don't though. This is a wonderful program and I would like to thank geoaware and everyone else involved for all of their hard work. We've had a blast participating so far and look forward to more fun!

[Zonker&co]

I have all the pins, but I would have bought them if required. Also, I think continuing the incentives beyond platinum is a good idea as well. It would be nice to have further goals/benchmarks beyond platinum. I am sure GSA could sell the pins and bill for shipping at a small profit.

[cache_venturers]

We just earned our bronze and working on our silver. We might get it submitted before August 1, but with your backlog, it probably won't get approved in time. We also would gladly pay for all our pins as we earn them. We were quite surprised that they were free.

With or without the pins, we'll still keep doing Earthcaches!

[Carbon Hunter]

Seconded and agreed on the sale of pins.

It is one of my most prized geocaching momentos. i'd also love the opportuntity to purchase additional stickers.

I have my bronze and silver on my car - but the hot desert sun is wrecking it - and I reckon I'll need to replace it after the summer.

So roll on the sale of pins.

Also - please review and upgrade the shop - if there was more merchandise (even the Groundspeak coins and a few of their momentos) I'd far rather purchase via the EarthyCache.org store than elsewhere - to support the cause.

Finally - a BIG thank you to all the volunteers. Earthcaching is certainly one of the highlights of Geocaching for me - I love them!!

Planning a 4000km trek across the desert into Oman in about 6 weeks time - one of the primary reasons is to get the next closest Earthcache to Abu Dhabi!

[Ashallond]

I'll be posting my bronze and silver requirements today...just finished the silver today, and figured I'd do both together so that geoaware can send both pins together instead of in seperate packages.

[BilboB]

I just completed my Platinum requirements this past weekend and need to fill out the info for the pin. I have no idea where the other pins are that were earned. Is there a way to get replacements?

[Shop99er]

While I have all my pins, I have managed to lose my window clings...it's a gift. Can I get replacements for them?

[Ashallond]

Just like to note that today in the mail I received both my bronze and silver level envelopes, complete with pins and clings. The package was mailed on the 17th and I submitted them about 10 days before that, so if you are near getting bronze/silver...I might suggest tomorrow would be a good day to submit it to give them time to get it processed.

[Löjan]

We just found out about EarthCaches, and we love it. We now have two EarthCaches from two different Swedish states and we also have one close to where we live (in a third Swedish state). My question is if different Swedish states also qualify for the bronze level, or is it only U.S. states? Or put differently, do I have to go to Denmark to earn bronze level? Anyone know the answer?

[TerryDad2]

 Löjan, on Jul 23 2009, 09:21 AM, said:

We just found out about EarthCaches, and we love it. We now have two EarthCaches from two different Swedish states and we also have one close to where we live (in a third Swedish state). My question is if different Swedish states also qualify for the bronze level, or is it only U.S. states? Or put differently, do I have to go to Denmark to earn bronze level? Anyone know the answer?

My understanding is that Canadian provinces, and UK countries (I probably have the wrong word there) count as different states. So I would think it counts.

You will have to be quick as the bronze and silver level awards are being dropped due to economics.

[cincol]

Can't seem to find anything written about this. Does anybody know if the icon that will be replacing the pins will be available to those of us who have already earned pins? It would be cool to be able to put them on my profile.

[Löjan]

Thanks TerryDad2, I will give it a try then.
Ps. Great place you live. I visited Camarillo last summer, but that was before my geocaching time

[catsnfish]

This is my understanding of how to check if a country is divided into states for EarthCaches. I may be in error so hopefully Geoaware will correct me if I am.
Go to the EarthCache listings link at EarthCache .org and click on the advanced search, select the country you want to check, when it sets to that country, there will be a drop box to select state or province and there will be a list of states and provinces or it will state either Blank or All (name of country) states.
It appears that Sweden is not divided into states for the EarthCache listings.

[hollora]

 geoaware, on Jun 14 2009, 03:22 AM, said:

 wishing_on_a_star, on Jun 13 2009, 10:49 PM, said:

GSA is currently calling people with past memberships who did not renew their memberships for 2009 and asking them if they are interested in renewing.

GSA has been doing this for years....it is common practice and not a result of the current financial situation.

However, times are tough almost everywhere. This really is a two pronged issue.....one is the pure cost of pins and postage (it is now costing over $15,000 a year) and the second is the incredible amount of time to package the pins and arrange labels and get them out. This has been done principally by volunteers, but the load is getting too high for even them.

We will look into the option of selling pins, if people think that is a good option.

I think selling the pins to qualifying recipients is definitely an option. Heck - folks pay a bunch for geocoins and they are not "earned". Also, folks by the Hides, finds Geocoins and recognition pins. Same for the stickers/clings - that was a bonus - but again, folks might want extras - trade cars, etc. An sell them at a price where you don't loose money!

For me - I support purchasing the pins EARNED and even paying a S&H charge (even beyond the bronze and silver level). If not doing pins, perhaps a downloadable, printable certificate would be nice.

Thanks for all this program does. I Love Earthcaches!

This post has been edited by hollora: 23 July 2009 - 05:54 PM

[Eclectic Penguin]

can someone quickly clarify the definition of country/state for us outside the US please? In the UK the country has been divided into several regions (South Wales, Southern England, Northern England etc). Are these counted as separate regions/countries or do we actually have to visit separate countries

I view Wales and England as separate countries and have visited Earthcaches in both, but have no hope to visit a third in the time left.

I have already placed one successful cache and if Southern England is treated as a separate region, I'd make the effort this afternoon to compete an Earthcache there as it involces a drive of about 2 miles (in apaling weather conditions).

[Edit: I've spoken to a couple of other Geocachers here and most are of the opinion that our provinces (England Wales Scotland) count as separate countries but not the sub-divisions that have been created for Geocaching so it's a Bronze for me I think, even though by Friday I'll probably have 6 Earth caches and one owned]

This post has been edited by Eclectic Penguin: 29 July 2009 - 05:32 AM

[cincol]

 Eclectic Penguin, on Jul 29 2009, 05:17 AM, said:

can someone quickly clarify the definition of country/state for us outside the US please? In the UK the country has been divided into several regions (South Wales, Southern England, Northern England etc). Are these counted as separate regions/countries or do we actually have to visit separate countries

I view Wales and England as separate countries and have visited Earthcaches in both, but have no hope to visit a third in the time left.

I have already placed one successful cache and if Southern England is treated as a separate region, I'd make the effort this afternoon to compete an Earthcache there as it involces a drive of about 2 miles (in apaling weather conditions).

Both South Africa and Australia are divided up in similar "regions" - provinces and states respectively. I THINK that if your country has these divisions highlighted on the GC.com website then they will "qualify" as far as EarthCaches go. I think Germany is also divided similarly as is the UK. I do however speak under correction though.

[ZSandmann]

Very bummed to see this. As a geologist and a geophysicist I have been intrigued by Eartcaches since I first saw them on GC. I've been developing a few ideas for a while but just stumbled upon this thread. I would be more than willing to pay for these pins, my Bronze one is on my cache bag and I was hoping to add the silver shortly.

Z

[Matthew 7:7 Too]

 Eclectic Penguin, on Jul 29 2009, 05:17 AM, said:

can someone quickly clarify the definition of country/state for us outside the US please? In the UK the country has been divided into several regions (South Wales, Southern England, Northern England etc). Are these counted as separate regions/countries or do we actually have to visit separate countries

I view Wales and England as separate countries and have visited Earthcaches in both, but have no hope to visit a third in the time left.

I have already placed one successful cache and if Southern England is treated as a separate region, I'd make the effort this afternoon to compete an Earthcache there as it involces a drive of about 2 miles (in apaling weather conditions).

[Edit: I've spoken to a couple of other Geocachers here and most are of the opinion that our provinces (England Wales Scotland) count as separate countries but not the sub-divisions that have been created for Geocaching so it's a Bronze for me I think, even though by Friday I'll probably have 6 Earth caches and one owned]

If you search for earthcaches on the www.earthcache.org website, you find that the UK earthcaches are divided in regions (eg North Wales, South Wales, Northwest England, West Midlands etc) rather than England, Scotland and Wales. So my understanding is that the regions count as 'states' for earthcaching purposes.

Matthew 7:7 Too

[Löjan]

The intrepetation of the rules that catsnfish and cincol is expressing sounds reasonable. But I do not think the rule as such is good.

For example United Kingdom, Spain and Germany is divided into states, while other countries of the same or larger geographical size is not (like Sweden and Poland). Either all countrie's states should count or no states.

An interesting comparation is Sweden and Norway. The two countries are both very long from south to North (several thousands of kilometers, much longer than for example United Kingdom). Sweden is much wider from west to east than Norway (and also wider than United Kingdom...). Sweden has about twice as many inhabitants as Norway. Norway is divided into states at earthcache.org, but Sweden is not.

Do anybody know if it is possible to draw the attention of the people of earthcache.org to this issue?

[Löjan]

 Löjan, on Aug 1 2009, 01:01 PM, said:

other countries of the same or larger geographical size is not (like Sweden and Poland).

Just discovered that Russia - one of the largest countries in the world is not diveded into states...

[scavok]

I met my requirements for the bronze pin at the end of July (while on vacation) and wasn't able to submit my app until today. Will I be receiveing a pin? I would be more than happy to purchase it!

[cincol]

 Löjan, on Aug 1 2009, 01:01 PM, said:

The intrepetation of the rules that catsnfish and cincol is expressing sounds reasonable. But I do not think the rule as such is good.

For example United Kingdom, Spain and Germany is divided into states, while other countries of the same or larger geographical size is not (like Sweden and Poland). Either all countrie's states should count or no states.

An interesting comparation is Sweden and Norway. The two countries are both very long from south to North (several thousands of kilometers, much longer than for example United Kingdom). Sweden is much wider from west to east than Norway (and also wider than United Kingdom...). Sweden has about twice as many inhabitants as Norway. Norway is divided into states at earthcache.org, but Sweden is not.

Do anybody know if it is possible to draw the attention of the people of earthcache.org to this issue?

Your comparisions above are interesting.

I think that the division of states/provinces/regions is based on geocache density and the number of geocachers. I know that South Africa, for example, was only divided by GC.com lat year. It also depends on whether the geocaching community of the countries involved made specific requests or not - but I am open to correction on the latter.

[Tank and Spaz]

As I cache around the US and the world, adding the geocache master pins is an added bonus. I have my bronze, but just earned my silver. I hate to see the pins go away, but wouldn't mind paying for one. Let us know when we can purchase. Thank you all for your great support and keeping up the fun. God bless...

[tzipora]

 Löjan, on Aug 1 2009, 01:01 PM, said:

The intrepetation of the rules that catsnfish and cincol is expressing sounds reasonable. But I do not think the rule as such is good.

For example United Kingdom, Spain and Germany is divided into states, while other countries of the same or larger geographical size is not (like Sweden and Poland). Either all countrie's states should count or no states.

An interesting comparation is Sweden and Norway. The two countries are both very long from south to North (several thousands of kilometers, much longer than for example United Kingdom). Sweden is much wider from west to east than Norway (and also wider than United Kingdom...). Sweden has about twice as many inhabitants as Norway. Norway is divided into states at earthcache.org, but Sweden is not.

Do anybody know if it is possible to draw the attention of the people of earthcache.org to this issue?

And Alaska is bigger than any of the places you mentioned, but we're only one state. It is what it is. I wasn't able to leave my state to get the pin; it would have taken an airplane flight or two complete days' driving to get to the nearest non-Alaskan EarthCache.

In any case, I thought geoaware said that the United States and Canada could count states, and other countries just counted countries. But I might be wrong.

[small oaks]

Thank you for silver pin. We got it just last week. Gold pin might be hard for us. We had to visit another country. I suppose it is not the same as visiting another state countries that has them.

Finland (neighbour of Norway and Sweden) had once (about two days) five states but they were took away because of complaints from the voiciest ones. Main reason for them was that Finland is so small country and has only about 10000 geocaches. So dividing it to smaller states is unnecessary. I suppose that many would have been very satisfied with the states if they would have stayed. Even the ones who complaint.. I wasn't happy about the states either then as I tought there were too few of them, but now with earthcaching I wouldn't mind if these five states still exists, and I hope they will come back someday. Funny thing is that one of our states Aland exists in this GC.com as own country? There is only about ten geocaches. Someone should make a new Earthcache there.

This post has been edited by small oaks: 05 August 2009 - 12:07 AM

[Agito]

Finished the silver earthcache master level on July. But only a Silver EarthCache Master Logo image was received from email. Will I receive the Silver pin as well later? Thanks.

[Löjan]

small oaks - I have pm:ed geoaware with a suggestion of states in Denmark, Finland ans Sweden (I live in Sweden, but visit Denmark, Norway and Finland frequently - every month). Let's see what happens. As I see it, the states in our countries are not just necessary for EarthCache Master reasons, but also because it is necessary in our geographically big countries for people - both native and visitors - to be able so find a EarthCache in the area they are. In my example (living as south in Sweden you can get), all of the EarthCaches in Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, UK, Estonia and some other countries are closer to home than the one longest away in my home country. The most Northern point of Sweden is just as far away from my home as Rome, Italy, but on the other hand Copenhagen (the capital of our neighbur country Denmark) is just 20 minutes away. Or if someone would like to compare with the U.S., counted from North to South, each of the countries Norway, Finland and Sweden is about as big as from Northern North Dakota to Southern Texas.

[Löjan]

 tzipora, on Aug 3 2009, 11:05 PM, said:

And Alaska is bigger than any of the places you mentioned, but we're only one state. It is what it is. I wasn't able to leave my state to get the pin; it would have taken an airplane flight or two complete days' driving to get to the nearest non-Alaskan EarthCache.

In any case, I thought geoaware said that the United States and Canada could count states, and other countries just counted countries. But I might be wrong.

I see your point, but one difference is that Alaska is a state (as in a part of a country), while the other countries we are discussing are countries, just like United States.

[HITECHTEAM]

 ZSandmann, on Jul 29 2009, 10:20 AM, said:

Very bummed to see this. As a geologist and a geophysicist I have been intrigued by Eartcaches since I first saw them on GC. I've been developing a few ideas for a while but just stumbled upon this thread. I would be more than willing to pay for these pins, my Bronze one is on my cache bag and I was hoping to add the silver shortly.

Z

I believe most wouldn't mind paying for them (and shipping)..............plus a little profit for GSA. Give them an option (for all 4) to purchase or just accept the logo. Ya might be surprised!

Steve

[waltzcar]

I had just recently earned my bronze, and was surprised by the pin in the mail! Unfortunately, I could not get the approval required from the land manager in time to earn my silver before 1 AUG, so I won't be able to get that pin unless you offer them for sale. I would be willing to pay for that; please consider.

[Zatahra]

I, too, just received my bronze pin not too long ago and would be more than willing to pay for the Silver when I am able to earn it. Heck, I'd even buy duplicates so I could but them on my pin board and my Caching jacket. I seen on the Earthcache website where they plan on selling pins & other Earthcache master merchandise. I can't wait!!

[TerryDad2]

I am glad to see that. I'll be interested to see what the new items are. Tatoos?

I'm still waiting to see what the levels beyond Platnum will be.

[Konnarock Kid & Marge]

 TerryDad2, on Aug 10 2009, 11:20 AM, said:

I am glad to see that. I'll be interested to see what the new items are. Tatoos?

I'm still waiting to see what the levels beyond Platnum will be.

TerryDad2, don't hold your breath! I asked the same thing a while back and one of our fine contributors responded, that "it will happen when it happens." I am with you. Will it happen and when will it happen and what will happen......................if anything will happen? Happen face! --------->

[geoaware]

Sometimes things need to happen one step at a time. The steps may be small and many - but each one gets us closer to the goal. We could leap ahead and miss some steps, only to find that it was a crucial one....

So it will happen when it happens. Each day we move closer. Each day is another step behind us.

[Konnarock Kid & Marge]

 geoaware, on Aug 11 2009, 03:59 PM, said:

Sometimes things need to happen one step at a time. The steps may be small and many - but each one gets us closer to the goal. We could leap ahead and miss some steps, only to find that it was a crucial one....

So it will happen when it happens. Each day we move closer. Each day is another step behind us.

I take it, that is a...................................... NOT TODAY!

This post has been edited by Konnarock Kid & Marge: 12 August 2009 - 05:08 AM

[Clarkbowman]

 geoaware, on Aug 11 2009, 11:59 AM, said:

Sometimes things need to happen one step at a time. The steps may be small and many - but each one gets us closer to the goal. We could leap ahead and miss some steps, only to find that it was a crucial one....

So it will happen when it happens. Each day we move closer. Each day is another step behind us.

For me it is more like 2 steps backwards each day that I take 1