Youth Outdoor Workshops is a Montessori-inspired outdoor education program for K-3 students in Richmond, VA. We run afterschool programs at local elementary schools and a six-week nature camp at Forest Hill Park each summer. Our Outdoor Explorers weeks are built around real field experience - creek ecology, forest investigation, hands-on discovery, and the kind of learning that happens when kids are actually outside paying attention to things.
We're hiring a support educator for two camp weeks this July: Wild Discoveries (July 20-24) and Creek Exploration (July 27-31). If you're available for additional weeks beyond those two, we'd love to hear about that as well!
What the role looks like:
You'll work alongside a lead educator running full days of nature-based programming at Forest Hill Park with a group of K-3 campers. That means co-facilitating activities, supporting small groups, helping manage transitions, keeping an eye on kids near water, and bringing genuine energy and knowledge to whatever the day throws at you. This is a hands-on, on-your-feet role in an outdoor setting. Expect heat, mud, and curious six-year-olds with very specific questions about creek invertebrates.
We have a few shifts available, and we'd love to hear which ones you're available for each week:
Morning shift: 7:45am-12:30pm (Includes before care 8:00-9:00 + core camp)
Afternoon shift: 12:00pm-5:45pm (Includes overlap, core camp through 3:00, and after care until 5:30)
Full day: 8:45am-3:15pm (Core camp only, no extended care)
The morning and afternoon shifts overlap 12:00-12:30 for a clean handoff. Extended care won't run every week - it's enrollment dependent - but we still want to know your availability for it.
What we're looking for:
You have real knowledge of the natural world. Not necessarily across every category, but deep enough somewhere that you're a genuine resource for kids and not just an enthusiastic bystander. Maybe you know your plants cold, or you've spent serious time with aquatic ecology, or birds are your thing. Whatever it is, it's real and kids can tell. We especially like seeing knowledge on plant and tree ID.
You're good with young children and comfortable in a group setting. You don't need to have run a camp independently, but you should have experience working with kids and enough presence to hold your own when the lead educator needs you to take point on something.
You think outdoor education matters and you show up like it does.
Minimum qualifications:
- Genuine field knowledge in at least one natural area
- Experience working with children, ideally K-3 age range
- Comfort outdoors in summer conditions and near water
- Available both for either one or both weeks: July 20-24 and July 27-31
To apply: Send a resume and a short note about your nature background to [email protected]. Tell us what you actually know well - we're more interested in that than a list of credentials.
Pay: $18.00 - $19.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
