Outdoor Environmental Educator

Christodora, a 125-year-old nonprofit, nonsectarian organization, based in NYC, seeks Outdoor Educators (OEs) to work at its Manice Education Center (MEC) located in the heart of the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts on a 200-acre wooded campus for the fall season. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to an environmental education program for up to 400 youth from New York City. Each spring and fall, MEC hosts two outdoor, ecology field trips a week for NYC public middle schools and high schools, serving approximately 36 students during each trip.

OEs in the Fall/Spring School Programs work as residential, recreational camp counselors, facilitating three-day, school-chaperoned, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) field trips at and nearby MEC for our partner schools. Staff work closely in a supportive atmosphere and teach small, mixed-gender groups of around 12 youth in all types of weather (there is no bad weather, only bad planning!) in forest, mountain, and pond settings during the spring and fall. The MEC staff lives in similarly rustic housing as students from Monday through Thursday each week: large, canvas-walled tents on top of large wooden platforms that can fit up to eight cots. Each school trip engages in nature hikes to a summit with a view of four states, an 80-foot cascading waterfall, and a unique bog ecosystem.

Join our Summer Team: June 6 – Aug 27, 2023

Join our Fall Team: Sept 6 – Nov 4, 2023

Summer Training Opportunities

Wilderness First Aid through SOLO Wilderness Medicine; Red Cross Waterfront Lifeguarding (optional); low ropes challenge course facilitation through Project Adventure; Verbal Intervention through Crisis Prevention Institute; and 1.5 day professional canoe training on flat and whitewater. Additionally, all educators receive hands-on training and ongoing professional development in the delivery of an active, outdoor, experientially driven curriculum, grounded in social-emotional development and trauma-informed care.

Fall Training Opportunities

Red Cross First Aid, CPR/AED, low-ropes challenge course facilitation through Project Adventure. Additionally, all educators receive hands-on training and ongoing professional development in the delivery of an active, outdoor, experientially driven curriculum, grounded in social-emotional development and trauma-informed care.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate low-ropes challenge course activities designed for teamwork, communication, leadership skills, trust, and social-emotional outcomes
• Inspire curiosity about the natural world through discovery-based activities in a variety of ecosystems
• Plan active and experiential lessons from MEC’s discovery-based curriculum Introduce composting and gardening (including a small flock of chickens) to students Lead nighttime hikes to see the stars and cultivate sensory awareness
• Work closely with other educators within activity groups to create meaningful, problem-based, experiential, and active environmental science lessons
• Provide overnight supervision on a rotating schedule for up to six youth in canvas-walled, cabin style tents on large wooden platforms
• Celebrate as a camp community with skits, music, and s’mores at our campfire program (rain or shine) in a covered gazebo surrounded by forest
• Problem-solve unexpected student behavior through restorative circles

Qualifications

Required:

• Adventurous spirit, willingness to learn, passion for the outdoors, and enjoy connecting with youth from NYC
• Background clearances and medical physical from a licensed medical professional
• BA/BS in related discipline, demonstrable professional experience, and/or previous Christodora program experience

Preferred:

• Experience in environmental education in a residential camp or outdoor setting
• Experience working with middle-school groups from large cities in classroom or outdoor settings
• Spanish/English bilingual a plus
• Valid driver’s license

How to Apply:
Please email employment@christodora.org with only “[Last Name]/MEC OE” as the subject of the message with a resume and brief cover letter. Three professional references may be requested following an initial phone interview