Milton Keynes Community Foundation Helps Bring Geocaching Festival to MK
In May, The Parks Trust Community First Fund awarded a £3,000 small grant to support mega, which brought a geocaching event to Milton Keynes for the first time.
This exciting event showcased the power of community collaboration and highlighted the unique attractions of our city's green spaces.
Thanks to the endowment they manage on behalf of The Parks Trust, these grants are supporting charities to deliver projects in green spaces across the city.
Mega is a committee of dedicated volunteers who have brought an international geocaching festival to Milton Keynes. Geocaching is a modern-day treasure hunt where participants use GPS coordinates and either a phone app or a GPS reader to locate hidden cache containers. Each container holds a logbook for geocachers to sign before replacing it for future adventurers.
Geocachers often organise events to meet up, engage in community activities, and conclude their year with a week-long festival in August.
To host an international geocaching festival, particularly the central event in Campbell Park, mega needed some help. They aimed to organise a festival with free, family-oriented activities for Milton Keynes residents and the wider community, while also supporting local charities by showcasing their work to a larger audience.
Planning for the festival began before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the restrictions on fundraising and meetings presented significant challenges. Without support, there was a real possibility that the entire week-long series of events would have to be cancelled.
The backing that mega needed was crucial to ensure the festival's success and to continue providing valuable opportunities for both the community and local charitable projects.
The £3,000 Small Grant made a significant difference in ensuring the success of the geocaching festival. The funding enabled mega to fully realise their plans for the festival's main event.
The financial boost led to increased visitor turnout, attracting more people to charity partners in Milton Keynes, including The National Museum of Computing, UK Astronomy, and Bradwell Abbey. Visitors also explored Parks Trust locations, assisted with the Blue Lagoon, and supported Scots Sports & Social Club, which is fundraising for new facilities, as well as Stony Stratford PC and other community events.
The event contributed an estimated £250k to the local economy over the week. The festival not only attracted local residents but also helped forge many new connections within the community.
