A FACEBOOK group which started a craze for painting rocks and hiding them around the Forest has celebrated welcoming it’s 10,000th member at a meeting for members, six months after it was founded by a Ruspidge resident.

Forest of Dean Rocks was set up by Amy Sampson who told the Review back in October: “The idea is to decorate rocks and hide them in different public locations to bring cheer to someone else’s day. You can use paint, melted crayons, glitter, glue, sharpies or nail polish to decorate your little rocks, and then seal them to protect from the elements.

“Write on the back of the rock ‘keep or re-hide, post pictures on FB Forest of Dean Rocks’, then hide your rock somewhere fun and sensible.”

Amy organised the meeting on Saturday, February 17, for members to try out their painting techniques, see a huge display of rocks already produced, and try their luck on the raffle to win some of the staple supplies needed for this engaging hobby.

She said: “The event took place on a sunny afternoon at the scout hut in Parkend, courtesy of the Beaver Scouts based there.

“I wanted it to be a really happy day for the FODRock members to have an informal get together and put faces to the names we have got to know on Facebook. The Scouts kindly offered us their hut and they were able to raise some money for their special trip to West Virginia.

“It has been amazing to see how Forest of Dean Rocks has got so many people of all ages and abilities getting creative and active – out enjoying the fresh air and seeing the wildlife, whilst bringing a lot of happiness to others. Thank you to all who take part.”

There are short videos on YouTube: Forest of Dean Rocks to illustrate some of the techniques, such as decoupage, paint pouring and how to seal your creations.

“You don’t have to be a great artist, or travel very far to find or hide them,” Amy added. “Just be careful to place them in public areas, where they are not going to interfere with anything, or be a danger to anyone in the vicinity.”

For further information and tips, see the Facebook group: Forest of Dean Rocks.