About Trackers

learn about our history

Molly Deis

Trackers Founder & Mom

Welcome to our family and Village. Tony and I started Trackers Earth in 2004 with a common purpose: Greater connection to community, nature and many generations beyond our lifetime.

As a parent, I understand how valuable the support of an extended Village is on the journey to connect children with community and nature. We do this is by offering thoughtful outdoor programs for all ages—youth and adults. This includes camps and classes in forest craft, wild plants, outdoors skills, stewardship and much more.

It is our community of teachers that makes Trackers special. Many camp programs only hire instructors for summer, which limits who can teach for them. Yet, along with a fantastic seasonal staff, we work to create an educational network that employs more and more teachers throughout the year. As a result, our Village of educators brings experience and responsibility to the journey of helping to raise our children.

A Village thrives through reciprocity: getting support and giving support. Since our founding, so many parents and students have supported us, spreading the word and growing Trackers into one of the largest outdoor programs in Oregon and beyond. In turn, our teachers and I promise to work every day to fulfill that community promise towards greater connection for all generations and the future.

Thank you and see you in the forest,

Molly
Trackers Founder & Mom

“Greater connection to community, nature and many generations beyond our lifetime.”

— Molly
Trackers Founder & Mom

What is Trackers Earth?

Trackers is a family organization. We are not simply limited to one family. Like a true village, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, aunties and uncles, grandmas and grandpas from many different kinds of families work side-by-side for the greater good. We value instilling care and respect for the natural world and the community we serve. With Trackers you often get the feeling of “old friends that just met”.

Our Story

Trackers is a team of expert educators, and a community. We are made up of compassionate individuals who focus on caring for their family and yours, competence and eloquence in all that they do and of course, gathering together for great food. We believe kids (and adults) should have real adventures in the natural world.

Our Mission

At Trackers we are champions of land and village. We are navigators of an epic world that needs to exist. We are a community where we remember the celebration of hearth, family, respect for the land and a timeless human story.

The Guilds

The Guilds are at the core of Trackers. You don’t need to know all the skills in every guild, but it is key to have an affinity and strong desire to develop them.

The Rangers​

The Rangers survive as protectors of the Village. Versed in the arts of Forest Craft, they train in wilderness survival, tracking, and awareness. They are the eyes and ears of the Village, living completely with the land and tending to it, invisible as the Wind.​

The Wilders​

The Wilders lives as caretakers, restoring the land to what it once was… and beyond.Through Folk Craft and Wisdom they tend to the balance of the Village, guiding the needs of the people into harmony with the rhythms of life in all seasons, rooted in the Earth.​

The Mariners​

The Mariners fish and tend to the creeks, rivers, and oceans. Mariners chart their course by the stars, currents and tides. In trade and salty wisdom, they demand respect for all the life found in the depths of the Waters.​

The Artisans​

The Artisans Guild opens our eyes to noble purpose and possibilities. They act as our story keepers; travelers bare-of-foot, walking and sleeping under the twilight sky. They ask one and all: Always keep the hearth fire burning, remember our story.​


  • Voted Best Camp through PDX Parent Magazine, NW Kids Magazine & Red Tricycle
  • Vote Best After School Classes by parents through PDX Parent Magazine
  • An award for creative programming by the American Camp Association

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