SANDY, Oregon — Getting kids outside can be an adventure for parents, getting them to stay there is a different journey.
"We are in a world nowadays where kids don't get the opportunity to play outdoors,” said Tony Deis, founder of Trackers Earth.
"Our focus is to get kids outdoors, and also work on skills that are not common anymore."
On the Trackers Earth website, they emphasize “children need to develop ever increasing independence, competency, and capacity in nature — not only for their own connection and fulfillment but also to contribute to their families, future generations and the more-than-human world.”
"We want to give them skills that empower them to be gritty, resilient and adaptable," said Deis."
Trackers Earth helps kids navigate the outdoors with a respect for its hazards. With a smile on his face, Deis will tell you they’ve been giving kids knives since 2004.
But it’s more than that. Kids are brought in by bus from Portland, and learn proper techniques with every activities. At their day camp in Sandy, an expert staff teaches a wide range of survival skills including archery, foraging, wood carving, fire building and wildlife tracking.
The camps are divided into four guilds, focusing on different skills—artisans, mariners, wilders, and rangers.
"This is mostly where we do our rangers camps and our artisan camps,” Deis said of their campus in Sandy. “You're going to see kids carving with knives, you're going to see them doing archery, there'll be throwing axes, lighting fires, and learning how to do all these things safely. Also in a way that empowers them to play longer outdoors."
Trackers Earth teaches kids they're not just observers of nature, but part of it. They even offer programs for adults too.
"Our camps are typically one-week-long, Monday through Friday,” Deis said. “At this site, this is mostly day camps. And we have kids that go from grade K to grade nine. At our overnight site, just a couple of miles down the road, we have all the way from grade four to grade 12."
By the end of the week, kids have more curiosity and more confidence too.
"The goal here is to provide as close as possible that experience and empower them with skills, where they can also go out and do it on their own, self-directed outdoors in nature together."
For more information on Trackers Earth summer camps, visit: trackerspdx.com/youth/camps/summer-camp/
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