Outdoor Educator

~ Christodora, a 119 year-old non-profit organization offering high-quality environmental education and leadership training to motivated New York City youth. ~

Many urban youth lack opportunities to learn about the environment and experience the natural world first hand. A New York City childhood is spent playing in the park, learning about "nature" in museums or on television.

It can be difficult to find a single patch of green, let alone the grandeur of the wilderness and the clarity and direction it gives to our lives. At Christodora, we believe an escape from the concrete is not just a privilege-it's a transformative experience that allows youth to better understand the natural world and shape their role within it.  

Position Overview

Love the outdoors? Have a sense of adventure?  Enjoy working with youth?

Christodora: Nature, Learning, Leadership since 1897 is seeking Outdoor Educators to work at its Manice Education Center located in the heart of the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. This is a phenomenal setting for nature enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers to enjoy a pristine wilderness playground, alongside music, arts, and festivities in nearby college towns.

The Manice Education Center operates several distinctly different seasonal programs focusing on highly engaging opportunities for junior and senior high school youth from New York City in environmental education, wilderness expeditions, and leadership training from May through October.   The Center is located on a 200 acre forested campus, surrounded by thousands of acres in abutting Savoy Mountain State Forest, boasting mountain streams, rivers, ponds and diverse wildlife including moose!

Join our diverse team for spring, or summer, or fall or for all 3 seasons!

• Chaperoned School Field Trip Program (Spring):  4-9 to 6-8-18
• Seasonal Summer Camp Backcountry Expedition Program: 6-11 to 8-26-18
• MEC offers SOLO Wilderness First Aid and Red Cross CPR Certification Courses on 6-9 & 6-10. 
• Chaperoned School Field Trip Program (Fall): 9-5 to 10-28-18

Free Training Opportunities!

• Red Cross First Aid and CPR Certifications provided for spring and fall team members.
• SOLO Wilderness First Aid, Red Cross CPR, Red Cross Waterfront Lifeguarding, a 2-day professional tandem canoeing skill clinic, and overnight backpacking and camping skills training are all provided for summer team members.
• All educators receive hands-on training in the delivery of an experientially driven curriculum, challenge course training and facilitation, and ongoing professional development as an outdoor and environmental educator in a program using cutting edge techniques in youth development.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate challenge course activities designed to focus on teamwork, communication, leadership skills, trust, and social development. 
• Inspire curiosity about our natural world through discovery-based activities in forested ecosystems.  Use our testing equipment & interact with live exhibits in our science lab. Introduce gardening, composting and small-scale farming with live chickens. 
• Learn and teach wilderness survival skills including primitive fire making, shelter building, and foraging for wild edibles.
• Lead nighttime hikes to see the stars and the magic of bioluminescence.
• Supervise 6-7 youth overnight in canvas, cabin style tents on platforms.
• Celebrate with skits, drumming, and s’mores at our campfire program—rain or shine in a gazebo surrounded by forest—that can seat the entire campus.
• Mentor outdoor educator assistants as part of a small co-teaching group working with 10-12 participants.
• Outdoor Educators in the spring/fall school programs will facilitate 3-day school chaperoned field trips at MEC for our partner NYC public schools. 
• Staff work closely together in a supportive atmosphere and teach small, coed groups of 10-12 youth in a variety of outdoor settings.  
• Each school trip will engage in hikes to a summit with a view of 4 states, an 80-foot cascading waterfall, a unique bog ecosystem, and a llama farm.

Outdoor Educators in our Summer Programs lead Wilderness Expeditions:

• 6 overnight wilderness expeditions backpacking and/or canoeing for 2-5 days in length.
• Hike on the Appalachian Trail, Long Trail, and Mahican-Mohawk Trail.
• Paddle a series of mountain ponds and rivers in Southern New England, including the Deerfield River, Connecticut River, and Battenkill River.
• Lead youth in service projects to improve publicly used wilderness areas and trails.

Qualifications

Required:

• Adventurous spirit, willingness to learn, passion for the outdoors, and enjoys connecting with urban youth. 
• BA/BS in related discipline preferred.  Significant professional experience considered.  
• Background clearances and medical physical required.  Initial drug screening may be required.

Preferred:

• Experience in outdoor education & leadership training in a camp setting.
• Experience working with urban school groups (field trip program only).
• Experience with wilderness navigation (summer only).
• Spanish/English Bilingual a plus.
• Valid driver’s license.  

Stipend

• Competitive weekly salary; lodging & basic amenities, excellent food service.
• Access to wilderness equipment, and outdoor equipment discounts.
• Enjoy living in a unique outdoor setting, and be a part of a 121-year-old tradition of developing a constructive, supportive community through hard work, play, and dedication to our mission.
• Outdoor Educators work as Outdoor Education Residential Camp Counselors.

To Apply

Please click "Apply" below to upload your cover letter & resume (feel free to include wilderness, leadership, and/or education portfolios) to Matthew Scholl, M.E.C. Director or mail to: M.E.C. 68 Savoy Road, Florida, MA 01247.

Christodora is committed to making a difference within a culturally diverse, educational environment. Applicants are requested to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.  Three professional references will be required. 

~ Christodora is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ~