Tracker Gathering  Coordinator

Leader:  Terry Hunefeld

email: thunefeld@gmail.com

 

Capture the Wild:
Cast Animal Tracks
in Plaster & Stone

Time:  8:30am - 1 pm

Tuition:  $40 donation to TCNA 
Optional:  Materials For 10 or more tracks

 

Location:  Meet in The Lodge for orientation, then we'll go into the field and practice.

 

Maximum Participants:  10

 

Casting To Preserve The Track - Forever

 

In this class, we will dive into one of the most rewarding ways to connect with the natural world: transforming fleeting footprints in mud or sand into permanent, detailed casts that you can hold, study, and treasure forever.

For me, casting a track feels almost magical—it's like capturing a frozen moment in time, a direct imprint of an animal's foot as it moved through its world. You're not taking a piece of the creature itself, but you're preserving something profoundly personal: the exact shape, texture, and registration of that paw or hoof in that specific substrate, right then and there. These casts become more than souvenirs; they turn into a portable collection of wildlife encounters. 

We will begin in The Lodge with an orientation to where discuss key differences between Plaster of Paris and Dental Lab Stone (also called dental stone), two popular materials for track casting. We'll explore their consistencies when mixed, drying times, final weight, durability, level of detail captured, and the overall effort involved in working with each. 

Next we'll head out into the field for the real excitement: actually casting tracks using both materials side by side. You'll have an opportunity to pour a track from plaster as well as from dental lab stone. This lets you experience the pros and cons in real-world conditions and decide what works best for your own tracking adventures.

For those who want to take home more than two finished casts, there's an optional $10 materials donation (paid upfront) that covers mixing cups and enough Plaster of Paris or Dental Lab Stone for you to pour 10 - 15 track casts of animals of your choice. 

Whether you're a beginner building your first collection or a seasoned tracker looking to refine your technique, you'll leave with new skills and, hopefully, a few cherished pieces of the wild to bring home. 

Terry Hunefeld

Terry holds two Professional Certificates and a Specialist Track & Sign Certificate from Tracker Certification North America (TCNA). His certification record includes four perfect scores at the 100% level

Terry and his wife live in tiny desert village - Borrego Springs, California - surrounded by a thousand square miles of Sonoran Desert wilderness ringed with mountain ranges - known as the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. 

 

Terry’s Naturalist & Tracking Experience

 

  • TCNA Specialist Track & Sign Certification - 2024
  • TCNA Professional Track & Sign Certification, San Diego County – 2024
  • TCNA Professional Track & Sign Certification, Albuquerque, NM - 2025
  • TCNA 100% on Track & Sign Certification, The North Woods, Wisconsin, August 2025.
  • Terry has participated in more than 44 TCNA certifications since 2020  -  all over the world  -   from SoCal to Vermont, Florida to Washington... plus four weeks in Africa - building tracking skills for sign recognition of all North American species in varying habitats. 
  • San Diego Tracking Team Wildlife Survey Leader, 2022 – present
  • Level 1,2,3 San Diego Tracking Team Naturalist/Tracker Certifications, 2019-2020
  • California State Parks Naturalist, 2016 - present
  • Anza Borrego Foundation Desert Naturalist and Trip Leader/Interpreter  2016 - present
  • Anza Borrego Desert State Park Naturalist and Field Trip Leader 2016- present
  • Anza Borrego Desert Botany Society Vice-President -  2017- 2010
  • Naturalist & Trip Leader, 2015-present
  • NOAA Fisheries Science Center, On-Board NOAA Ship Bird Census Volunteer, 2008-2010
  • San Diego Field Ornithologists, Rare Bird Moderator 2012-2020
  • eBird San Diego County Low Desert Reviewer Moderator, 2012 – 2020
  • Southern California Audubon Societies Pelagic Bird Coordinator & Outings Leader, 2006-2012
  • Oceanside CA Audubon Christmas Bird Count Coordinator and Leader - 2006-2012
  • Sierra Club, San Diego Chapter, Certified Outings Leader, 2002-2008
  • San Diego Natural History Museum Naturalist & Hike Leader, 2002-2006
  • Mission Trails Regional Park Naturalist & Hike Leader, 2003-2008
  • Anza Borrego Foundation, Board of Trustees, 2018-2021
  • Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association Naturalist and Trip Leader 2012 to present
  • San Diego Tracking Team Board of Directors, 2021-present
  • San Diego Tracking Team TCNA-CyberTracker Training Coordinator, 2021-present.