STEP BY STEP GUIDE 

Publicity checklist below at the bottom of this page.

 

Hello Workshop Leader

Thank you for your interest in leading a workshop at the TrackerGathering. We are delighted you’re stepping forward.  If this is your first time leading a workshop into the field, let me reassure you right from the start that you are absolutely capable of doing this if you're a high level 3 (96-99) or higher.

You are probably not a “professional tracking instructor” and that’s perfectly fine. You may have never tracked before in Northern California or the Pacific Northwest. What matters is that at 96 or above you are a strong tracker with real field experience.  Leading a group is easy:  you simply share  what you know. For the participants — especially the beginners and level 1s or level 2s in the TCNA certification system — your knowledge is more than enough to give them a great experience. The animals will do half the teaching for you.

 

FOLLOWING IS THE INFORMATION I NEED TO GET YOU ON THE SCHEDULE AND LIST YOUR OFFERING ON THIS WEBSITE ON THE TRACKER GATHERING WEBSITE 

 

1. SUPER IMPORTANT:   Before we get into the workshop details, I’d like to know whether you plan to participate in other workshops, the TCNA certification (the eval), or both. We anticipate that leaders may enjoy a mix of teaching and participating.  If you feel you would like to participate in a certification, I need to reserve a spot for you because they will go fast once I begin posting this to the Facebook groups.

 

2. Choose Your Audience  and Location (on the YMCA 60+ acres or offsite). tracking locations

Your first decision is who you want to teach:

• Brand‑new trackers
• Beginning trackers
• Intermediate trackers
• Advanced trackers (a high bar — you’ll likely be teaching peers)

See the Leader Inspiration Page for ideas!  

Many leaders will find it easiest and most enjoyable to work with beginners or intermediates. These groups are enthusiastic, curious, and deeply appreciative of anyone with more experience than they have.  Plus, given Kim's enormous following on the Facebook site, "Animals don't cover their tracks," we expect many beginning and new trackers. 

 

3. Choose Your Workshop Title and Theme (But Don’t Get Too Narrow)

Before we can list your workshop on this site, we need a title. Remember that all workshops will essentially involve the same core activity: taking people into the field to explore and discuss track and sign — tracks, scat, gait, burrows, digs, rubs, feeding sign, and the broader story of the animals who left them.

You’re welcome to add a special flair if you wish... ... but don’t make your niche too narrow.   

Most participants want to study and discuss all wildlife track and sign, especially the kinds of sign that appear on TCNA certifications. Some may be taking workshops specifically to sharpen their skills for an eval. If your theme is too specialized, you may lose people who simply want a broad, rich field experience.

If you have expertise in birds, feathers, invertebrates, or anything else, feel free to mention it as an accent, not the entire focus.

• Bird tracks or feather sign
• Invertebrate sign
• Reptile or amphibian sign
• A habitat‑specific focus (sandbars, riverbanks, forest edges, etc.)

 

4. Write a Short Workshop Description

Once you’ve chosen your audience and title, please send me a brief write‑up that includes:

• What the workshop will cover
• The day(s) it will run
• Start and end times
• Whether it’s a half‑day, full day, or two‑day workshop
• The location (YMCA’s 60+ acres, or a field trip to one of Kim’s recommended spots)
• The capacity (8? 10? 12?)
• The price per participant

Price is entirely up to you. Lower prices tend to fill faster, but you should choose what feels fair for your time, experience, and travel.

 

5. Profits and Travel Costs

Leading a successful workshop will significantly defray your travel expenses.  Any profits you make from your workshop are entirely yours to keep.  All lodging/camping/cabin/facility use charges are waived for Leaders (you camp or use a shared cabin for no daily charge).  This is our way of saying thank you for helping provide a great service to trackers across North America. You’re giving your time, your skill, and your presence — and you deserve to benefit from that.

 

6. Provide Contact Information for us to add this website

Please include either:

• A URL for your registration page, or
• An email address where interested participants can reach you

All registration fees go directly to you. You will handle your own payments, deposits, refunds, cancellations and policies.

 

7. Pricing, deposits and refund policies

You are free to set any tuition and policy you wish.  In my experience, after hosting more than 25 TCNA certifications and sponsoring more than 20 workshops or tracking programs, offering 100% refunds often leads to problems 30–60 days before the event because that's when people decide they’re too busy or for another activity and request their money back — leaving you to absorb the loss.  

My recommendation is:

• Non-refundable deposit up front (25-35% of the total tuition). 
• Balance due June15.    
• Participants may resell their spot if they can’t attend
• Encourage registrants to purchase trip insurance 

This keeps things simple and fair for everyone.

 

8. Photos.  3 is better than two.  2 is better than 1. 

One photo will do, but the more pics of you in action tracking.... well, you know the old saying...
a picture is worth a 20,000 words.  

 

9. Supply us with a Short Biography (1-2 Paragraphs)

Your bio should help participants understand who you are:

• Your tracking background
• Your TCNA certification level
• Any classes you’ve taught
• Any relevant experience or interests
• Anything that helps people feel confident choosing your workshop
• An old marketing truth:  ""The more you tell, the more you sell." 

A photo is optional but encouraged — it helps people connect with you.

 

10. Think About Rain Backup Plans

I recommend you prepare a plan in case of hard rain. I recommend that you consider the following: 

• Bring along indoor materials for a cabin or the lodge likely to appear on a TCNA certification: (feathers, track casts, skulls and bones, copies of common tracks to help participants draw them, laptop with a PowerPoint presentation on Track ID). 
• I checked with Kim, and in the event of inclement weather, there are plenty of spots where five or six different structures can hold indoor workshops without stepping on each other.
• A little preparation goes a long way.

 

11. Arriving Early

The gathering kicks off on Friday, so some participants will arrive on Thursday. As a workshop leader, you're welcome to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday to scout locations and become familiar with the terrain. The facilities of the entire camp including kitchen, dining area, and Starlink Wi-Fi will be available for your use.  As a workshop leader, you have no housing costs regardless of whether you use a cabin or camp. Cell phone reception is good throughout most of the sixty acres. 

 

12. Marketing Your Workshop

Once your workshop is posted on the Tracker Gathering website, I encourage you to share it widely:

• Facebook groups
• Tracking communities
• Your own social media

This will help you fill your workshop awareness of the entire event. Remember the old marketing truth:  ""The more you tell, the more you sell." 

 

13. Time Is of the Essence

The sooner you complete the checklist below and get it over to me, the sooner I can post it on this site — and the better your chances of filling it. My recommendation is: Should you want a full workshop, now is the time to finalize your decisions by using the checklist below. Once to receive your information, I should be able to get it posted on the Tracker Gathering website, and then you can begin posting to various Social Media Tracking groups with a link to your information on this website. If you want a full workshop, now is the time to finalize your decisions and get your information to me.

 

14. You Will Wow Participants

Please remember: you can do this. So long as you choose a target audience with less experience than you, your workshop will be a success. You already have the skills.  Your workshop is nothing more than leading people for a walk in the woods and sharing what you know. In a sense, we're letting the animals do the teaching. In the event of a tricky track or sign: saying you don't know is perfectly okay -- because the stuff you do know will be incredible to the participants. — now it’s just a matter of shaping your thoughts into the format we will use to post your event to the Tracker Gathering website. 

 

 

Here is your Leader Marketing Form

CUT AND PASTE THIS FORM
BELOW INTO A WORD DOCUMENT 

Fill it out completely and email it to thunefeld (AT) gmail  dot  com.
A fully completed checklist is required for listing your workshop on the website. 

 

Name: 

Phone: 

email: 

Do you wish to participate in a certification?  Which one?  

Your audience:  (total beginners? more experienced beginners? intermediate trackers?)

Name of your workshop: here's some ideas and inspiration

Maximum participants: 5? 8? 10?  (More than 10, you are no longer interpreting. You are herding cats.) 

Workshop/program date(s):

Workshop/program time(s): 

Workshop tuition: $          Deposit: $    

Location:  (onsite or offsite?) 

Images/photos:  3 is ideal.  Minimum one.  Best: you actually tracking.  

Leader Bio:  This is your opportunity to establish credibility and get participants to like you before they even meet you. 

Workshop description: (take your time: How you write this will influence registrations).  Refer to other sites for inspiration on writing descriptive copy such as SWTI or SoCalTracking    Note how: "The more you tell, the more you sell."  

Email it to me!!  Unless I'm out of town, I will get it posted to this website within 48 hours. I'm not doing a whole lot of traveling this winter and spring, so I may be able to hit 48 hours regardless of where I am.