Seasonal Educator - Military veterans preferred

Huntington, VT
Full time
Posted 30+ Days Ago
JR34

Position Summary

The Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington seeks enthusiastic teachers, environmental educators, and naturalists to lead our nature day camps. The Seasonal Educator will work with 3- to 5-year-old and 6- to 12-year-old children (and new this year, one week of 13 to 16-year-old campers!) as they explore the forests, brooks, meadows, and ponds on the Center’s 255 acres.  Each week of camp focuses on a different theme and all campers get the chance to search for wildlife, make crafts, go on hikes, play games, and hone their nature awareness skills. New this year the Seasonal Educator position will be split into two positions a Lead Seasonal Educator and a Seasonal Educator. The Seasonal Educator position will be responsible for assisting the Lead Educators in facilitating games, activities, and lessons as well as group management. This position is excellent for someone who is interested in learning how camp works and getting practice working with children outdoors. This is an excellent next step for those who are new to the summer camp world or have been Counselors-in-Training. By the end of the summer, Seasonal Educators will have planned and lead a camp week of their own.

Seasonal Educators will be responsible for teaching outdoors all summer, learning and developing camp activities. They will be responsible for communicating and working effectively with the entire camp team, which includes other seasonal educators and lead educators, an education intern, Audubon’s year-round staff, high-school Counselors-in-Training. Seasonal Educators will help mentor Counselors-in-Training. As we continue to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we still expect to implement practices to keep campers and staff safe, healthy, and well. Staff will be trained in practices that support camp-wide health.

Staff will work at both our Preschool Nature Camp (PNC) and Ecology Day Camp (EDC) and should feel comfortable with both age groups. Throughout the summer, educators will share the role of coordinating the weekly and daily logistics for campers at either PNC or EDC. Audubon will challenge you to enhance your leadership, teaching, and mentoring skills while encouraging you to share the wonder of exploring the most magical places at the Green Mountain Audubon Center.   

Camp runs for 8 weeks, June 24 – August 16.  There are six days of paid professional development and naturalist training prior to the start of camp from June 13th to June 21st (19th off for Juneteenth).  This is a full-time, seasonal opportunity with an estimated 40-hour work week.

Camp Schedule 

Required Training before camp: 6 days from Thursday, June 13th to Friday, June 21st (no training over the weekend or on June 19th for Juneteenth)

The Daily staff schedule is 8:00am – 4:30pm. 

Camp clean-up and debrief Monday, August 19th after camp. 

All camp staff will have 2 unpaid vacation days on Wednesday, June 19th and Thursday, July 4th.  

There is one required overnight camp-out at Audubon for staff working Ecology Day Camp Tuesday July 2nd with campers.

There is one camp, Twilight Adventures 8/5/24-8/9/24, that will require staff working Ecology Day Camp to be available from 2:30pm to 9:30pm.

This role is on-site at the Audubon Vermont, Green Mountain Audubon Center, in Huntington, VT 

Applicants must be over 18 years of age.

 Compensation:

$16.00 / hour 

Essential Functions

Attend camp training week led by professional Audubon Teacher/Naturalists. 

Creating and planning one entire week of camp by the end of the summer including games, crafts, activities, and lessons following a nature-based curriculum. You will be supported by year-round and seasonal educators to help you do this. You will assist your team with planning other weeks of camp.

Provide a fun, educational experience for children during camp. 

Help maintain the safety and wellbeing of all camp participants and coworkers outside, all day long, throughout the summer. 

Work as a cohesive team to ensure we provide the best camp experience possible. 

Speak to camp parents and guardians as necessary, in a professional manner. 

Assist with the completion of camp duties including morning prep, daily cleaning, and tidying. 

Act as a mentor to high school counselors-in-training

Provide feedback to Audubon staff at mid-season and end of summer evaluations. Complete the Youth Leadership Survey before your last day.

Special attention is to be taken for following all State, CDC, and Audubon guidelines for COVID-19 safety. Educators must keep good communication with the Camp Director and co-teachers with possible sick campers, etc. Deep cleaning and disinfecting of equipment, materials, tables and chairs and other items used during the day will be expected at the end of each camp day. Camp will be primarily outdoors, except for thunderstorms or other potentially dangerous hazards. Counselors showing/feeling any signs of COVID-19, will be asked to remain home and not return to camp following policies in Audubon’s Handbook.

Qualifications and Experience

3-6 months combined experience working directly with children aged 3 to 12 at camps, afterschool programs, babysitting, etc.

Ability to implement written lesson plans, follow schedule, manage group and individual behavior, and think on your feet to come up with games and activities as needed under the direction of Lead Seasonal Educators.

Love of outdoor exploration and questioning; ability to model curiosity and wonder about the natural world. 

Be open to feedback and have a desire to grow professionally.

Ability to work well as part of a team. 

Committed to reflecting the values of Audubon Vermont by working towards justice, equity, and inclusion. This includes respecting all aspects of human diversity, including race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, socioeconomic status, age, gender, disability, and sexual orientation.

Excellent organizational and communication skills. 

Child and adult First Aid and CPR certification must be up to date by the start of staff camp. Let us know if you need CPR certification or recertification. 

Must have reliable transportation to and from our Audubon Center in Huntington, VT. each day for work. We are 8.5 miles from the nearest bus stop. 

Must have the ability to keep up with a group of campers on all major trails of the Audubon Center and on uneven terrain in the woods, fields, river, and hillsides. 

Be able to run, sit, stand, grasp, lift, carry, walk, push, reach, climb and pull for short and extended periods of time. 

Able to work outdoors in the heat of summer. 

Preferred Qualifications:

Demonstrated knowledge of Vermont natural history (the scientific study of animals or plants, especially as concerned with observation rather than experiment.) 

Knowledge of core routines of nature connection (e.g., sit spot, journaling, mapping, bird language, tracking, etc). 

Experience as either a camp instructor or participant or experience in the things that make camp fun and engaging: singing, storytelling, making crafts and art from natural materials, games and riddles, being able to think on your feet to keep a group of children engaged and occupied at a moment’s notice. 

Some coursework in Environmental Studies, Education, or related field

EEO Statement

The National Audubon Society is a federal contractor and an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. We are committed to a policy of nondiscrimination, inclusion and equal opportunity and actively seek a diverse pool of candidates in this search.

Accessibility Statement

The National Audubon Society endeavors to keep our careers site accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact Accommodations@audubon.org. This contact information is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

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