Get your competitive juices flowing with Spring Fling Take It Outside Challenge
Now that you've had a short break after the Winter Workout challenge concluded, it's time to step it up for Spring Fling, the next seasonal Take It Outside Challenge, which kicks off April 14.
Grab your sneakers, family members and friends and head back out into the preserves to start racking up points and winning prizes with the Spring Fling, which runs through Saturday, June 15.
If you didn’t join the 1,200 people who participated in the Take It Outside Challenge in 2023 or the 800 Winter Workout competitors in early 2024, you can easily join all the fun by downloading the free Goosechase app on your smartphone. It's available on both Apple and Andoid devices. Once you create an account, search for Spring Fling or enter the join code V813P4. Unlike last year, this year’s challenges are broken into seasonal sessions with a break in between each.
As always, nature-themed missions will be released weekly and include GPS check-ins at various preserve locations, photos or video of outdoor sights and creatures, and trivia questions. Submit answers in the app on your phone to earn points. You can monitor your progress – and that of fellow competitors – on the app’s leaderboard.
Each challenge is unique and Spring Fling will be tossing a few curve balls at competitors. For instance, this challenge will include more trivia questions where participants have only one chance to answer the question correctly. To compete, closely read the nature story that is linked to each question before you answer. Answers won’t be reviewed until the contest ends, so there will be no second chances.
And everyone’s favorite furry little woodchuck mascot, Willy, will have an even more prominent role this spring. You will get to search for his beaming face from many preserve locations as missions are launched.
After Spring Fling concludes, there will be another break and then two more seasonal competitions:
• Summer Soiree: Sunday, June 30, through Saturday, Sept. 21 (join code BD13J5)
• Fall Frolic: Sunday, Oct. 6, through Saturday, Dec. 14 (join code ED7MGP)
Each seasonal challenge features a variety of prizes. Amazon gift cards in the amounts of $500, $250 and $150 will be awarded for first, second and third places, respectively. You can only win a seasonal cash prize once.
Additional prizes will be awarded including prize packs and Forest Preserve and Wild Birds Unlimited Joliet gift cards. At the conclusion of all four seasonal challenges, anyone who finished in first, second or third place will be entered in a drawing for one of three $250 gift cards. Also, $50 gift cards will be randomly awarded to 10 participants.
For more information on prizes and the challenge, read the complete list of rules. Also, please note, the rules have been changed for the three remaining 2024 challenges to try to rectify issues that popped up in the winter challenge including clear examples of cheating.
Every photo mission is verified and submissions will be rejected if they do not follow the mission directions. Missions will be verified at intervals during this challenge instead of daily, as they have in the past.
The Take It Outside Challenge is sponsored by The Nature Foundation of Will County. Take It Outside hats, shirts, and bandanas are available for purchase at OutsiderThreads.com and all proceeds go to the Foundation which supports nature education, conservation and restoration efforts.