Youth FAQ - Group Caving

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Youth FAQ - Group Caving

Postby lookingaround » Dec 31, 2005 12:09 pm

Here is another easy (hopefully!) FAQ question. Any suggestions for improvements would be appreciated!

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I’d like to take my (church/school/scout/other) group caving. What should I do?
Get help! Contact the nearest National Speleological Society grotto or other caving organization. They may be able to help you. Many grottos can help by proving a guide or other services to appropriate groups. If not, check with a different one. NSS Grottos can be found at http://www.caves.org/io/grottos.shtml

Be sure to see FAQ Question #X “Why can’t I find a guide for my group?â€
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Postby Cheryl Jones » Jan 24, 2006 11:03 am

I think you should include in the response the suggestion that the group leader contact a commercial (show) cave that offers "wild" cave tours for youths. Information is available here http://www.caves.org/youth/Map.htm.

I believe that in general groups should be steered towards this option for a first caving trip, and contacting a grotto to go caving the second option. (Your response would then jibe with the order that options are presented in the Youth Group info sheet http://www.caves.org/youth/YGLC%20paren ... 202005.pdf)
You might suggest, in this response or another, that a grotto could be asked to provide a program on caves, cave conservation, and caving safety and equipment before the group heads off of their trip at the show cave.

Thanks again for all your hard work on these FAQs and other info. :thanks:

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Postby Patricia Bingham » Jan 25, 2006 7:42 pm

How about also directing them to the Regional Coordinators' pages. They are kinda sparse right now; not all RC's have web pages up and running yet, but they should appear soon. The goal of the RC's is to help alleviate some of the pressures off grottos by directing youth groups to commercial caves, answering basic questions, and directing youth groups to grottos who are willing and able to help out.
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Postby lookingaround » Jan 29, 2006 10:13 pm

Thanks for the suggestions. We have revised this answer based on the responses. Please give us feedback! Thanks!

I’d like to take my (church/school/scout/whatever) group caving. What should I do?
Get help! Contact the nearest National Speleological Society Regional Coordinator, NSS grotto, or commercial cave that offers wild caving tours.

The NSS Regional Coordinators can be a helpful resource. They often help with basic questions and can direct you to the most appropriate grottos or commercial caves for your group. See http://[WhatAddressGoesInHerePat?]

Many grottos offer a variety of services to groups. They can help by providing guides, and programs on caves, cave conservation, and caving safety/equipment before they go off on their trip. If the first grotto you contact doesn’t offer the services that you need, check with a different one. NSS Grottos can be found at http://www.caves.org/io/grottos.shtml

Many commercial caves also offer “wildâ€
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Postby Cheryl Jones » Jan 29, 2006 11:46 pm

Looks good Lookingaround. One two suggestions:

Many grottos offer a variety of services to groups. They can help by providing guides, and programs on caves, cave conservation, and caving safety/equipment before they go off on their trip.

I think this sentence would be more clear if it read: They can help by providing guides, as well as programs on caves, cave conservation, and caving safety/equipment before your group goes off on their trip.

[quote]Many commercial caves also offer “wildâ€
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Postby Patricia Bingham » Jan 30, 2006 5:01 am

The Regional Coordinators are at http://www.caves.org/youth/coordinators
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Postby lookingaround » Feb 5, 2006 8:37 pm

Thanks for your input Cheryl & Pat!

We have made the changes that you suggested Cheryl.

Pat, we couldn't get the URL that you provided to work. :-( Is that a future enhancement? We changed it to match one that looks close!


Here is the revised version:
---
I’d like to take my (church/school/scout/whatever) group caving. What should I do?
Get help! Contact the nearest National Speleological Society Regional Coordinator, NSS grotto, or commercial cave that offers wild caving tours.

The NSS Regional Coordinators can be a helpful resource. They often help with basic questions and can direct you to the most appropriate grottos or commercial caves for your group. See http://www.caves.org/youth/coordinator.htm

Many grottos offer a variety of services to groups. They can help by providing guides, as well as programs on caves, cave conservation, and caving safety/equipment before your group goes off on their trip. If the first grotto you contact doesn’t offer the services that you need, check with a different one. NSS Grottos can be found at http://www.caves.org/io/grottos.shtml

Many commercial caves also offer “wildâ€
lookingaround
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