For those of you who might be more curious about tracking and the CyberTracker Tracking Evaluation systems and experience, here is a link to an article that just came out in the magazine this month. I am not just sharing it cause I am in it, but because I think it does a good job of sharing some of the revolution and growth that tracking is going through in this country. It also touches on the need for naturalists to be capable of making accurate in-field observations of the natural world, and how the recent trend in many universities and other schooling systems has been to move more towards theoretical and more away from natural sciences...

http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/living/beaten-path

Enjoy!

Fil

Used to be kids learned about tracking, animals and their habits by getting out with a pellet gun, slingshot or pond net all summer and weekends. Now they 'learn' about nature from useless TV shows. Time we got back to the real world.

I agree, that kids don't often interact with the natural world directly much anymore. A big part of my motivation for writing the Tracking Book for Reptiles and Amphibian is to help create and encourage future generations of trackers. Learning tracking requires a lot of "dirt time" or another wards, time spent in the field with the animals and the elements. Books are potentially a great inspiration and resource, but the field time is what really matters.

I grew up wandering the wild and not so wild places of southern California, and then later, Washington state. I learned about the natural world by being in it, then hitting the books when I had questions. This is the way I will raise my children, and this is the way I teach the adult programs where I work.

Nothin' beats being out in the field...