Personal growth, appreciation and stewardship for the natural world, and building community are the three core values that support Chewonki’s mission. Each Outdoor Classroom experience strives to achieve each of these core values. The majority of programming takes place on Chewonki’s 400-acre peninsula, which is surrounded by tidal estuaries. The land is mostly wooded, and also contains fields, two freshwater ponds, a working farm, an extensive salt marsh, a hiking trail system, and eleven established shore-side campsites with tent platforms. In addition to the base camping programs, the OC program also offers wilderness trips and day programs for schools. The majority of Outdoor Classroom’s school partners participate in our programming in the Spring and Fall seasons.

Outdoor Educators work with residential school programs by leading groups of students on base-camping trips and teach outdoor living, team building, and ecology by facilitating a variety of lesson topics: natural history, sustainability, farming, and canoeing. Educators live with their students and school chaperone in small camping groups at shore-side campsites on Chewonki Neck or on islands in Hockomock Bay, sleeping in tents, cooking over open fires or camp stoves to facilitate positive learning experiences in nature. In addition to their job responsibilities by season, educators are expected to take initiative and be part of the greater community and to support the Chewonki Mission of promoting personal growth, natural history, and community development.

Outdoor Educators teach students how to set up a tent, process firewood, and cook over an open fire where they discover the demands and satisfaction of authentic teamwork while enjoying their time outdoors together. Our educators live and work alongside their students during program. They usher in each new group with enthusiasm and dedication, and they take pride in their students’ growth throughout the week. Each educator receives training in natural history education, group facilitation, and outdoor leadership. With a low student-teacher ratio, every group receives the most careful, individualized attention possible. The group includes 10 to 12 students, a Chewonki educator, and the teacher/chaperone from the visiting school.

In addition to their job responsibilities by season, educators are expected to take initiative and be a part of the greater community. This includes the care and maintenance of common spaces. Our educators are viewed as outdoor professionals and our Outdoor Classroom team is here to support each individual’s growth throughout their time at Chewonki and beyond.

Position Title: Outdoor Educator
Employment Category: Category C
Permanent/Temporary:  8/18/2020 – 10/31/2020 & 4/15/2021 – 9/11/2021
Reports to: OC Coordinator/Summer Program Director
Exempt/Non-exempt: Exempt
Schedule (hours and weeks): Full Time 
Benefits Eligible: Yes 

To Apply: Please visit the Chewonki Employment Opportunities page at this link (https://chewonki.org/about/employment-opportunities/) for a complete position description and application instructions. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The position is posted until filled.

Please see the Outdoor Classroom website (https://outdoorclassroom.chewonki.org/) to learn more about this program!

The Chewonki Foundation (https://chewonki.org/) is a year-round, nonprofit environmental education center based on a 400-acre peninsula in mid-coast Maine. Our mission is to inspire transformative growth, teach appreciation and stewardship of the natural world, and challenge people to build thriving, sustainable communities throughout their lives. We offer a place-based elementary and middle school, a semester school for high school juniors, summer camps and wilderness expeditions, outdoor education programs, a youth mentorship program, and traveling natural history programs.