Winter Tracking Day: Reading Stories in Snow

TWO 1-DAY OPTIONS!

Enrollment: OPEN – please use registration form below.

When:

  • w/Bob Etzweiler – Saturday, January 11, 2025 — 9 am to 3 pm (snow date Sunday, January 12) – FULL, please register for waitlist, spaces do open.
  • w/Kathy Dean – Wednesday, January 29, 2025 — 9 am to 3:30 pm (snow date Thursday, January 30)

Where: 

  • w/Bob Etzweiler – Brattleboro, VT area
  • w/Kathy Dean – within 30 minutes of Greenfield, MA

Age/experience level: Adults. No experience necessary.

Cost: $50 – 70 (sliding scale). Scholarship and Reparations Funds available.

Program Overview

Learning to track in the warmer months is fun….but there can be a steep learning curve. Everything gets easier when the snow comes!

Snow on the ground leaves beautiful clues for the curious tracker. Come join the Vermont Wilderness School to build your ecological literacy and find out what the animals are up to in the cold weather! Right now bobcats are seeking prey, coyotes and foxes are marking in preparation for the February mating season. Whose tracks will we see? Who will we be able to trail over the snows? Come with us and find out!

In this beginner-friendly experiential workshop we will be wandering over a beautiful forest area, covering basic tracking curriculum, connecting with the natural world around us, making friends with fellow trackers, and having fun!

Instructor Bio

Kathy Dean has worked in the field of outdoor education since 1983 as a wilderness guide, rock climbing instructor, and teacher of animal tracking, bird language, and nature awareness. In addition to working with VWS, she offers wildlife tracking, bird language, and custom-tailored nature programs through her own Trotting Fox Programs. Kathy is the author of Abbreviated Field Guide to Mammal Behavior: New England Region. She lives in a small hill town in western Massachusetts and is blissfully surrounded by woodlands, wetlands, and wildlife. You can learn more about her here.

Bob Etzweiler is a longtime teacher at the Vermont Wilderness School, leading both youth and adult programs. He runs both our Tracking Apprenticeship and the Hunter’s Heart Hunting Apprenticeship. Bob has over a decade of experience in Wildlife Tracking, has been hired on wildlife track surveys, and is CyberTracker Level IV certified. He’s a skilled and passionate tracker and teacher.

To Enroll:

  • Complete the Registration form below.
  • Make a secure online payment via:
    • The PayPal button in the righthand side of this page OR;
    • A check payable to “Vermont Wilderness School” sent to: Vermont Wilderness School, P.O. Box 2585, Brattleboro, VT 05303.
  • Complete a Medical Form / Waiver by clicking the tab at the bottom of this page.

Questions? Review our scholarship and cancellation policies for more information. Email office@vermontwildernessschool.org with any additional questions.

To receive email notifications about this program (save the dates, opening of registration, etc.), sign up here.