Geocaching Risk Assessment Template

Typical hazards & measures

• Waste, sharps and fly-tipping finds — Treat needles, chemicals and pressurised cans as no-touch items, mark locations and notify the authority, collect ordinary litter with gloves and grabbers where appropriate, keep finds off escape routes, and wash hands before eating to prevent cuts or contamination.
• Heritage structures and fragile walls — Forbid dismantling cairns, dry-stone walls or historic features to retrieve caches, have a leader inspect any hide in such settings first, apply “look with eyes, not hands” around mortar joints, and substitute a new task where retrieval would risk structural damage.
• Insects, ticks and wildlife — Use long sleeves and, where consented, repellents, brief pupils never to disturb nests or burrows, carry tick removers and sting kits, coach calm withdrawal from animals, log any reactions or encounters, and adjust season, time or route where patterns emerge.
• Uneven terrain and slips — Walk the trail in advance to flag holes, roots, cambers and slick surfaces, require sturdy footwear and a controlled pace on gradients, pass obstacles one at a time with spotting, divert around unstable sections, and postpone higher-risk legs after heavy rain, snow or ice.
• Communication failure and coverage gaps — Agree whistle or radio signals and rendezvous times, print key numbers and the route map, brief what to do if messages fail, and switch to a regroup-and-return plan from the nearest safe waypoint when mobile coverage drops or devices cannot connect.