Adventure Treks Leaders, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

Posted by Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education on March 26, 2018

The Schuylkill Center’s Summer Adventure Treks is an environmentally focused adventure camp for young adults. Week-long programs are designed to challenge campers emotionally, physically, and socially in a safe and supportive environment. We are seeking highly motivated, energetic leaders to plan and facilitate adventure-based outdoor activities for students between the ages 10 – 12 and 13 – 15 that align with a weekly theme. Leaders should be comfortable creating a community atmosphere that encourages students to step outside of their comfort zones and feel self-assured and vital to the group’s camping experience.

Outdoor Educators/Leaders; Seasonal Position (2 positions)
In this camp, the first part of the week is spent on the Schuylkill Center campus in a day camp setting: exploring the forests, ponds, and streams of the property while keeping focus on the overall theme of the week. The second part brings participants to various locations in the Mid-Atlantic region to spend two nights camping and guiding participants through planned activities and events.

Duties include: leading team-building activities, supervising outdoor recreation activities, keeping participants engaged and focused, planning portions of the trips, maintaining camping equipment and specialized outdoor education equipment, leading or assisting hikes, leading camping trips (camp set-up, clean-up, cooking, etc.), participating in outdoor adventure activities such as biking, rafting, canoeing, archery, swimming, and climbing, and photographing the students engaging in their camp experience. A week of paid training will be provided.

You could be an Outdoor Educator if: You have a moderate endurance level for camping and summer activities such as swimming, canoeing, and hiking. An education background in biology, environmental education, or related field with a personal background of camping, swimming, rafting, etc. is preferred.

Adventure Guides; Seasonal Position (2 positions) *Month of July Only*
In this camp, while with the 10 – 12 age group, staff will conduct activities on the Schuylkill Center grounds for 1 – 2 days, then lead camping trips for threedays from Wednesday – Friday. During the 13 – 15 camps, staff will meet participants at the Schuylkill Center on Monday and depart for a five day, four night camping trip.

Duties include: leading team building activities, supervising outdoor recreation activities, planning and teaching environmental education classes in an engaging manner, planning portions of the trips, maintaining camping equipment, maintaining specialized outdoor education equipment, leading or assisting hikes, leading 5 day camping trips (camp set-up, clean-up, cooking, etc.), photographing the students engaging in their camp experience, and participating in outdoor adventure activities such as biking, rafting and climbing as needed.

You could be an Adventure guide if: You love adventure! You have a high endurance for long camping trips and summer activities such as whitewater rafting, ziplining, and mountain biking.

Qualifications: Must be comfortable in the outdoors and familiar with outdoor recreation and natural sciences; experience camping and planning camping trips; capable of supervising teens and pre-teens; planning and cooking meals; maintaining specialized gear and be able to drive a 12-passenger van and submit a valid driver’s license. Employees should bring a positive attitude to the Schuylkill Center and be able to work in a team/group setting. Must be a positive role model for youth and be enthusiastic about the programming we have to offer. We provide First Aid/CPR certification if hired. However, we prefer Wilderness first-aid/first responder certification. Bachelor’s degree in education or science preferred.

Background Clearances: Finalists are responsible for providing a valid Pennsylvania Child Abuse clearance, state criminal background check, FBI criminal background check, and any other background check that the Schuylkill Center requires based on the applicant’s state residency.

Dates of Employment: Outdoor Leader — position begins on June 4, 2018 and ends on August 17, 2018.
Adventure Guide — July 2 – 20

Compensation: $550 – $600 per week; please note that housing is not provided on days off.
Application Closing Date : March 31, 2018
To apply, please send a letter of interest and resume to: [email protected]

Please state in the subject line of the email which camp you are most interested in working with (E.g. Summer Adventure Treks Outdoor Educator). If asked to interview, you will sit down with managers of all camps to learn more about each camp.

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
Attention: Emily Harkness
8480 Hagy’s Mill Road
Philadelphia, PA 19128

We value a racially, ethnically and culturally diverse work community and we strongly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. E.O.E.