Salmon Naturalist

About ESC: The Environmental Science Center (ESC) is a non-profit organization offering experiential environmental education programs at local beaches, streams, forested areas, and in classrooms throughout south King County. Our goals are to foster environmental stewardship actions in all participants of our programs, and to offer knowledge and resources for communities to deepen their relationship with their local environment. ESC recognizes that many communities in south King County – particularly Black, Indigenous, People of Color, immigrant/refugee, and low-income communities – have been systematically excluded from safe, positive, and relevant outdoor experiences, and we are striving to change that. We aim to remove some of the barriers to these experiences by providing free and low-cost programs, and by working to create a safe and affirming space within our programs and in the broader community.

Nature of the work: We are currently hiring Salmon Naturalists for our fall 2024 Salmon Heroes program. Program locations include the Normandy Park Cove in Normandy Park, the Cedar River at the Renton Community Center, Mill Creek EarthWorks Park in Kent, and Mary Olsen Farm in Auburn.

The four-part Salmon Heroes program introduces students to the life cycle and habitats of Pacific salmon, as well as their importance to local ecology, food webs, economy, and the culture and lifeways of Indigenous Peoples. A 1-hour at-school Introductory Lesson gives students an overview of the salmon life cycle, habitat challenges, and food web importance. The 3-hour on-site Field Lesson features hand-on activities including water quality testing, scientific illustration, guided observations, and a salmon dissection. The third component is a classroom Synthesis Lesson in which students analyze the data they gathered in the field, discuss challenges facing salmon, and brainstorm solutions for watershed and community health. An optional fourth component invites students to do an environmental action project on their school campus to help improve watershed health. ESC curriculum for each component of the program is provided.

Responsibilities:

• Facilitate a 3-hour Field Lesson for 4th-8th grades, with lessons about salmon life cycle, anatomy, habitat needs, ethnobotany, watershed health, and human impacts on habitat.
• Model appropriate stewardship behavior. 
• Guide groups of 10-15 students during on-site Field Lesson programs.
• Give feedback on programs and contribute to staff debriefs. 

Qualifications:

• Experience teaching youth in outdoor or informal settings.
• Knowledge of or enthusiasm to learn about the western Washington riparian ecosystem, human impacts on watershed health, and the lifecycle, habitat needs, and ecological importance of salmon.
• Willingness to work outdoors in most weather conditions.
• Exceptional interpretive skills.
• Preference will be given to applicants who can teach in another language in addition to English, particularly languages commonly spoken in south King County, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali, Ukrainian, and Amharic.
• Must have reliable transportation.
• Must be able to pass a Washington State background check.
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Compensation: $20.50/hour; $21.50/hour for bilingual naturalists

Time Commitment:

Part-time and seasonal: Approximately 10-15 hours/week, September 18th through December 20th. There is the potential to work fewer hours if desired. Additional hours may be available facilitating ESC’s public programs. 

Typical Field Lessons are 3 hours and are scheduled Monday – Friday between 9:00am and 2:00pm, with some programs starting earlier. Naturalist time commitment per shift is usually 4.5-4.75 hours for Field Lessons: 3 hours of instruction, 1 hour of set-up/clean-up/debrief, and 30-45 minutes of paid travel time. 

Attendance is required at two in-person training days, September 18th and 19th. Training will be approximately 16 hours, with 14 in-person hours taking place at our field sites in Renton and Normandy Park, and 2 hours allotted for asynchronous at-home work. 

Supervisor: Rosie Wilson-Briggs, ESC School Programs Manager

Work Locations: 

• Normandy Park Cove (1500 SW Shorebrook Drive, Normandy Park, WA 98166)

• Renton Community Center (1715 SE Maple Valley Hwy, Renton, WA 98057)

• Mary Olsen Farm (28728 Green River Road, Kent, WA 98030)

• Mill Creek Earthworks Park (742 E Titus St, Kent, WA 98030)

• Clark Lake Park (12520 SE 240th St, Kent, WA 98031)

How to Apply:  Please fill out the Salmon Naturalist application form on our website envsciencecenter.org/about/jobs/ and e-mail a current resume with subject line “Job Opening Salmon Naturalist” to ESC’s School Programs Manager: rosie@environmentalsciencecenter.org

Applications due by Friday, August 16th. For more information, please email Rosie.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. 

All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.