| In 1957, seven-year-old Tom Brown, Jr. met an 83-year-old Lipan Apache elder named Stalking Wolf, whom he called Grandfather. For the next 10 years, Grandfather trained Tom in the arts of tracking, awareness, and wilderness living skills. Grandfather had learned these skills from his own people and from other native peoples throughout the Americas. In 1978, Tom Brown, Jr. opened the Tracker School which has been training adults in these arts ever since. In 1999, the Coyote Tracks Programs were inaugurated. In 2001, the Coyote Tracks Programs became a part of The Children of the Earth Foundation, an organization inspired by Tom and Debra Brown. |
TOM BROWN JR & THE FOUNDATION
When most people think of home, they think of sitting in their living rooms with the television on and the lamp shining bright. When Tom Brown, Jr. thinks of home, he thinks of the wilderness. He sees the moon glistening above, hears the sounds of wildlife intermingling with the crackling of leaves and notices the stirring of bushes as animals make their way through the world.
Indeed, for most of Tom Brown, Jr.’s life, he has called the wilderness home. The founder of the Tracker School, the largest tracking, nature awareness and survival school of its kind, Tom has been exploring the wilderness since he was 7 years old. At this age, he met his teacher Stalking Wolf, an Apache elder.
Stalking Wolf, affectionately referred to as “Grandfather,” was the real-life grandfather of Tom’s best childhood friend. The boys would often accompany Stalking Wolf into the woods of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, where they learned the arts of survival and tracking; the way of nature and the skills of awareness Stalking Wolf had learned during his life's travels.
In 1978, Tom published the first of his 16 books, The Tracker, an autobiography of his life. Among his other book credits are Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature and Survival for Children, Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Awareness and Tracking, The Way of the Scout, and Grandfather.
In the same year, Tom opened the Tracker School. He has since taught thousands of people from all over the world about the wilderness and all it has to offer. Tom emphasizes a close connection to the Earth, and shows us how to ensure her survival.
In 1999, the Tracker School added another dimension to its educational offerings --the Coyote Tracks Programs. Geared toward youth and teens, the Coyote Tracks Programs emphasize many of the same skills that are taught in Tom’s adult classes. In 2001, Tom and his wife Debra founded The Children of the Earth Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to house and expand these youth programs. We are excited to bring you these programs today, and hope you will join us for an adventure!
|
