Overview
Program Overview
Wolf Ridge offers work experience combined with regular evaluation and graduate level coursework in collaboration with Antioch University New England – designed to help you grow as an experiential educator and naturalist.
This is a 10-month program from late August to Mid June that culminates in a graduate-level Certificate in Environmental Education and Sustainability, with 12 transferable graduate credits. The total cost for the program is $250 per credit and includes a private room in our sustainable staff housing and meals in our dining hall. Work study opportunities are available to offset the out of pocket price.
Graduate naturalists teach an average of 6 half-day classes a week, attend graduate seminars, live and learn in our sustainable staff housing, and explore our 2,000 acre campus while learning how to be better educators, live in community, and co-teach with the natural world.
Teaching youth through hands-on, experiential education in the outdoors is a big part of what you will do at Wolf Ridge. Teaching serves as a practicum experience for you to practice your skills and get feedback from experienced naturalists. The teaching assistantship also allows you to earn graduate credit to put towards a master’s degree at a significant discount.
You will teach from a diverse array of content and participate in training for key competencies. Teaching includes exploring our 2,000 acre campus with students during 3-hour long classes, giving evening program presentations to 200+ students, doing virtual field trips, and acting as a liaison to visiting schools to make sure they feel welcome on campus. You will work daily with participants of all ages, social backgrounds, physical and mental abilities, and personal interests. You will learn how to foster nature connection through outdoor, hands-on, experiential learning in all weather conditions.
The graduate-level Certificate of Environmental Education and Sustainability, managed by both Wolf Ridge and Antioch University New England, serves as the core of our program. At the end of your time at Wolf Ridge, you’ll leave with 12 graduate credits that can be applied toward a Master’s program at Antioch University New England or any other program in the nation that accepts transfer credits.
Benefits:
– Scholarships through Wolf Ridge and Antioch University New England to reduce the cost of tuition ($9,770 value)
– Private room in sustainable staff housing with kitchen, laundry, and shared living spaces
– Meals in the dining hall when schools are on campus and food staples provided for the staff house
– Access to education resources including an on campus library and research room
– Access to recreational equipment like canoes, camping gear, snowshoes, and cross country skis
– 2-week winter break and 5 flex days off
– Professional purchase discounts
Qualifications:
- Able to commit to August 25th 2024 - June 6th, 2025
- B.A. or B.S. degree (required to receive graduate credit)
- Ability to live on-site in shared staff housing (private room)
- Current CPR and First Aid certification
Required Skills:
- Must be able to travel under their power, for hours at a time, through the terrain of the entire Wolf Ridge property, including on and off trail.
- Most teaching time is spent outdoors in all conditions possible in northeastern MN, at all times of the year (below freezing temperatures, snow/ice, rain, heat, humidity, bugs).
- Frequent traversing of 3+ miles on uneven terrain and up/down hills.
Preferred Skills:
- Enthusiasm for working with Children
- Growth mindset and adaptability
- Community oriented
- Comfortable working with youth outdoors in all weather conditions
- Facilitation of indoor rock climbing walls and outdoor high ropes course in all conditions utilizing harnesses and belay systems.
About Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center
Wolf Ridge ELC is an accredited K-12 school that specializes in residential school trips with a focus on hands-on experiential learning. We welcome over 12,000 students, teachers, and chaperones annually to our 2,000 acre campus overlooking Lake Superior for multi-day immersive outdoor experiences. Our mission is to develop a citizenry that has the knowledge, skills, motivation, and commitment to work together for a quality environment. We achieve this by: fostering awareness, curiosity, and sensitivity to the natural world; providing lifelong learning experiences in nature; developing social understanding, respect, and cooperation; modeling values, behaviors, and technologies which lead to a sustainable lifestyle; and promoting the concepts of conservation and stewardship.
