Join us for an ONLINE LEARNING SESSION for practitioners, as part of the Co-creation with the More-than-Human sandbox
Wildlife Tracking for Connection
Join us for our 15th learning session on Wednesday, July 15 at 6 pm CEST | 5 pm BST | 12 pm EDT | 9 am PDT | 9:30 pm IST.
Register for free via EventBrite
We know tracking. This is what we are born to do. We talk silently with our hands, and we read the animal stories. Tracking is like dancing, because your body is happy. — !Nqate Xqamxebe, !Xo Bushman hunter, from the film The Great Dance: A Hunter's Story
These words come from a !Xo hunter of the Kalahari, documented in Craig Foster's film The Great Dance. They describe tracking not as a skill to be learned, but as something one is born to do, something one lives for. To !Nqate, the word for "dance" also means to "revere," to show "oneness." There is a lot to unpack in that simple translation.
What do these ancient tracking skills have to offer us in these challenging times? It is quite possible that tracking, and the deep awareness of ecology it demands — the interactions and interrelationships of life forms with one another and with their environment — can unlock a power of communication and instinct in those who travel this ancient path.
Our speaker, Jon Young, has spent over 40 years walking that path. Initiated into traditional tracking skills from the age of ten, he went on to study tracking cultures across many parts of the world, seeking to understand how this ancient way of perception shapes people and communities. In this session, we explore the many facets and gifts of tracking — how it connects us not just through our senses, but beyond, to the more-than-human world.
A world that opens up ancient instincts and intrinsic values for taking care of the Earth, its beings, and one another. For human beings are born to be in reciprocal conversation with the Earth, and holistic, intentional tracking is a potent and thrilling way to wake this gift back up.
Jon Young is a deep nature-people-self connection researcher, mentor, naturalist, wildlife tracker, author, consultant, and storyteller. Mentored by his grandmothers, Tom Brown Jr., and a host of elders and experts, he has spent over 40 years leading the field of nature-based community building. His work explores the impact of nature on mentoring, human intelligence, spirituality, well-being, and development, influencing tens of thousands worldwide.
He is the author and co-author of seminal works such as What the Robin Knows and Coyote's Guide to Connecting to Nature, and has appeared in documentaries including The Animal Communicator. In 2016, he received the Champion of Environmental Education Award for his innovative and globally impactful contributions to the nature connection movement.
Join us for this session, and bring your senses, your questions, and your curiosity for what it means to track - and be tracked by - the living world.
