Partnering to Support the Communities of Atlanta to Thrive Outside

By Kim Hakimian, Partnership Coordinator
May 22, 2020

For more than a year, the Chattahoochee Nature Center, The Trust for Public Land, Atlanta Audubon, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, Trees Atlanta, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and Greening Youth Foundation have been working together to get kids outdoors through The Outdoor Foundation’s Thrive Outside Community initiative.

The Thrive Outside initiative is a multi-year grant awarded to diverse communities in order to create or strengthen partnerships between existing local organizations such as schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, and nonprofit conservation and outdoor organizations that create repeat and reinforcing positive outdoor experiences for kids and families. The core goal of the Thrive Outside Community investments is to create healthy individuals, communities, and economies by making the outdoors a habit.

When COVID-19 forced the Thrive ATL partners at the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs to temporarily close their doors, we moved our programs on-line so that we could still reach their children. We are now making the programming available to everyone! We use the GooseChase App, available at the Mobile App Store, to share different challenges for young people to pursue. Every week, members of our network come up with dozens of engaging and educational challenges that get kids outside and into nature. Get GooseChase, access the Thrive Outside Atlanta channel, and let the games begin. It’s a fun, free way to get children from Atlanta and beyond to Thrive Outside.

How to join
1. Download the GooseChase iOS or Android app.
2. Choose to play as a guest, or register for a personal account with a username & password of your choice.
3. Search for and select the Thrive Create Challenge game, or search for game code VJ75P7.
4. Follow the prompts to select or create your player profile.

Complete Missions
To complete a mission, select it from the list and follow the instructions to receive the allotted points. Sometimes you’ll be submitting a photo or video, while other times you’ll be checking-in at a specific location or solving a puzzle or riddle. Missions change from game to game, but the fun and excitement will always be there.

Remember that while you receive the points right away, all submissions are subject to review by the organizer. Sometimes you’ll even get bonus points if your submission is extra impressive!

Achieve Glory
When time runs out, the game may be done, but the fun is definitely not over. That’s because Thrive ATL will still need to announce the final scores after they review the submissions.

As a final treat, Thrive ATL will often put together a slideshow of the best photos & videos. From our experience, this is often the best part and always results in non-stop laughter!

To learn more about Goosechase
https://www.goosechase.com/how-it-works/playing/

To learn more about Thrive ATL
https://outdoorindustry.org/participation/thrive-outside/thrive-outside-atlanta/