Tracking Connections

We're going to take a little break this summer and we plan to resume episodes in September. We've got exciting stuff planned and we look forward to coming back and sharing all kinds of new ideas with you in the fall. In the meantime, if you can't get enough Tracking Connections, we definitely recommend you go back and listen to some of our older episodes because every episode is timeless, and mayb...

What if the birds outside your window were telling a story—and you could understand it? In this rich and deeply practical episode, we explore the timeless practice of bird language: an ancient skill of awareness, empathy, and interspecies communication. We share stories from sit spots, backyards, and wild landscapes where birds, bobcats, and even our dogs, help shape our understanding of what's ha...

"Nature doesn’t judge. It just invites you to show up and be yourself." In this wide-ranging conversation, we’re joined by Alexis Burnett—naturalist, tracker, herbalist, and founder of Earth Tracks in Ontario, Canada. Alexis takes us on a journey through three decades of nature connection, beginning with a longing for deeper meaning after high school and leading to a life of wilderness mentoring,...

In this heartfelt and inspiring conversation, we reconnect with Julie Stonefelt of Wild Homestead Living —park ranger, nature mentor, cancer survivor, and long-time member of the deep nature connection community. Julie shares her powerful personal story of transformation, from teenage struggles and early mentorship with Jon to her path through illness, healing, and the creation of a slow, connecte...

This episode is all about motivation. How do we motivate our students, and ourselves, to practice our skills, be more consistent in our routines, and deepen our connection to the natural world? Jon and Sarah are joined by Jack Durtnall, based in the UK, and an experienced naturalist, musician, and mentor, to explore these questions and share stories about what Tom Brown Jr did when mentoring Jon a...

Today’s episode is all about relationships, and how putting people first and valuing connection helps us build a conscious legacy in our families and in our work. Our guest, Peter Johnson, is a long time financial and estate planner, the co-founder of Family Nature Retreats, and the author of The Little Book of Family Treasure. He joins us to share how the principles of Connection 1st have influen...

Since he was a child, Richie Rivera Booth has dreamed of being a protector of the natural world. In 2007, he embarked on a journey that would lead him to becoming just that, when he discovered a nine-month intensive program at Wilderness Awareness school, called The Immersion. In this episode, we discuss the transformation that is possible through immersing ourselves in deep nature and people conn...

"I love that survival mentality; the will to solve problems…It gives you the confidence to tackle so many things…You believe in your resourcefulness and those around you." Jason Knight is the founder of Alderleaf Wilderness College, best-selling author of The Essential Skills of Wilderness Survival, a Kamana graduate, and has been teaching nature connection, tracking, and survival for more than 25...

"It doesn’t matter how long it's been since I've had an experience with nature. As soon as I show up, nature is there for me." Maria Buitenhuis is a host and facilitator of the upcoming online course Ecological Homecoming , based on the 8 Shields. She has extensive experience supporting people to deepen their connection to nature, including our own inner nature as part of the larger natural landsc...

"Someone said to me, ‘We have all the tools and techniques we need for widespread earth repair at the moment.’ Ok, so why is that not happening then? And the answer is always about people." Looby Macnamara leads a productive career as a pioneer of permaculture and co-founder of Cultural Emergence. She is an author, facilitator, designer, gardener, mother, and has written 4 books; Cultural Emergenc...

"The message of healing you bring to attend to individual and cultural wounding is paradoxically undermined or attacked by the very same wounding you would seek to heal.” What about deep nature connection work, and mentoring for connection, brings about this paradox? Why do we rebel against our mentors? How do our own wounds prevent us from fully sharing our gifts? In this episode, we dig deeply i...

" The vision is the journey, and the journey is now.” -Tom Brown Jr. In today's episode, we take a look at the power of renewal routines as a tool for deepening connection with ourselves. Jon shares a process he learned from Tom Brown Jr, which he has named Renewal of Creative Path, and the benefits that process has had on his life since he was a teenager. Sarah and Aidan share their own experienc...

" My life’s work is connecting people deeply to nature, each other and themselves. Through over 50 years of mentoring, I’ve seen that deep nature connection changes us on a profound level. Deep connection rewires our nervous system and boosts our wellbeing and potential. " In today's episode, Jon shares about the 512 Project, which is a culmination of more than four decades of research into the cu...

We have a special episode today, sharing two excerpts from Tracking Our Roots In Nature, the 40th anniversary edition of Jon's seminal audio series on connecting to nature, each other, and ourselves. Free Event Dec 10th We are hosting a free event next on December 10th, 2024 at 11am Pacific Time The event is called The Ultimate Wilderness Skill: Awareness as the Key To Empowering your Ancestral Sk...

"The stories we were hearing were of animals coming out onto the trail in front of people and knowing they were there, but not minding that they were there." What if you could calm your nerves, notice more of the world around you, and improve your joint health at the same time? In this episode, we're exploring Foxwalking and Owl Eyes, two techniques that help you to do exactly that. Jon, Sarah, an...

“Mimicry has been my life. It was the easiest channel to my best teacher. For me, it wasn’t people; it was the animals themselves, and the most accessible route to that was through their language.” What effect does imitation have on our body, our memory, our sense of connection? What if we could understand just what the Raven is saying? How do the coyotes behave differently around wolves than they...

“I define tracking as paying attention to the movement of energy.” What are the birds telling us and how can we learn to notice more of what they have to say? In this episode, Dan Gardoqui joins us to share stories from his 35+ years of teaching bird language, tracking, and nature connection. We explore mentoring someone in bird language, what gets people to pay attention, and how the process of l...

“These are the core routines of people connection.” What happens when we slow down, get present, and put connection first? In this episode, Jon and Sarah give an overview of the 10 Foundation Stones of Connective Culture: what they are, how they help facilitate connection between people, and the kind of outcomes that can result from practicing them together with a group. -- Free Download - 10 Foun...

“When we talk about tracking, it's a very holistic definition. It means paying attention, not just with your eyes, but with all your senses.” In this episode we explore the question, "does tracking help us connect deeply with a place more quickly?" Jon and Sarah, having recently returned from two weeks in South Africa and the Kalahari, reflect on the impact that tracking had on their experience, n...

“There’s an intelligence that emerges out of being together in a connective way, that we can call The Keeper, or we can call it The Emergent Mind in interpersonal neurobiology.” "It was an example for me of what I want to build as a community and how I want to build it and participate with people." Susu, Martha, and Patrick joined us to share about their transformational experience designing a wee...

“The message that I’m trying to get across is that we’re all caregivers, whether we recognize it or not, and the more we can take care of ourselves the more we can spread that into the community.” This episode feels like a hug. We are joined by Kris August, veterinarian, herbalist, and educator, to discuss the power of self-care and how she has used natural cycles to create a holistic self-care pr...

“For me, the whole motivation is to facilitate people to come to a place of vision, is to be really activated in their gift, and really starting to deliver their gift to the world, because the world needs it to function better.” In this episode, Ingrid and Jean-Claude take us into their work in nature and people connection, through the Wisdom of the Earth School in British Columbia, Canada, and th...

“This idea of the natural mind IS human nature, or maybe it’s nature in human, nature as human.” 

 “Our nervous system is born expecting that kind of welcome, that kind of attending, that kind of intending. I think our nervous system is shaped for that.” What is the connecting legacy of mentoring the natural mind? Today, Jon takes on a journey to answer that very question, explore how to mentor i...

“We’re in this time when the earth is activating this awakening, we’re part of the immune system of the earth. So then, what do the kids need to hear? Do they need to hear the battles of the Civil War, the names of the Egyptian pharaohs, the capitals of the States? Or do they need to hear that they’re magical beings, threaded to a living earth? That’s what they need to hear everyday from us adults...

“Sometimes you hit the bramble patches of life and, if you’re listening for where your drum beat is -your North Star- you can just keep moving towards it one little step at a time.” This week, Jon and Sarah are joined by mentor and author Victoria Mew, the founder of Red Squirrel Resources , and a longtime student and mentor in nature connection. Victoria shares about her nature connection journey...