4th Wildlife Viewing & Nature Tourism Academy

It was summer of 2020 amid the pandemic, FWC’s Public Access and Services Office staff searched for a way to conduct a statewide event promoting our Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). The goal of the program would be to get individuals and families out on our WMA system, but we could not stage in-person events or activities.  We knew we needed something new and safe, where the interaction was not in person but virtual taking place on the WMA. We wanted to reach people outside of our traditional user base of white, middle-aged people. We specifically wanted new people, families with children, Millennials, and minorities to visit our WMAs. After floating many ideas of events or contests using social media platforms, we found GooseChase, an App-based scavenger hunt platform. We secured a license from Goosechase and Florida WildQuest was born! A 9-day event held in May 2021. This presentation will cover our project from start to finish, including securing the GooseChase license, identifying targeted WMAs, developing the scavenger hunt missions and marketing the program. In addition, we will review the results of the embedded survey.