Workshop, Clinic and Presentation Calendar 

Tuesday and Wednesday, September 1 & 2 (no events)

Early check-ins for Leaders scouting for best workshop locations 

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Thursday, September 3

Tracker arrival day.  Terry and Kim will be available to greet you and show you around all day Thursday.

PS: You may check in on ANY day – Thursday is simply the "kickoff".

No activities scheduled until 5:00pm.

4-7pm  Evening meal prep, mixer, hilarious social time.... all leading to a presentation by Kim. - The Lodge

4:30 - 5:45pm  GRAND OPENING at The Lodge: Mock Eval #1:  Tracks, Feathers, Skull ID  Shake off the travel cobwebs and get into the track & sign mindset.  Dive into track casts, feathers, skulls, bones and mandibles displayed on the table. Tackle 20 fun track & sign identification questions with real tracks (casts), feathers, skulls, scat.  No sharing answers or scoring required. This fun, low-pressure warm-up sharpens your tracking eyes, boosts critical thinking, and gets you attuned to the wildlife stories you'll spot in the Redwood forest, trails, sandbars and meadows over the next week. And you will instantly begin making new friends. 

5:45pm  The Lodge: WELCOME!   --  Terry Hunefeld  & Kim Cabrera

6:00pm  Free Clinic:  The Secret Life of Camp Ravencliff:  Tracks, Trails & Things that go Bump in the Night  - Kim Cabrera

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Friday, September 4

9am  - 1pm  Discover Bear Bites, Beds & Stomp Trails  - SOLD OUT  -  Kim Cabrera and Terry Hunefeld

9am  - 1pm  Tracking The Wild: Learning to Read Tracks and Sign -  Alexis Burnett

9am - 4pm    Transform Your Tracking: Critical Observation Skills for Trackers & Trailers  - SOLD OUT  -  Jonathan Shapiro

5-7pm Evening meal prep, meal and social time.  The Lodge

6-7pm Free Presentation:  My Mountain Lion Adventures presented by TCNA evaluator Matt Nelson

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Saturday, September 5

9am - noon  See Like Never Before - Connecting With Animals By Recognizing Their Tracks & Sign  -  Mike Cox

9am - 4pm  A "Mock Eval" (An "Eval" With No Stress) Accelerated Learning - SOLD OUT - Jonathan Shapiro

9am - 4pm What's Going On?  Reading the Wild in Tracks, Trees, and Time- Sam Giovanetti   -- Sam's Book

5-7pm Evening meal prep, meal and social time.  The Lodge

5:30 Mock Eval #1: Identification and Answers 

6pm  Free Clinic:  Trail Camera Placement Strategies presented by Janet Pesaturo, founder
of Winterberry Wildlife Cams (18,000 followers) and the popular Facebook group “Trail Camera Photos and Videos” with 114,000 followers.

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Sunday, September 6     

8am - 6pm   Tracker Certification Day 1  -   Evaluator Matt Nelson  

9am - Noon  Eel River Sand Canvas: Decode Animal Stories - SOLD OUT -  Kim Cabrera

9am - 4pm What's Going On?  Reading Animal Sign in Tracks, Trees, and Time - Sam Giovanetti  Sam's Book

9am - 4pm  Learn How To Identify Obscure Wildlife Tracks and Track Patterns –  Leah Olivotti and Nate Young 

5-7pm Evening meal prep, meal and social time.  The Lodge

6pm  Free Clinic: Tech Secrets for Trail Camera Success  --  Bob Zak co-author of the series Trail Camera & Custom Camera Traps and an admin for the popular Facebook group Trail Camera Photos and Videos with 114,000 followers.

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Monday, September 7  

9am  - 1pm  Tracking The Wild: Learning to Read Tracks and Sign -  Alexis Burnett

8am - 4pm   Tracker Certification: Day 2 - - Evaluator Matt Nelson

9am - 4pm What's Going On?  Reading Animal Sign in Tracks, Trees, and Time - Sam Giovanetti  -- Sam's Book

5 - 6pm  The Lodge: Mock Eval #2 Tracks, Feathers, Skull ID Same engaging mind-warmup as Thursday’s Mixer — but with all-new tracks, feathers, skulls, and questions. Expect more fun, fresh challenges, new people to connect with, and plenty of “aha!” moments that lock in your skills for real-world tracking.

5-7pm Evening meal prep, meal and social time.  The Lodge

6pm  Presentation:  How I Ended Up Writing a Tracking Book... and What I Learned Along the Way - (A Timber Press Field Guide  - Wildlife Of The Southeast - due in bookstores September 29, 2026)  Sam Giovanetti

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Tuesday, September 8 

8am - 12noon  Taking The Animal Home With You - the Magic of Casting  -Terry Hunefeld

9am - 4pm  Seeing The Animal - Real-world Trailing Training - SOLD OUT  - Jonathan Shapiro

9am - 4pm  Track Identification Workshop: Learn To Read Tracks With Clarity And Purpose  –  Leah Olivotti and Nate Young 

5-7pm Evening meal prep, meal and social time.  The Lodge

5:30 Mock Eval #2: Identification and Answers 

6pm    Free Presentation:  On the Trail of the Canada Lynx: The Story of our Week Tracking These Animals and Other Wildlife of the North Woods. Alexis Burnett

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Wednesday, September 9  

7:45am - 5pm  Track & Sign Certification Day 1 - SOLD OUT  - Evaluator Matt Nelson  

8am - whenever:  Free "Walk In The Woods with Nate" Workshop (actually goofing off fun) with Nate Young. 

9am - Noon  How Dusty Back‑Country Roads Become Nature’s Chalkboard - Kim Cabrera

5:00-7pm Evening meal prep, meal and social time.  The Lodge

6pm  Free Clinic:  Five Free Internet Websites Essential For Trackers-Terry Hunefeld

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Thursday, September 10 

8am - 4pm    Tracker Certification Day 2  - SOLD OUT - Evaluator Matt Nelson

9am- 4pm  Making Fire From Nothing - Real Life Primitive Skills- Zander Balthaser

5pm Mock Eval Answers Revealed in the Lodge Meeting Room 

5:30-7pm Evening meal prep, meal and social time.  The Lodge

6:00 pm  Free Clinic:  Tracking The World's Rarest Ungulate  - Jonathan Shapiro

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Friday, September 11 

9 am - Noon  Discover Bear Bites, Beds & Stomp Trails  - Kim Cabrera 

9am- 4pm  Making Fire From Nothing - Real Life Primitive Skills Workshop - Zander Balthasar

2pm - 3pm  Free Owl Pellet dissection and content ID - Terry Hunefeld

5-7pm Evening meal prep, meal and social time.  The Lodge

6pm  Free Clinic:  Animal Tracks, Feathers, Skulls... Who is Who?  Around the Mock Eval Tables with Kim and Terry.  What to expect on a TCNA Track & Sign Certification 

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Saturday, September 12  

9am - 4pm  Find Wildlife With Your Phone: Digital Tools To Locate Wildlife --  Leah Olivotti and Nate Young 

5-6:pm  The Last Supper.  The Lodge

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Sunday, September 13

5am - 9am  Final Good-byes -  Homeward Bound

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE COVER STORY:  The TCNA Track & Sign Certification was the cover story in SMTHSONIAN MAGAZINE.  If you've never participated in a Track & Sign certification, we recommend you read the fascinating Smithsonian story written by an actual participant.  Also, to get a feel for the Certification process, check out the TCNA Certification page - also an excellent glimpse into The TCNA Certification Process.  

A Few Southern Humboldt County Mammals Recorded and Reported to iNaturalist.org