Where Kids Build Skills & Real Friendships
Firelight, archery, music & community—every Thursday night. Trackers Skills Night Begins March 5 — A New Thursday Tradition! We received an incredible response to our A Wonderful World With Trackers. After publishing it, I had quite a few conversations with parents at pickup, over email, and even by the campfire. Our conversations always gravitated toward […]
A Wonderful World With Trackers
Building real-world connection for kids and families Today there are fewer and fewer places where kids can hang out together in the real world. Not online, but in one of those places we older generations roamed freely in, but are rapidly going extinct: cafes, libraries, and unfenced wild spaces in our neighborhoods. There are fewer […]
Let’s Stop Optimizing Childhood
How kids earn real independence through competence and community. We didn’t expect such a positive response to our last blog, Beyond Screens, Beyond Camp. Families wrote back because we named something that’s rarely addressed: outdoor education can’t just be a brief alternative to screens. If kids’ social lives exist online, “go outside” can feel like […]
Beyond Screens, Beyond Camp
Screens pull kids in. Meaning calls them outdoors. Every outdoor program now promises “less screen time, more connection.” True enough, camps can deliver this, but it misses the real problem. When school friends gather in digital spaces, parents face an impossible choice: connection or isolation. While Trackers has weighed in on screen time, we want […]
Character Beyond Camp
Comfort is a moment. Capability is a lifetime. Trackers is well known for fun, adventure, skill-building, and our original story-immersion camps. Kids become Rangers, Mariners, Wilders, and heroes of the many worlds we build out together in the forest. We even touched on this recently in our blog We Accidentally Spawned a Multiverse. All of […]
Here We Do Hard Things!
Have you ever built a wilderness survival shelter in late fall with nothing but the clothes on your back? No sleeping bag, no blanket—just you and the forest. One such shelter is called a Debris Hut. It requires an enormous amount of leaves—nearly four feet thick all around—to provide enough insulation. It’s tough to build, […]
20 Years of Trackers
Celebrate Connection, Community, and the Land When: September 7, 2024, 10:30 am to 2:30 pm Where: Bull Run Education Center (BREC) – Sandy, OR What: Potluck & Community Celebration RSVP Here Two decades have passed since our Trackers community began, rooted in a core belief of connection—between people, across generations, with nature—and with an understanding […]
Trackers Compass – A Compass Story
The blog post “The Trackers Compass” tells a mythological tale about three children, Robin, Annie, and Maxine, who discover a mysterious path in an ancient forest. They meet a mystical woman who gives them a special wooden compass, known as the Trackers Compass, which invites them to play the “Game of Tracking.” This game involves rediscovering ancient skills and knowledge, categorized into four groups: Rangers, Mariners, Wilders, and Artisans, each representing different aspects of survival, navigation, and nature stewardship. Entrusted with the compass, the children eagerly embark on an adventurous journey, ready to explore and learn from the forest’s secrets.
SE Portland Summer Parking
IMPORTANT Please Read This overview of parking and drop-off options (or see the image below) for Trackers SE and Trackers Annex will help make pick-up and drop-off easier. Follow these tips: Parking Options Public Parking Street-side or public lots. These spaces could be a 1-5 minute walk. They are often the easiest locations to find […]
Trackers Earth: Teach Kids Grit with the Art of Tracking
At Trackers, we immerse kids in the Art of Tracking, encompassing wilderness survival, folk craft, foraging, and storytelling. This approach infuses every aspect of our camps and programs, inviting participants to engage deeply with the natural world. Despite the challenges our unique programs may present, we embrace them with grit, believing in the transformative power of facing difficulties head-on. Nature serves as our ultimate teacher, instilling resilience and compassion as we navigate rugged terrain and unpredictable weather. Through daily surveys and shared experiences, we continuously strive to refine our approach and foster a community committed to doing it better. Join us in the journey of discovery and growth at Trackers!