Instructor

Experience:

From a young age, Erik has had an affinity for the outdoors. At the ripe old age of seven, he began training at the Riekes Center Nature Awareness department, and he eagerly attended every summer camp and school camping trip he could (he attended public school, and thus couldn’t engage in homeschool programs). These experiences formed the kindling for his blazing love of nature.

As he grew up, Erik learned fire by friction, arrowhead knapping, basketry, bowry, primitive pottery, tracking, bird language, edible and medicinal plants, and so much more.

At age thirteen, Erik had already been through almost every program available to him, so he began teaching. First, he assisted lead instructors, until he was of age to facilitate nature exploration classes for 20+ kids. He has since taught many classes in the Western United States.
 
But ever the student, he was still itching to learn more about how humans can connect with the land, so he enrolled at the University of Utah, achieving a Bachelor's in Parks, Recreation and Tourism, with an emphasis in Adventure and Outdoor Programs. Finally, Erik interned at EarthWalk Northwest, assisting with classes and eagerly soaking up skills knowledge.

Erik keeps his Wilderness First Responder Certificate up to date and continues to educate himself in the ancestral arts.

Interests:

When Erik is not teaching, his first commitment is to his young daughter. He enjoys spending time with all of his animals and creating a permaculture paradise on his property.

Favorite Outdoor Skills:

Tracking, Bird language, Basketry and Flint knapping

Why He Teaches:

Erik’s passion for reconnecting people with nature has bubbled over, incentivizing him to build a community of people in Utah who learn how to make healthy tracks for future generations.

Experience

James is a long time practitioner and trainer within the emergency preparedness and outdoor adventure communities.
He currently runs Adaptive Response Solutions, and the Adaptive Preparedness Project, which focus on helping people and communities become prepared for whatever environment they find themselves in, whether outdoor recreation & adventure, or disaster & emergency preparedness events.

James is an outdoor adventure junkie, a backcountry guide, and a passionate knowledge transfer specialist. He develops and leads his courses from a background in learning architecture and instructional design, and believes that when knowledge and information is presented in an adaptable manner, it empowers learning uptake and mastery. “There are no two students alike, why should learning curriculum be static and unyielding?"

Interests

James instructs across a range of topics, from outdoor skillsets, to emergency preparedness/response, including personal medical training, firearms, and personal defense.

Favorite Outdoor Skills

Some of his most beloved topics are survival skills and bushcraft knowledge, wildcrafting, and wilderness survival.

Why He Teaches

James is currently relaunching his training company focused on experiential learning, and he is producing content through the Adaptive Preparedness Project. Through partnership with Making Tracks, he hopes to bring his certifications to a wider audience.

Experience:

Kyle Koch grew up in the suburbs of Southeast Wisconsin. As a young boy he was fortunate enough to play outside often and explore natural areas around where he lived. Over time he watched as those natural areas became developed and urbanized. This resulted in immersing Kyle in the mainstream narrative and lifestyle, leading him into a career in Information Technology.

He worked as an IT technician for a major software company before quitting his job to attend the Wilderness Awareness School's 9-month nature immersion program called Anake. This program radically changed Kyle’s life and propelled him on an exploration of human potential and a journey of self-discovery. He went on to implement all the skills he learned as a Wilderness Therapy Guide to facilitate transformative experience for youth. After seeing the positive effects of his efforts, he continued forward in his Earth Education career.

Kyle worked at Wilderness Awareness School for 6 years in various roles: instructing, marketing, and as a student coordinator. His intention was to learn, absorb, and deconstruct their methods to find out how and why they worked. Through other workshops, seminars, podcasts, and presentations he gained a deeper understanding of how Earth Education impacted the relationship between the natural and man-made world.

In 2019 Kyle left Wilderness Awareness School to pursue his passion for health and movement. Through Kyle’s work with Evolve Move Play, he was opened up to the idea of flow state and the cultivation of meaning. Since then, Kyle has been combining these ideas and insights to help people deepen their connection to place, people, and themselves faster and more effectively.

One of Kyle’s core beliefs is that the combination of nature skills and community practices can help us create a more meaningful life.

Interests:

Parkour, Wood working / Carpentry, Foraging

Favorite Outdoor Skills:

Foraging wild foods

Why He Teaches:

Kyle does this work because he sees how much meaning and connection people gain from these experiences.

Experience:

Dave’s life is driven by a powerful belief that “Life is for Living”, or, in other words, that we must squeeze everything we can from our time on earth.

For 15 years, Dave lived without the convenience of a traditional home. He spent 6 years living in a cave, before transitioning to 2 wickiups, a pithouse, a stone shelter, and finally a Kazakhstan-style felted yurt. Dave once even survived 44 days living with the land in the mid-winter deserts of Utah. Needless to say, he is no stranger to the world outside his comfort zone.

Dave has been a survival and wilderness guide for 20 years, 8 of which he spent instructing for Boulder Outdoor Survival School. He regularly teaches at Primitive Skills Gatherings such as Wintercount and Rabbitstick Rendezvous, sharing his boundless knowledge of skills like bow making, primitive pottery, flint knapping, hide tanning, archery, sling craft, navigation, astronomy, edible and medicinal plants of North America, wood crafting, and primitive and modern fire starting techniques.

You may even recognize Dave from two seasons of “Alone” on the History Channel, where he survived 36 days in Mongolia, and 73 days in Patagonia. He has also acted as a consultant for Discovery Channel’s “Bushcraft Build”.

Interests:

Dave loves outdoor sports, including skiing, climbing, archery, bow-making, and fly fishing. His adventures have taken him across the country by bicycle and seen him crossing the Pacific Northwest in a kayak of his own making.

Why He teaches:

Dave’s passion for learning has now evolved into a desire to teach and share the joys of the knowledge he acquired.

Experience:

As a child, Ember spent many nights camping and fishing with her family. She loves being outdoors, a love that was fostered by family backpacking trips in the Uintas. As a previous student of Making Tracks, she has gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of nature.

Ember was the first student in Utah to produce her own friction fire in Making Tracks. She is proud and excited to continue along her journey as a Specialist with Making Tracks.

Interests:

Storytelling, watching movies, spending time with family, camping, playing board and card games, and embarassing her children by talking to anyone she meets.

Favorite Outdoor Skills:

Fire, stealth, wandering, bird language, storytelling, knife skills, first aid, and sensory awareness.

Why She Teaches:

Ember loves being around people.  Ember loves looking into the eyes of someone who has just had an 'ah ha' moment. Nature is the greatest teacher, and she loves facilitating the joy that comes from discovery and connection with nature.

Experience:

Nate holds a Masters degree from NIAOM (Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine), and B.A.s in both Anthropology and Asian studies from the University of Illinois. He taught and directed at the Wilderness Awareness School for over 15 years, and has served as faculty for the Desert Institute of Healing Arts and the Asian Institute of Medical Studies, and as adjunct faculty for Prescott College.

Nate has also served as a guest instructor at survival skills schools both in the U.S. and abroad, and he has been a featured teacher at events such as Cascadia Music and Arts Festival and Imagine.

Interests:

Foraging, Growing food, Internal martial arts

Favorite Outdoor Skill:

Wandering, Foraging, Natural movement, Making fire

Why He Teaches:

Nate loves to see people come alive when they make their first fire, eat a wild plant, or feel what it's like to move barefoot through the woods. He truly believes these skills are one of the most healing, enlivening, and important things on the planet, and they may just hold the key to us surviving the future.

Experience:

Tam was born and raised in South Africa and has always had an appreciation for wild animals and nature. She has studied Earth Skills for the last 9 years attending the Tracker School in New Jersey, first as a student, then as an intern, and later as a caretaker. Tam also attended programs at Tribal Edge and Earthwalk Northwest in the Pacific Northwest. In 2016 and 2017, she helped develop, implement, and teach a primitive skills week-long camp in Alberta, Canada.

Interests:

Reading, Strength training, Running, Pottery, Spending time with her cat, Chester, Hiking, Camping

Favorite Outdoor Skills:

Basketry, Pottery, Awareness, Wandering

Why He Teaches:

Tam's vision is to create a sacred space for the great mystery to unfold, for voices to be heard and to be a witness of transformation and growth, to allow others to reconnect with themselves, the natural world, and to others. Honoring the old ways and connecting to the earth in a way that allows us to flourish and grow. Learning its secrets, respecting our part in the environment, and honoring the gifts nature has to offer.

Experience:

Sean believes in the four cornerstones of self reliance (foraging and hunting, water procurement and treatment, fire starting and tending, shelter construction and use) and is proficient in each one. He believes that these skills are a birthright and is eager to reacquaint people with the skills that live in their bones.

Sean has always been an avid outdoorsman. He is a fisherman, a hunter, a camper, and a rock climber. He has had an affinity for the outdoors from the moment his father first showed him a deer track in the Sierra Nevadas.

Interests:

Climbing, Oil Painting, Hiking, Photography

Favorite Outdoor Skills:

Tracking, Foraging, Stone tools

Why He Teaches:

The city is as much a survival environment as nature is. In the wild, everything is there and it is there in abundance. The world is trying to provide for us, but we have forgotten how to receive. We have forgotten how to listen to ourselves and the Earth. Sean hopes to pass along a vital skill set to students who are caretakers at heart.

Experience:

Dakota did not grow up with the outdoors in his life. Everything he has learned has stemmed from his insatiable love he found in nature as a young adult. Dakota is a proud father, and in his spare time he enjoys power lifting, mountain man rendezvous, and re-enactment events. He is a massive history buff, especially American frontier history.

Dakota began teaching survival skills professionally in 2011, teaching at various camps and private organizations. In 2013 he moved from Missouri to Utah to become a Wilderness Therapy Guide where he worked for many years living with students out on the trail. Dakota enjoys teaching classes at various primitive and outdoor gatherings as well as co-hosting on a wilderness podcast.

Interests:

Power Lifting, Re-enactments, History, Family Time

Favorite Outdoor Skills:

Capotes, Mountain Man Skills, Trekking in the old ways, Archery

Why He Teaches:

Dakota chooses to teach wilderness skills because he feels these skills are our way to connect with the natural world around us. We should all enjoy the knowledge of how to provide for ourselves from our own environment. For him, learning bushcraft skills grounds him and allows him to come to terms with life’s hardships and heal from them. Dakota believes that his knowledge allows him to convey historical rhyme and reason to certain aspects of life that our forebearers experienced.