We’re excited to announce that registration for the upcoming 2024-25 school year is officially open!
Below you will find the full catalog for our Portland Outdoor, Overnight & Studio Apprenticeships. Check-out our new Apprenticeship Schedule Overview to coordinate schedules for multiple children or friends.
Part of our 20 Years of Trackers is our renewed focus to make the long-term mentoring programs more affordable while ever growing in quality. We’ve made Apprenticeship tuition more accessible for families by reducing program deposits to $55 and lowering the total yearly tuition by over $300 for most programs. Families can also benefit from our 5% sibling discount. Additionally, we’ve added an extra mentoring weekend to each program, increasing the total to 9 weekends.
Apprenticeship Catalog
Outdoor Apprenticeships meet monthly on Saturdays or Sundays from 9 AM to 4 PM. Drop off and pick up are conveniently located at our HQ in SE Portland.
- Grades K-1 / 2-5 / 6-9 Trackers Apprenticeship: Wilderness Survival, Fishing & Foraging | Train in all the Trackers skills. Learn archery and wilderness survival. Go fishing and boating. Help care for our farm animals, and cook fantastic outdoor feasts on the campfire.
- Grades K-1 / 2-5 / 6-9 Rangers Apprenticeship: Stealth, Archery & Wilderness Survival | Train in stealth, archery, wilderness survival, shelter building, and wood carving with expert Trackers Guides. Master fire craft skills and hone your archery prowess at our range.
- IT’S BACK! Grades K-1 / 2-5 / 6-9 Wilders Apprenticeship: Animals, Farms & Wildcraft | Our most Hobbit-like program! Help care for our farm animal friends, including donkeys, ducks, chickens, and goats. Tend to our Wilders garden and create hands-on farm and folk crafts.
- Grades 2-5 / 6-9 Mariners Apprenticeship: Fishing, boats & Foraging | Go fishing and boating! Cast your line in local lakes. Hunt for crawdads in creeks and streams. Forage for wild foods along the shoreline and cook what you catch outdoors.
- Grades K-1 / 2-5 / 6-9 Realms Apprenticeship: Elves, Wizards & Role-Playing | Create your character and play as an elf, wizard, ranger, and more. Quest with foam swords, arrows, and shields. Level Up by learning real outdoor skills while exploring nature.
- Grades 4-5 / 6-9 / 9-12 Paintball Apprenticeship: Stealth, Awareness & Recon | Train in stealth, strategy, and teamwork. Enjoy action-packed paintball games at Trackers NEW private paintball field. Make friends while growing in the art of sportsmanship.
- NEW! Grades 10-12 Leader-In-Training Apprenticeship: Rangers, Wilders, Mariners & Realms | Programs exclusively for Grades 10-12. Teens master outdoor skills and gain invaluable leadership experience. Choose your program option: Rangers, Mariners, Wilders, Realms, or one encompassing all the Trackers Guilds.
Overnight Apprenticeships meet 9 weekends from Fall to Spring, including 4 camping overnights and 5 single adventure days. Campouts run from Friday to Sunday. Adventure days meet on Saturdays from 9 AM to 4 PM.
- Grades 6-8 / 9-12 Realms Overnight Apprenticeship: Elves, Wizards & Role-Playing | Realms Guides mentor teens in small teams of fellow players while camping out in Fall and Spring. Our immersive Realms LARP emphasizes leadership in an ongoing epic narrative.
- Grades 5-7 / 8-9 / 10-12 Trackers A-Team (Advanced Team): Outdoor Skills & Leadership | This intensive 9-month program designed for students interested in the advanced skills Trackers has to teach. It is led by our seasoned Trackers Mentors and Founders designed specifically for students interested in leadership roles in the Trackers student community. Highly motivated students are encouraged to apply.
Studio Apprenticeships meet monthly on Saturdays or Sundays, conveniently located at our Trackers Studio in SE Portland. Schedule options are mornings from 9 AM to 1 PM or afternoons from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM.
- NEW! Grades K-2 Natural Arts & Folk Craft Apprenticeship: Clay, Wood & Paint | Cultivate creativity with natural arts and hands-on folk crafts like ceramics and woodworking. Sculpt clay and make unique woodworking projects to take home.
- Grades 2-4 / 5-12 Woodworking Apprenticeship: Tools, Carving & Craft | Learn the craft of woodworking from expert teachers. Gain hands-on experience with traditional tools and techniques, crafting projects you design.
- Grades 2-4 / 5-12 Pottery Apprenticeship: Ceramics, Wheel & Fire | Apprentice in the ancient art of pottery with our program mentors. Sculpt clay into both beautiful artworks and practical items, painting, glazing, and decorating them.
- NEW Advanced Option! Grades 5-12 Blacksmith Apprenticeship: Anvil, Forge & Fire | Learn to blacksmith while apprenticing with our expert teachers. Shape and transform hot iron into projects you can bring home. Options for Beginning & Advanced students.
- Grades 6-12 Blades (Knife making) Apprenticeship: Knives, Tomahawks & More | Apprentice with expert blademakers to craft edged tools like knives and other blades at our anvil and forge. Sharpen your knife, sharpen your life.
- Grades 7-12 Metal Maker Apprenticeship: Welding, Casting & Smelting | Prerequisite: Blacksmith Apprenticeship – Explore advanced techniques like welding, smelting, and casting as you apprentice as you apprentice in metal working and craft.