Geocaching, a tool to support environmental education!?– An explorative study

This article focuses on an increasingly popular idea: geocaching in combination with environmental education. The author will look at possible ways in which geocaching can be optimally used within environmental education. In the theoretical part, the author first defines environmental education and then examines the current discussion at the interface of geocaching and environmental education. Out of the theoretical part, the following questions arise: Which specific characteristics of a geocaching route might be useful for environmental education? What are the specific characteristics of a cache which might be suitable for environmental education? To answer these questions, the author used a qualitative interview study. In the findings section, the results of the interviews will be presented. Some of the different opportunities to use geocaching within the realm of environmental education will be discussed. Finally, the author will present some ideas on how investigations in this area might progress in future