2023 CALENDAR

JANUARY
9 Jan – 9 Mar 2023. Apprentice Guide Training Course with Nature Guide Training in South Africa.  A Field Guides of Southern Africa course (FGASA) with Scout Guide and Senior Tracker Lee Gutteridge of Nature Guide Training. Assistance with tracking instruction and assessment is provided by CyberTracker Senior Tracker/Evaluator Kersey Lawrence. A full sixty days of eating, sleeping, and living in a wild ecosystem, with game drives (safaris), guided walks, tracking, and lots of lessons and studying to become a guide in Southern Africa. This program includes FGASA Practical and Theory Assessments and a CyberTracker Track and Sign Identification Evaluation and a Trailing Evaluation. Contact Lee@natureguidetraining.com for information.  

FEBRUARY
CyberTracker Europe (European Wildlife Tracking) International Tracking Symposium (online). RoundTable discussion with Original Wisdom’s Kersey Lawrence, as well as many, many other excellent presentations (recordings available).  

MARCH
CyberTracker North America (Tracker Certification) North American Wildlife Tracker Conference (online). Featuring many excellent presentations (recordings available), including one from Original Wisdom’s Kersey Lawrence, Nature Guide Training’s Lee Gutteridge, and The Saola Foundation’s Lorraine Scotson and Rob Timmins about their efforts to recover the rarest large mammal on Earth, the Saola, conserve the biodiversity of the Annamite Mountain range spanning Laos and Vietnam, and to identify, train, and uplift Trackers and Tracking skill in the region. 

The Saola Foundation (online presentation) from Original Wisdom’s Kersey Lawrence, Nature Guide Training’s Lee Gutteridge, about their participation in an international collaboration to recover the rarest large mammal on Earth, the Saola, conserve the biodiversity of the Annamite Mountain range spanning Laos and Vietnam, and to identify, train, and uplift Trackers and Tracking skill in the region. This photographic intensive presentation features experiences from Lee’s 30 days in the mountainous jungles of Laos during Nov 2022.  

APRIL
14 – 31 Apr 2023. University of North Carolina at Wilmington, N.C. USA in South Africa.  A private university program – African Field Ecology and Wildlife Tracking featuring instruction from Senior Trackers Kersey Lawrence and Lee Gutteridge. This program includes a CyberTracker Track and Sign Identification Evaluation. This program includes food and shared accommodation, unless otherwise specified. Some special diets can be catered for. Travel to and from the program start and finish is not included. Contact kersey@originalwisdom.com to discuss an educational or research program for your organization. 

22-23 Apr 2023. CyberTracker North America, Track and Sign Evaluation, Ohio USA. Hosted by Sandy and Cal Reed of Original Wisdom in central Ohio, this Track and Sign Evaluation can register up to 11 participants. Registration is on a first come, first serve basis. $350. Evaluator Marcus Reynerson. Contact sandy@originalwisdom.com for information.  

MAY 
6 May 2023. Original Wisdom’s inaugural Connecticut Tracking Club led by Hillary Lisowski. Special guests Lee Gutteridge and Kersey Lawrence. Contact hillary@originalwisdom.com for information or to get onto the mailing list. 

JUNE – JULY
12 – 15 Jun 2023.  CyberTracker Senior Tracker Evaluations in South Africa. Track and Sign Identification and Trailing Evaluations at the Specialist Level of Certification. Professional Level Certification is a required prerequisite for participation in each respective evaluation. Shared accommodation is available for an additional cost, and a full kitchen for self-catering. Travel to and from the program start and finish is not included. Track & Sign Primary Evaluator is Kersey Lawrence with Lee Gutteridge as External Evaluator. Trailing Primary Evaluator is Lee Gutteridge with Master Tracker Adriaan Louw as External Evaluator. Contact kersey@originalwisdom.com for information.

19 Jun –12 Jul 2023. South African Tracking Intensive – 24 days of Track & Sign Identification and Trailing (follow tracks and signs to find animals) Instruction and Assessment on the CyberTracker System. Tracking and wildlife watching in South Africa featuring instruction from Senior Trackers Kersey Lawrence and Lee Gutteridge. This 24 day program includes both a CyberTracker Track and Sign Identification Evaluation and a Trailing Evaluation, food and shared accommodation. Contact kersey@originalwisdom.com or sandy@originalwisdom.com for information.  

AUGUST
2 -14 Aug 2023  Tracking & Perception with Spurwander in South Africa.  Daniel Hansche and Annika Hansche, Artist Trackers, join CyberTracker Senior Trackers Kersey Lawrence and Lee Gutteridge to explore a deeper way of knowing the land through using different awareness and artistic exercises. We blend these exercises in with wildlife tracking (both track and sign identification and trailing) and using all of our senses to detect and observe animal in their natural behaviours. This program includes food and shared accommodation, unless otherwise specified. Some special diets can be catered for. Travel to and from the program start and finish is not included. Contact kersey@originalwisdom.com to discuss an educational or research program for your organization. 

5 Aug 2023.  Tracking and Awareness Workshop, Canada. Join Sandy Reed and Chris Gilmour for a partnership program between Original Wisdom and ChrisOutdoors in Dwight, Ontario. We will have a fun and enlightening day out on the land. You will learn to find and interpret the story written in the tracks and signs left behind by the amazing wild creature we share this earth with. We also explore techniques for moving unnoticed across the landscape, blending in and being more aware so you notice, see, hear and experience more in the woods. Click HERE for more information. Contact sandy@originalwisdom.com for information.

6 Aug 2023.  Intro to Bow Hunting with the Hunters Journey Team, Canada. If you dream of being able to walk into the woods and hunt sustainably for your own food with a bow, this intro class is for you. Our Hunter’s Journey Team (Cal & Sandy Reed from Original Wisdom, Caleb Musgrave from Canadian Bushcraft & Chris Gilmour) are all here to support you in learning foundational skills such as: Traditional Archery, Calling, Tracking, Camouflage & Movement Skills and More.  This is a hands on experiential workshop and partnership program between Original Wisdom and ChrisOutdoors in Dwight, Ontario. No experience or hunting license is necessary to attend. Our team believes in RESPECT for ALL People, REVERENCE for the species we hunt, the RIGHTS of Indigenous Peoples & STEWARDSHIP of the Land. CLICK HERE for more information. Contact sandy@originalwisdom.com for information.

7-8 Aug 2023. Intro to Bow and Arrow Building with Cal Reed. There is nothing quite like the feeling of shooting a bow & arrow you crafted with your own two hands. In this partnership program between Original Wisdom and ChrisOutdoors, join Chris Gilmour and Cal Reed in Dwight Ontario for a two-day hands-on self bow archery intensive. We will be bow making with local materials and Cal will be bringing Osage staves to work with as well. In addition, arrow making from natural materials is planned so that the students’ archery system and experience will be complete. Click HERE for more information. Contact cal@originalwisdom.com and sandy@originalwisdom.com for information. 

18 -30 Aug 2023.  University of Aberdeen (Scotland) in South Africa. A private university program – African Field Ecology and Wildlife Tracking featuring instruction from Senior Trackers Kersey Lawrence and Lee Gutteridge. This program includes a CyberTracker Track and Sign Identification Evaluation. This program includes food and shared accommodation, unless otherwise specified. Some special diets can be catered for. Travel to and from the program start and finish is not included. Contact kersey@originalwisdom.com to discuss an educational or research program for your organization.  

SEPTEMBER
2 Sep -31 Oct 2023. Apprentice Guide Training Course with Nature Guide Training in South Africa.  A Field Guides of Southern Africa  (FGASA) course with Scout Guide and Senior Tracker Lee Gutteridge of Nature Guide Training and special guest instructor Massimo Rebuzzi. Assistance with tracking instruction is provided by Senior Tracker/Evaluator Kersey Lawrence. A full sixty days of eating, sleeping, and living in a wild ecosystem, with game drives (safaris), guided walks, tracking, and lots of lessons and studying to become a guide in Southern Africa. This program includes FGASA Practical and Theory Assessments and a CyberTracker Track and Sign Identification Evaluation and a Trailing Evaluation. Contact lee@natureguidetraining.com for information. 

23 -24 Sep 2023. CyberTracker North America, Track and Sign Evaluation, New York, USA.  Hosted by Shane Hawkins of Original Wisdom, this Track and Sign Evaluation can register up to 11 participants. Registration is on a first come, first serve basis. $350. Evaluator Nate Harvey. Contact shane@originalwisdom.com for more information. 

30 Sep 2023.  Tracking and Bushcraft Open Table, Ohio. Sandy and Cal Reed of Original Wisdom will be at Coyote Run in Pickerington, Ohio, USA all day as part of their Open House in partnership with Fairfield Metro Parks. Stop by and try a bow drill (fire by friction), join us for a track and sign identification walk, or learn to flintknap. 1pm presentation on tracking with a hike afterwards. FREE. Contact cal@originalwisdom.com and sandy@originalwisdom.com for information. 

Matt Nelson, CyberTracker Senior Tracker/Evaluator for CyberTracker North America, joins our Saola project as he heads into the jungles of the Annamite Mountains in Laos for our collaboration with The Saola Foundation. Matt and the team of Kersey Lawrence, Lee Gutteridge, and Preston Taylor join an all-star conservation crew from Laos and around the world to help recover the rarest large mammal on Earth, the Saola (an antelope), conserve the biodiversity of the Annamite Mountain range spanning Laos and Vietnam, and to identify, train, and uplift Trackers and Tracking skill in the region.  

OCTOBER
20-22 Oct 2023. Northeast Wildlife Trackers Conference, MA., USA. Including keynote presentation by Kersey Lawrence of Original Wisdom: “Trailing is a Love Song to Tracking.” Register Here: https://northeastwildlifetrackers.com/conference

21-22 Oct 2023.  CyberTracker North America, Track and Sign Evaluation, Central Ohio, USA.  Hosted by Sandy and Cal Reed Original Wisdom, this Track and Sign Evaluation can register up to 11 participants. Registration is on a first come, first serve basis. $350. Evaluator Matt Nelson. Contact sandy@originalwisdom.com for more information. 

24 Oct 2023. Tracker Tuesday – an online presentation for CyberTracker North America by Kersey Lawrence by Kersey Lawrence of Original Wisdom: “Trailing is a Love Song to Tracking.” Access the Tracker Tuesday recordings by clicking on the presentation title.  

NOVEMBER
1 -12 Nov 2023. Trailing Workshops and CyberTracker North America Trailing Evaluations in Cable, WI, USA.  Learn the Trailing aspect (following tracks and signs to find animals) of Tracking in the CyberTracker Tracker Certification system through a series of workshops and evaluations in the region of the Clam Lake elk herd. Featuring instruction and evaluation from CyberTracker Senior Tracker Preston Taylor. We rent a cozy cabin for the programs (shared rooms and bathrooms), with a full kitchen for you to prepare your own meals. Travel to and from the program start and finish is not included. Contact kersey@originalwisdom.com to schedule trailing workshops and/or evaluations in your area of North America. 

24 Nov 2023. Original Wisdom’s Connecticut Tracking Club led by Hillary Lisowski. Contact hillary@originalwisdom.com for information or to get onto the mailing list.

Nov 2023. Sandy Reed of Original Wisdom heads to Antarctica as as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions! She is leaving Nov. 7 for a three week journey. Sandy will be documenting tracks as well as photographing wildlife such as whales, birds, and penguins as she visits Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s Patagonia region, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island and the coast of Antarctica. She will be posting about her journey on the Original Wisdom Facebook page as often as internet allows. We are excited to get updates from her and a full report upon her return! 

DECEMBER
7 Dec 2023. Original Wisdom’s Connecticut Tracking Club led by Hillary Lisowski. Contact hillary@originalwisdom.com for information or to get onto the mailing list.

Dates TBD. FGASA Wildflower and CyberTracker Tracking Assessments, Eastern Cape, South Africa by Senior Tracker/Evaluators Lee Gutteridge and Kersey Lawrence. Contact kersey@originalwisdom.com for information. 

Preston Taylor, CyberTracker Senior Tracker/Evaluator for CyberTracker North America, joins our Saola project as he heads into the jungles of the Annamite Mountains in Laos for our collaboration with The Saola Foundation. Preston and the team of Kersey Lawrence, Lee Gutteridge, and Matt Nelson join an all-star conservation crew from Laos and around the world to help recover the rarest large mammal on Earth, the Saola (an antelope), conserve the biodiversity of the Annamite Mountain range spanning Laos and Vietnam, and to identify, train, and uplift Trackers and Tracking skill in the region. 

Don’t forget about our correspondence and online Tracking courses at TrackerMentoring.com

Contact us for information on any of our programs, or to design an educational or research-based program for you in Africa, North America, or wherever else you are in the world!