Mila Saunders
Mila Saunders, founder of Tracking School, is a passionate and certified tracker in the Cybertracker system, holding a Professional Level in Track and Sign identification and a Level III certification in the art of trailing. With her unique expertise, Mila teaches the ancient art of animal tracking across Devon, Sussex, and her homeland of Poland. Her deep connection to animals has shaped a remarkable and diverse career: from horseback riding and dog mushing to leading animal rights NGOs, studying Marine Biology in Poland, Arctic Biology in Svalbard, and researching grey seal behavior in Sweden. She also took part in a successful grey seal reintroduction project in the Southern Baltic and has worked in animal hospitals.
It was the discovery of animal tracking that ignited a true passion in Mila. She finds great joy in deciphering the stories animals leave behind, and she believes tracking offers a unique, direct connection to animals. Mila is currently studying somatics—an exploration of "inner tracking," where she connects deeply with her own body and intuitive senses, further enhancing her understanding of the natural world. Through her Tracking School, Mila collaborates with some of the world’s leading trackers to teach others how to read the tracks and signs in a way that deepens our understanding of animals, and teach us about their lives.
COLLABORATORS
John Rhyder
John is a naturalist, woodsman, wildlife tracker and writer and is both founder and Head Instructor at Woodcraft School. John is one of the most experienced authorities in the field of bushcraft in the UK with an impressive pedigree including being appointed as chief instructor for Ray Mears, receiving his antler handled instructor knife exceptionally after his first season as an instructor in 1997/98. He is the originator of the first accredited bushcraft and related programmes in the UK using the NCFE as the awarding body. John has gained his Accredited Practitioner through the Institute of Outdoor Learning (APIOL) as well as as designing and writing the training & assessment criteria for the IOL’s Foundational Bushcraft Competency certificate. Additionally he has written a Bushcraft Award for a leading youth organisation, the Woodcraft Folk. he also designed and taught bushcraft specific modules for a foundation degree ran through Plumpton College. John has also been lucky enough travel widely and has studied on, and led bushcraft, tracking and wildlife tours across Europe and Scandinavia as well as Africa and the USA.
John has also worked and taught in arboriculture, conservation and habitat management and has been teaching since 1994 making this a full time career. He is a lifelong naturalist and is certified through CyberTracker conservation as a Senior tracker. John is also works as an evaluator assessing both track and sign identification and trailing in this region. He is also the track and sign external evaluator for Europe. To expand his knowledge John has been certificated in Germany, Holland and Spain. He is a qualified arborist and also holds a University certificate in Species Identification & Biological Recording. John has been endorsed as an instructor in natural navigation techniques through Tristan Gooley and his school of natural navigation.
Kersey Lawrence and Lee Gutteridge
Kersey Lawrence and Lee Gutteridge are Senior Trackers and Evaluators with CyberTracker Conservation. Kersey is also the Director of Education and Research for Original Wisdom and Lee is the Owner and Principal Trainer for Nature Guide Training. They run guide training, tracking, education and research programs across the world. Kersey holds a doctorate from the University of Connecticut in the ecology of tracking and the culture of trackers. She combines quantitative and qualitative methods, incorporating local knowledge and skill into modern science to advance our wholistic understanding of the natural world. Lee is one of the most highly qualified guides, and guide trainers, in Africa, and is the author of ten natural history and tracking books. Graduates of his training school have gone on to work at or establish some of the most prestigious lodges in Africa. Kersey and Lee’s work takes them all over the world, with the majority of their focus on the African savannas and the forests of North America. There, they teach tracking experientially, and ensure that trackers meet the internationally recognized gold-standard set by CyberTracker. Together, they facilitate TrackerMentoring.com, an international online education company and published The Tracker Mentoring Manual. Through their passion for tracking, Kersey and Lee strive to inspire others to appreciate and protect the diverse beauty of our planet.
