Overview
Outdoor School Guide
Position type: Full time, seasonal
Season: April 1–June 7, 2024 *possible extension to October 31, 2024
Location: Silver Falls State Park, Sublimity, Oregon (60 miles from Portland, Oregon)
Compensation: $7,750 for 10 weeks (about $155/day); 3 days PTO
Perks: Meals provided while working/Basic housing on site/Staff housing in greater Portland/Salem area for subsidized rate (optional)
Program: Opal Creek Outdoor School
Work schedule: Mondays-Fridays (no overnight), averaging 8 hrs/day
The Outdoor School Guide Opportunity
As an outdoor guide, your classroom will be the forests, creeks, and waterfalls of Silver Falls State Park, Oregon’s most beloved and largest state park and the ancestral home of the Kalapuya and Molalla Tribes. Working with mainly 5th/6th graders over the course of a 3-day, 2-night program, you’ll teach inquiry-based lessons developed with guidance from Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, The Avarna Group equity consultants, and The BEETLES Project. By the end of their time with you, students will strengthen their relationships with nature, the land, and each other – understanding that these relationships exist within an interconnected system.
Your spring season will be a combination of training, pre- and post-classroom visits, and multi-day outdoor school. You’ll join a team of guides who all bring their own expertise, passion, and fun to Opal Creek Outdoor School. Through teaching, collaboration, and idea sharing, you’ll play a key role in shaping the outdoor school experience for students and guides for years to come!
Qualifications, Skills, and Experience
A successful candidate will possess these minimum qualifications. We are less interested in the titles you’ve held and more interested in what you’ve actually done and who you are.
● 1+ seasons/school years as an educator, formal or informal
● 1+ seasons working with youth
● Strong group leadership and management skills
● Strong communication skills
● Previous experience with equity, inclusion, and cultural relevance, and integrating into youth programming
● Willingness to participate in camp facility tasks including cleaning and stocking of materials
● Able to lead groups on hikes up to 3 miles
● Able to pass a criminal background check
We are committed to having an applicant pool that reflects the diversity of the students we work with, and we highly encourage Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to apply.
About Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center
Our mission is to provide transformative wilderness experiences that grow a community of environmental advocates. All of our work is based around one simple idea: people will protect what they care about, and they will care about what they know. Through our outdoor school and backpacking expedition programs, we bring youth and adults face-to-face with the outdoor places that make Oregon great—pristine mountain streams, uncut vistas, and old-growth forests.
