Teacher Naturalist

Live, learn, and teach in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  As a member of a year-round professional educator team, you will facilitate innovative experiences that help students and teachers deepen relationships and rediscover a love of learning.  Our immersive overnight programs reach k-12 students, teachers, college students, adults, and families.  Teacher Naturalist compensation includes meals and lodging on-site (~$10,000/yr value), a retirement package, access to health and dental insurance, 14 paid holidays, paid professional development, and a weekly salary starting at $425. 

Our Ideal Applicant

We are seeking passionate educators—people who have experienced awe and wonder outdoors and who now want that for other people too. Tremont Teacher Naturalists believe that education is a vehicle for change and want Tremont’s programs to make positive impacts on the health and well-being of our participants and the ecosystems they live within. 

Our ideal applicants have experience working with children, either in classrooms, after-school programs, nature centers, outdoor schools, or camp settings. They know they like to be around children and have empathy and respect for their social and emotional lives. 

Finally, our ideal applicant brings warmth and hospitality to our programs. Their manner and their work invite people of all backgrounds to realize our collective heritage in the natural world.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

The following duties are typical for this position.  

Program  

• Guide experiential education programs for youth and adults.
• Deliver innovative lessons that help students and teachers deepen relationships and (re)discover a love of learning.
• Adapt Tremont lesson plans to accommodate personal teaching style, goals of participants, and seasonality. 
• Make good decisions regarding personal and participant safety, anticipate problems and act within scope of first aid training. 
• Work effectively with a range of participants, elementary aged through college, adults, and teachers. 
• Provide on-site supervision and support for program participants.

Tremont Community

• Provide warmth and hospitality to all program participants; invites participants into spaces and activities with kindness and compassion. 
• Contribute to our caring community by taking care to set-up, clean, and maintain program spaces as needed for programs.
• Communicate needs and concerns openly and clearly. 
• Actively participate in our Tremont team to create impactful experiences. 
• Maintain helpful attitude and energy to accomplish individual and collaborative projects. 

Leadership and Growth

• Demonstrate curiosity by continually exploring areas of interest (such as branches of natural history, human cultures and history, the humanities, etc.). 
• Serve in leadership capacity for summer interns and new staff. 
• Seek opportunities for growth and continual improvement as an educator for both youth and adults.

We are seeking team members to start in late May and also mid-August.  

To apply: https://gsmit.org/hiring-teacher-naturalist/