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for Fall 2008 Internships and
March 2009 Outdoor Classroom Teachers
Thank you for your interest in the environmental education teaching position at Chewonki’s Outdoor Classroom. Our staff is made up of seventeen teachers in a 3-season position starting the end of March and ending early November each year. There are also a few opportunities for continued work throughout the winter. (See detailed job description below). We are currently interviewing for openings starting March 31, 2009. Please give me a call if you are interested and would like to set up an interview. (207-882-7323 ext. 153.)
Notice: Chewonki is also hiring three Outdoor Classroom interns for the Fall 2008. The internship is from August 13 to October 31, 2008 and includes room and board and a $100 weekly stipend. Intern applicants who sign a contract to return next March for the 3-season position listed above will be able to get health insurance this fall. The internship is a support role for the Outdoor Classroom program. Interns will be paired with veteran teachers during residential programs and be involved in a wide variety of support jobs.
Qualifications include a BS or BA. Degrees in education, natural sciences, outdoor recreation, or related field preferred. Teaching experience required. Experience teaching environmental topics and leading low ropes courses a plus. We are looking for teachers with strong leadership ability, a dynamic personality and a passion for living and working with children in the out-of-doors. We also require Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and lifeguarding certification. We host WFR at Chewonki in January and lifeguard training in the spring. To maintain the professional quality of our programs we encourage our teachers to be thinking of a two year minimum stay with time away in the winter.
Benefits include $520 biweekly, plus room and board, a $300/month health plan paid by employer, one week paid vacation in August and 6 paid weeks of environmental education and wilderness trip training. We also provide a staff pro-purchase plan for discounts on out-door gear.
To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter and references along with the OE application posted on this employment page. Please include a list of your strengths and three reasons you are interested in this position.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Dot Lamson
Director of Environmental Education
NOTICE: We also have a teaching internship in our Traveling Natural History Outreach program. This internship involves working with live animals including hawks, owls, reptiles and amphibians. The intern will be learning one-hour natural history programs and teaching those programs in classrooms and other public settings around the state. Qualifications include a BA or BS. Degrees in natural sciences, education, or related studies preferred. Prior teaching experiences and comfort with public speaking will be very helpful. Applicants must enjoy teaching student audiences of all ages, and should additionally have a sensitivity and desire for the caring, feeding, and handling of non-releasable and rehabilitating wild animals. The applicant should also enjoy indoor/outdoor physical labor (i.e.: building perches for raptors, animal cage cleaning and maintenance, designing and creating teaching props for programs, etc.).
Salary is $200 biweekly plus room and board and a $300/month health plan paid by employer for the internship starting in January. The salary increases to $460/biweekly on June 1, for a full staff position through August.
For more information, please contact: Dot Lamson
CHEWONKI ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TEACHER
Job Description
Mission: The Chewonki Foundation is dedicated to helping people grow individually and in community with others by providing educational experiences that foster an understanding and appreciation of the natural world and that emphasize the power of focused, collective effort.
Chewonki's Environmental Education Teacher is a 3-season position starting the first of April and ending in November each year. This is a demanding job, being on-duty 24 hours a day for 3-5 days/week, camping out with a group of 10-12 students. In the spring and fall our teachers lead group challenges and teach natural history with the school programs. Each summer they take on a leadership role in camp leading trips or teaching nature, art, photography, or group challenges. Teachers who come with trip leading experience are often called upon to lead summer wilderness trips. To help maintain the professional quality of our teaching staff we encourage applicants to be thinking of a two-year minimum stay. Most staff leave for the winter, but we do have opportunities for a few teachers to stay on for winter programs.
Because of the nature of our programs, we look for experienced teachers, who are sensitive and caring and who enjoy teaching and working with children. Our teachers also need camping skills and trip leading experience. A willingness and an ability to work very hard is a necessity. We require an up-to-date Wilderness First Responder and Lifeguarding Certification and we host WFR at Chewonki in January and lifeguard training in March. Benefits include: Starting salary of $504 biweekly, plus room and board, a $300/month health plan paid by employer, one-week paid vacation in August and 6 paid weeks of environmental education and wilderness trip training. We also provide a staff pro-purchase plan for discounts on out-door gear.
Chewonki's Environmental Education program is a unique model in which our teachers and the school chaperone live with their students in small camping groups at shore-side campsites on Chewonki Neck. Teachers and students sleep in tents, cook over open fires, and learn camping skills. Respect and responsibility for oneself, others and our natural environment are stressed within these small group communities. Our teachers lead their groups through two lessons daily focusing on both natural history (in-depth field studies of various ecosystems or concepts) as well as challenge activities, such as group initiatives, low ropes course, rock climbing, map and compass, canoeing and more. Night activities include group games, night walks, natural history roves, or a live animal presentations. These programs take place on Chewonki's 400-acre peninsula, which is surrounded by tidal estuaries. Our land is mostly wooded, but also contains fields, two fresh water ponds, a working organic farm, an extensive salt marsh, a hiking trail system and ten established campsites with tent platforms.
In addition to the camping programs, we also offer day programs (on- and off-site), teacher workshops, and occasional wilderness trips. Participant ages generally range from 10 through 18, though sometimes we also work with adults and senior citizens. Students come from many different backgrounds including public and private schools from local mid-coast Maine and suburban Boston.
Other programs exist at Chewonki side by side with the Center for Environmental Education. Most teachers live on campus and we all work together to make the community a successful one. When not on program, teachers are expected to participate in daily chores and cleaning and general Chewonki maintenance work.
Working for Chewonki's Center for Environmental Education is an extremely demanding, yet rewarding experience. It is an excellent teacher training opportunity regardless of experience or background. Although the programs are short (usually 3-5 days), the growth that is realized by each participant is often quite amazing. To be part of that growth is a tremendous responsibility and a wonderful opportunity.
