Cal-Wood Mission & Philosophy: Cal-Wood Education Center is on a mission to facilitate positive nature experiences for all - especially those who haven't yet spent time in the mountains. Cal-Wood has provided residential environmental and outdoor education programs to hundreds of thousands of Coloradans since 1982 at our 1,200-acre classroom located west of Boulder, Colorado. Through these school programs, summer camps, and family camps, we provide access for kids and adults from underrepresented communities to have life-changing experiences outdoors. We believe that no matter where you live or what language you speak, you deserve to feel safe and welcome outside. We strive to grow our programs so that we can enable more and more people from all walks of life to find a connection with nature.
Cal-Wood has received several national and local awards because of our quality programs and our service to linguistically diverse audiences. Our field instructors receive training in sheltered instruction and other skills to help them effectively teach and connect with all students who visit Cal-Wood, from Commerce City to Aurora to Boulder and beyond. Instructors provide dynamic, hands-on science education in the field so that all students can explore, learn, and see themselves as scientists.
Position Overview: Cal-Wood is looking for a fun, flexible, hard-working, professional summer camp enthusiast to prepare, run, and advertise our summer camp programs. Cal-Wood runs 10 sessions over 6 weeks of summer (plus 1-2 weeks of staff training) with 50-60 campers in attendance per week at Cal-Wood. We run camps for students in 4th-12th grade from traditional overnight camps to high school science immersives. You can view details about our summer offerings here.
Position starts February 3, 2025. This position will be part time February-May and full time June-July.
Responsibilities:
- Plan, organize, and schedule Cal-Wood’s 10 summer camp sessions with assistance from other Cal-Wood Staff
- Assist with marketing summer camps to fill all camps
- Recruit and hire camp staff including counselors, overnight counselors
- Organize logistics for the summer including ordering and organizing materials, organizing vehicles, radios, etc
- Help the retreats coordinator to act as liaison between Cal-Wood and groups renting our facilities during the summer season
- Keep Cal-Wood up to date with all child care licensing and social services standards for Boulder County
- Work with the Director of Programs to distribute financial aid to campers in need
- Create camper information documents, schedules, cabin assignments, etc. for each of our 10 camp sessions
- Communicate with parents to answer any and all questions regarding summer camps
- Plan and execute 1-2 weeks of summer camp staff training
- Evaluate and give feedback to all summer camp staff
- Acquire permits for day trips and backpacking trips into local parks and wilderness areas
- Coordinate with the Director of Development and Communications for online media including the Cal-Wood Summer Camps section of the website as well as the Cal-Wood facebook page
- Act as liaison and coordinate Nature Kids summer camp programming
- Assist counselors with behavior management including conversations with campers and, if needed, parent communication.
- Assure that all campers are happy and healthy and that all programs are running smoothly
Qualities and Qualifications:
- Individuals from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply!
- High level of personal motivation for continued learning, personal responsibility for positive attitude, and flexibility are necessary to meet the demands of a dynamic work schedule.
- Bachelor’s Degree in science, natural resources management, education, environmental education, or other related field.
- Two or more years of summer camp experience, with preference for camp leadership roles.
- Work and live with a small team of other motivated and passionate staff to support operations of a small non-profit organization. Instructional staff is about 10-15 people.
- Able to be at our Cal-Wood Education Center campus near Jamestown, CO during all summer camp weeks.
- Ability to pass background checks.
- Ability to hike 3-6 miles daily, lift heavy objects (up to 50 lbs for short periods of time, sometimes multiples times per day), and maintain a positive attitude outdoors in all weather conditions.
- Current First Aid/CPR certification or willingness to get certified required. Wilderness First Aid (WFA) or Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certifications a plus.
- Bilingual (Spanish-English) strongly preferred.
Compensation:
$25/hour
Part-time (approximately 20 hours per week) for February-May
Full-time for June-July