Teacher Naturalist

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Position Summary

New England Wild Flower Society is looking for capable, organized, patient, and enthusiastic educators to promote awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the botanical and natural world in school programs at Garden in the Woods focused on plant life, habitats, and weather and climate.

About Our School Programs

The Society offers programs for schools that promote awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the botanical and natural world through experiential and inquiry-based learning. Our programs meet the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering curriculum standards. We currently offer four programs for schools: Seeing Green for grades Pre-K-K; Exploring Plants and their Homes for grades 1-2; Plant Survival and Adaptation for grade 3; and The Life of a Plant for grades 3-4. Each school visit to the Garden is one hour long and is accompanied by pre- and post- classroom activities. Programs take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during April, May, June, September, and October.

About the Society

The mission of New England Wild Flower Society is to conserve and promote the region's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes. Founded in 1900, the Society is the nation's oldest plant conservation organization and a recognized leader in native plant conservation, horticulture, and education. The Society's headquarters, Garden in the Woods, is a renowned native plant botanic garden in Framingham, Massachusetts, that attracts visitors from all over the world. From this base, 25 staff and more than 700 volunteers work throughout New England to monitor and protect rare and endangered plants, collect and preserve seeds to ensure biological diversity, detect and control invasive species, conduct research, and offer a range of educational programs. The Society also operates a native plant nursery at Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts and has six sanctuaries in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont that are open to the public.

Responsibilities

• Lead school programs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during, September and October 2017 with option to continue on in April, May, and June 2018
• Participate in August training sessions during the week of 8/21/17 to 8/25/17
• Learn and deliver the school program curriculum creatively, energetically, and skillfully to groups of approximately 10 students
• Monitor your group in all types of outdoor environments and listen for key safety concerns and alerts
• Appropriately and skillfully communicate with other Teacher Naturalists, the Public Programs Coordinator, and the Public Programs Director
• Assume additional related duties as requested

Qualifications

The successful candidate will:

• Be available to work 1.5 hour shifts, as needed, from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 1-3 days a week (preferably 3) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during, September and October 2017 with option to continue on in April, May, and June 2018
• Have BA or BS or working toward one, preferably in education, environmental studies, environmental science, botany, conservation, natural resources, biology, or earth science
• Have previous experience as an educator, preferably with ages 4-10, plus familiarity with inquiry-based learning
• Be able to deliver curricula aligned with state standards
• Be creative and engaging and able to adapt the curriculum to engage students as necessary
• Have excellent verbal and written communication skills, demonstrated interpersonal skills, and ability to work cooperatively and independently
• Be flexible, dependable, responsible, and organized
• Have demonstrated ability to promote, embrace, and respect ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity and to accommodate physical and intellectual disabilities
• Pass a criminal background check (e.g., CORI)
• Be able to lift 30 pounds and lead walks on trails
• Have a valid driver’s license and the ability to learn to drive a golf cart

Compensation

Rate of Pay: $14 per hour

Training Stipend: $75

Job Type: consultant

Important Dates

• Applications will be accepted until August 7, 2017
• Training begins August 21, 2017
• School programs begin September 1, 2017

Application Instructions

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and three job references (with contact information). Please include your full name in the file name of each document. Applications should be submitted to:

Daphne Minner

New England Wild Flower Society

180 Hemenway Rd., Framingham, MA 01701-2699

Email: education@newenglandwild.org

Phone: 508-877-7630 Ext. 3303

*We prefer to receive applications by email.