Engaging children with the wonders of the natural world, Educators craft enriching, adventurous tales and foster outdoor skills in a stimulating environment.
With immersive programs filled with epic stories and adventure, Trackers Earth is a youth organization dedicated to igniting children's passion for real-life adventures while learning to navigate obstacles. Trackers believes empowering kids to tackle genuine challenges, fostering resilience by developing grit and character is essential for them to thrive. Join Trackers in teaching a diverse range of traditional outdoor skills, including wilderness survival, farmcraft, wild foraging, fishing, martial arts, boating, and beyond.
Adventure camps are mobile—meaning parents drop kids off at a central in-town location and campers are transported by bus to nearby wilderness areas where they deepen their connection to the natural world. Studio camps remain onsite at the same location adventure camps check in/out. Studio camps focus on skills like blacksmithing, ceramics, woodworking, crafting, martial arts, and archery. Overnight programs take place at a residential camp in the foothills of Mt. Hood or on adventure expeditions to fantastic locations. Real skills such as archery, fishing, kayaking, survival, rock climbing, and role playing (wizards and elves) are part of the curriculum. All of Trackers camps, classes and productions can also be seen as great theatre. Joining Trackers for a day, a week or longer can feel like joining the circus or taking part in a forgotten yet familiar myth.
Since 2004, kids and extended families in all their forms have journeyed on adventures with Trackers Earth and our Guides. We share the Arts of Tracking through stewardship and enduring outdoor skills. We commit to developing opportunity by respecting the diverse cultures and values of every Guide, youth, and family serving with us. We endeavor to grow with families for the increased accessibility of these experiences. We define ourselves by an ever-deeper kinship to the more than human world, multi-generational character, and the principles discovered and found in the quietest moments with the forest.
Working for Trackers
Working for Trackers is a great chance to build excellent professional connections and participate in many learning opportunities. Educators and Mentors are needed for summer youth camps to create thoughtful, challenging adventures in the outdoors. Prospective staff members must have the know how (or a great willingness to learn) diverse skillsets such as wilderness survival and bushcraft, farm craft and homesteading, archery and bow making, kayaking, fishing and foraging, martial arts, rock climbing, and blacksmithing. Training for the majority of staff members begins in early June with the summer season running through late August.
Guides (Educators)
Guide/Educators mentor and guide kids at the Trackers studio or outdoor adventure programs. Help kids become more gritty, resilient, and competent in the world. Train in and teach Trackers skills—from archery and hands-on crafts to fishing and wilderness survival. See the current job opportunities links below for region specific salaries.
Coordinators (Teacher & Manager)
As a Coordinator you will serve as a mentor for youth and a manager for teaching Guides. You may embark on a wilderness survival trek, fish, kayak, rock climb, or co-create a story adventure with secret agents, wizards, or elves. You collaborate with families and Trackers leadership to deliver the highest quality experience for campers. See the current job opportunities links below for region specific salaries.
Housing Options
There are camping options and limited staff housing is available in Portland (the typical commute is 1 hour). Currently there are no housing options in the Bay Area, Denver or Seattle.
Trackers Bay—California
Bay Area summer camp locations are offered in El Cerrito and North Oakland, CA. Adventure camps transport to various locations to provide an ideal blend of outdoor skills with an urban environment. Studio camps remain on site at Camp Herms for activities like martial arts, archery, crafting and biking. The Bay Area has more protected wild space than any other metropolitan area in the country. From mountains to coastline to oak savannah to redwood forests, Trackers takes city kids into real nature, every day.
Trackers Denver—Colorado
Trackers summer adventure (transported) camps in Denver check in and out at a convenient location at CHS Osage. Traveling to outdoor sites for a day of archery, wilderness survival skills, martial arts, natural camouflage, and stealth/tracking exercises. Guides and Educators promote teamwork and problem-solving skills with kids in grades 2nd-9th.
Trackers Portland—Oregon Trackers official headquarters is based in Portland, OR! Summer camp locations are offered in NE, SE and West Portland, transporting to incredible natural areas in one of the most beautiful cities to live and play outdoors. Portland locations offer the opportunity to work in either studio (onsite) camps, adventure (transported) day camps, or overnight programs. Some adventure and overnight camp activities may include archery, wilderness survival skills, natural camouflage, LARPing, paintball, kayaking and (of course) tracking exercises. Studio camps activities may include crafting, biking, martial arts, archery, sewing and role-playing games. Guides and educators promote teamwork and problem-solving skills with youth grades K-12.
Trackers Seattle—Washington
Trackers Seattle summer camps offer Adventure (transported) programs from a locally convenient check in/out location in Kirkland, WA. Campers travel to outdoor sites for a day of various activities like archery, wilderness survival skills, martial arts, natural camouflage, role-playing games, paintball, kayaking and (of course) tracking exercises. Guides and educators promote teamwork and problem solving skills with youth grades K-12.
The Way of the Guilds
A day in the life of Trackers summer day camp. Follow David, Rangers Guild Coordinator from Trackers Earth Portland, as he begins the morning with early check-in to taking kids outside to learn outdoor skills and more!
The Guilds are at the core of Trackers. You don't need to know all the skills in every Guild, but it is key to have an affinity and strong desire to develop them.
Rangers Guild—Reconnect the Village
The Rangers are the hunters and protectors of the village. Versed in the arts of wilderness survival, tracking, and awareness, they remind us all of our connection to the wild and ways of the forest.
Wilders Guild—Restore the Earth
The Wilders are caretakers, restoring the land to what it once was and beyond. If you live the way of rural or urban homesteading, love bacon, appreciate the hunt for wild plants, like goats more than people (awkward), and want to restore the wild into every nook and cranny of this world, join the Wilders Guild.
Mariners Guild—Respect the Waters
The Mariners Guild thrive by the waterways. They fish, build boats, and connect our world by wind and sea. Mariners chart their course by the stars. They are masters of healthy economy, barter, and trade. Through salty wisdom, they demand respect for the water and all life within — and only occasionally talk like pirates.
Artisans Guild—Remember our Story
The Artisans Guild regale us with their theatrics. They are story keepers; travel bare foot, walk and sleep under the twilight sky. If you are a fine craftsperson (woodworking, sewing, leather or blacksmithing), a teller of excellent stories, a geek who loves Buffy and Doctor Who, or a role playing LARPing/gamer nerd who loves the outdoors, join the Artisans Guild.
Flexibility
Trackers needs individuals who are quick, thoughtful, and generous about solving challenges. The program thrives with people who see awesome opportunity in complexity. Who remain calm when others are overwhelmed. They also don't make a practice of blaming others for challenges. They ask helpful questions of the right people, right away.
The Riddle
Finding those "right people" might require thoughtful questions. Like many aspects of Trackers, navigating its intensity is a series of fantastic riddles they will never solve but leads to the fantastic challenge of possibilities.
Conflict
Trackers Earth is a community. This also adds a flip-side to the idea of constructive conflict. If you don't prioritize relationships over your ego's need to win, you probably won't last long here. They strive to intelligently utilize conflict for the growth of the village. It plays out in camp and how they approach life.
What is a Tracker?
A Tracker trails more than fox and deer. They find connections wherever they go. The kids and staff who call themselves Trackers have a code of adventure to live by:
Pay Attention A Tracker is always aware of their surroundings.
Teach kids to see the entire picture, looking for details both great and small.
Be Truly Helpful A Tracker serves their community, nature, and generations beyond them.
Guide kids to be TRULY helpful, becoming stewards for nature and their community.
Appreciate A Tracker seeks out a grand new adventure every day.
Mentor kids get to bring awe and adventure back into their lives.
Adapt! A Tracker is constantly curious: always learning and adapting.
Quest with kids to look for new pieces in the puzzle that's never finished.
At Trackers, we are champions of land and village. We are navigators of an epic world that needs to exist. We are a community where we remember the celebration of hearth, family and a timeless human story. Our labor, profits, joys and hopes are directed to generating resources that help create a village of healthy and happy people connected to the land, family and community.
Your First Move & Connections
Join the Trackers Family!
If you maintain high professional standards, are able to set and communicate boundaries for youth in a positive way, think on your feet, and are creative in challenging situations, explore current job opportunities in the Bay Area, Denver, Portland and Seattle (and apply online). If it's a good fit, Trackers will contact you for an interview.
View current job opportunities in the 
