Tracking the Stories of the Wolf:
Storytelling and Wolf Tracking
(this seminar requires good knowledge of the english language)
This 3 day course provides an immersion into the ways of the wolf, led by experienced tracker Greg Sommer and storyteller Dougie Mackay, hosted at Wildnisschule Hoher Fläming.
Overview
The Wolf is like a ghost moving across the landscape, flitting between the trees with hardly a leaf being disturbed, only when one is really lucky can you catch a glimpse of its presence. The howl, tracks or fleeting images to stoke our imagination and wonder, or to invoke fear or hatred depending on our perspective. Probably one of our most controversial figures in stories, mythology and lore, from the villainous ‚Big Bad Wolf‘, to demi-gods or the savior of our forests. Even in modern times the wolf seems either loved and praised or hated as the destroyer of our flocks and game. Science confirms it is a keystone species, vital to habitat restoration, and influential in creating ecological diversity.
We will spend a weekend together exploring traditional stories of the wolf, looking at facts and fiction, and spending time on the landscape learning to read its sign and presence. What does the wolf mean for us and how do we relate to them?
How can we separate science, from lore and lived experience, or usefully learn from each? How can we incorporate factual knowledge into our stories that we tell about them and how can we be better ambassadors to these creatures.
This weekend is about following the tracks and sign of the wolf through story and landscape to bring us a bit nearer to these creatures and to see them as who they are without our biases. We will be situated in a place where the wolf been present for 15 years, our hosts have observed their movements for much of their time.
It is a weekend for storytellers who wish to bring more depth to the wolf as a character; for outdoor people that seek to understand this creature better; for nature educators that wish to learn a bit more storytelling and tracking.
Description
We will be learning about the wolves in Brandenburg through their tracks, the signs they leave behind, honing our awareness in the landscapes which they move, and reflecting on the stories of tracking them and traditional stories. We will learn some basics around wolf tracking, movement and sign recognition and also basics of how to tell stories. There are options for those who want to go deeper into the story telling aspect and for others who want to delve deeper into their signs and presence on the landscape and how to distinguish them from the other animals we find.
Practicalities
Cost
€350-450 sliding scale. Includes all tuition, food and camping accommodation.
Food
Delicious vegetarian meals, prepared by our expert outdoor chef will be provided.
Bring snacks.
Accommodation
Camp space is provided, bring your own camping gear. (some may be provided at request)
Alternative local accommodation is recommended at https://coconat-space.com/stay/
Travel
Within 1 hours train ride from Berlin, we can arrange pickup from Bad Belzig station if needed.
Venue
https://wildnisschule-hoherflaeming.de/kurse/wolfstracking-mit-greg-sommer/
Email: dougie@storyconnection.org with questions.
LOCATION
Wildnisschule Hoher Flaeming, 14806 Bad Belzig
Greg Sommer
grew up in Washington State running around the temperate rain forests, camping, tracking, listening to birds making fire without matches and sleeping under the stars. He learned tracking and nature mentoring from Jon Young and first encountered wolves and their tracks in the foothills of the cascades and later in the mountains of Idaho.
He spent a year living in a debris hut in the Pine Barrens at Tom Brown’s Tracker school. He has been tracking around the wilds of Brandenburg getting to know the wolves on their return to Germany over the last 12 years and has been teaching kids and adults nature skills, tracking, about birds there. He has a Bachelors of Science from Evergreen State College. He is a certified level three in track and sign from Cybertracker both in Western Washington and Germany.
Dougie Mackay
is a Scottish storyteller and outdoor educator, who’s been researching wolf myth and story for a decade.
Intrigued by ecological decline in Scotland, he became interested in the role of wolves in the landscape and how firsthand encounters often differ from the ‚Big Bad Wolf‘ trope in European fairy tales. This led him to track wolves in Europe and create the storytelling show ‚A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun‘, which recently received 5* reviews at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He passionate about the role of the arts and folk culture in impacting ecological attitudes and supporting learning.