Bok Bonus Trek
Bok
Tower Gardens is proud is be a new partner in Polk County's Trek Ten Trails program with the Bok Bonus Trek. To participate, you'll need a free Celebrate Nature Passport Journal that can be picked up at
Polk Outpost 27 and other locations. Once you have trekked four of the ten trails, present your passport with any four stamps to receive free admission to the Sanctuary.You'll find the Bok Bonus Trek cache located on the ¾ mile Pine Ridge Trail (GPS Coordinates: N 27 56.167 W 081 34.323). It includes numerous trade treasures and a log book containing a secret number code for a chance to win valuable prizes. Go to the Gift Shop to receive an entry form to register to win Bok Bonus Trek prizes including a family membership to the Gardens that will be awarded at the September 13 Trek Ten Trails grand finale celebration on the Auburndale TECO Trail.
The Bok Bonus Trek is part of a global treasure hunting phenomenon called “geocaching.” GPS (Global Positioning System) units are electronic devices used to determine your approximate location within six to 20 feet anywhere on the planet. You just enter a “waypoint” where the geocache is hidden. The rules are very simple:
- Take something from the cache.
- Leave something in the cache.
- Write about it in the log book.
To learn more about the sport of geocaching, visit www.geocaching.com.
How to find the cache without GPS:
After passing the Gift Shop and Blue Palmetto Café, follow the path to the second Window By The Pond sign. Then follow the signs to the Pine Ridge Nature Preserve trail. Follow the trail to number 14 at the live oak tree and the nap bench. Just before reaching the oak tree and nap bench, look for the saw palmetto on the right side of the trail. The cache is located next to the saw palmetto on the southwest side. Look for the small trail.
Hiking staffs, medallions and the book, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv are available for purchase in the Gift Shop.
Louv's book focuses on efforts to reconnect children with nature.
"Healing the broken bond between our young and nature is in our self-interest, not only because aesthetics or justice demand it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depend upon it."
-from "Last Child in the Woods," Algonquin Books
Louv is affiliated with the Children & Nature Network (C&NN), that provides access to the latest news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer network of researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being.
