Assistant Nature Camp Director

Assistant Nature Camp Director for Call of the Wild Camps: Inspire Behavioral Learning has openings for Summer 2025 day camps in Berkeley and Oakland!

​Do you love working with children and camp counselors? Do you love the outdoors, nature, and hiking? Are you vegan? Do you care about creating an inclusive and fun environment both for children and novice educators? How about combining your passions into one fun summer job? We are looking for an on-site Assistant Nature Camp Director to lead camp counselors and children in outdoor Call of the Wild Camps in Oakland and Berkeley. We seek an enthusiastic, energetic, dynamic, and creative leader to join us in designing and implementing educational and recreational outdoor programs. Open a door to the wonders of nature as a living classroom in nature camps, where kids in grades K-5 come to hike, read, write, explore, learn, and play!

You may be the ideal Assistant Nature Camp Director if:

• You are a communicative and collaborative team player bursting with creative ideas, fun, adaptable, friendly, outgoing, energetic, and eager to inspire and engage both children and staff in learning by doing.
• You have experience in early childhood education, elementary school education, special education, outdoor education, environmental education, nature education, literacy education, outdoor recreation, and related fields.
• You are vegan: "Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals." - The Vegan Society

​WHO WE ARE: We believe that to inspire learning is to inspire action! We believe in experiential education and lifelong learning. Inspire Behavioral Learnings mission is to empower people to live happier, more independent and fulfilling lives by achieving their health and educational goals. Outdoor educators in Call of the Wild Camps provide a fun, safe alternative to screen addiction; inspire nature connection and curiosity; and foster healthy, positive relationships with flora and fauna in our natural environments.

WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE:

• ​We believe in the wisdom of "be kind to every kind" and the benefits of veganism on animals and the environment.
• We value the integrity of the whole person and are dedicated to a well-rounded blend of head, heart, and body -- being constant learners, kind and caring, and focused on learning by doing.
• We use emergent curriculum and principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), the science of learning that focuses on observable interaction between the learner and environment.
• We are a small company focused on quality over quantity.

​ESSENTIAL DUTIES:​

• Assist the camp director in managing, administering, and overseeing daily operations of youth programs on-site for outdoor nature camps
• Reliably attend and actively participate in camp training online and on-site, rain or shine (Berkeley and Oakland training is the week of June 16, 2025)
• Reliably and punctually attend outdoor nature camps on-site, rain or shine, M-F, 8:25 AM-4:35 PM for the season you are hired to work (Berkeley and Oakland summer camps are June 23-July 18, with July 4th as a day off)
• Assist the camp director in supervising and training camp counselors on-site, providing modeling, prompt fading, positive feedback, and constructive feedback
• Greet parents at drop-off and pick-up times, checking children in and out
• Communicate with parents/guardians in a friendly and professional manner
• Communicate with parents/guardians a brief summary of their childs day at pick-up time
• Safely lead hikes in parks for K-5th graders in small groups, up to approximately 6 miles per day
• Maintain a 4:1 or 5:1 student: staff ratio or ratio approved by the camp supervisor
• Lead theme weeks Enchanted Forest Art, Enchanted Forest Reading, Enchanted Forest Writing, Enchanted Vegan Nature, and Trailblazers
• Implement age-appropriate, grade-appropriate, K-5 level nature-themed science, outdoor education, language arts, art, and motor activities for Call of the Wild Camps
• Teach and facilitate fun and positive nature education curriculum on vegan topics such as animal rights, speciesism, health, food, clothing, and the environment
• Facilitate outdoor language arts activities for children with nature and wilderness themes, including but not limited to circle time with story time and singing, literary show-and-tell, skits, nature journaling, mapmaking, creative writing, and authoring and illustrating books
• Facilitate science activities on topics in life science, biology, ecology, zoology, environmental science, stewardship, conservation, preservation, etc., integrating naturalistic observation, exploration, games, group discussion, childrens books, and writing activities
• Facilitate and engage children in outdoor activities that blend recreation and education, such as nature-themed field games, hide and seek and chase games, forest "I Spy" games, and scavenger hunts
• Engage both children and staff with a fun teaching style and high energy, creativity, adaptability, spontaneity, dynamism, and positivity
• Supervise and facilitate childrens rest breaks, snack and lunch breaks, and physical play breaks
• Provide naturalistic executive function teaching across diverse activities, including planning, organization, and time management
• Implement teaching and behavior management based on principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), including prompting, positive reinforcement, and group contingencies of reinforcement based on student preferences and choices
• Facilitate emergent curriculum and child-centered, student-centered, experiential, incidental, and play-based teaching and learning opportunities
• Create both structured and incidental learning opportunities
• Keep work materials neat, organized, and in good working condition
• Record accurate, objective incident reports
• Follow all health and safety requirements, and make sure camp counselors and campers follow them
• Follow all leave no trace principles, and make sure camp counselors and campers follow them
• Follow directions and implement feedback from the camp director and supervisor
• Proactively communicate camp updates, questions and concerns with the camp director and supervisor
• Represent Call of the Wild Camps in a positive and professional manner with campers, parents/guardians, staff, and community partners
• Perform other duties as assigned

​REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:​

Education:

• Proof of a high school diploma
• Completed relevant college/university coursework in education, biological sciences, environmental science, and closely related fields
• Academic transcripts (unofficial transcripts are permitted) in good standing

​Certification and Safety Requirements:

• Must already possess unexpired CPR and First Aid certification to be considered for hire
• Full COVID-19 vaccination
• Pass a DOJ and FBI background check

​Experience:

• Leadership experience with training, mentoring, or overseeing novice camp counselors or educators (does not need to be a formal supervisory position)
• Minimum of 12 months of experience as a camp counselor, outdoor educator, recreation leader, or teacher for outdoor education camps, outdoor recreational camps, nature camps, science camps, STEM camps, STEAM camps, literacy camps, after school programs, or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 12 months of experience working in person with GROUPS of elementary school age children, K-5th grade level, ages 5-10
• Experience hiking trails of moderate difficulty on hilly and uneven terrain up to approximately 6 miles a day
• Experience working in person with culturally, linguistically, and developmentally diverse children
• Experience working in person with students with widely diverse abilities, including disabilities (e.g., autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome, dyslexia, speech and language delays)
• Experience taking initiative leading staff and groups of children
• Experience leading extracurricular enrichment activities in person elementary school age children
• Experience implementing effective and appropriate behavior management in person for elementary school age children
• Experience with child development and implementing age-appropriate, grade-appropriate, developmentally appropriate activities in person for grades K-5, ages 5-10

​Skills:

• Ability to hike trails of moderate difficulty on hilly and uneven terrain up to approximately 6 miles a day five days a week for multiple consecutive weeks
• Ability to carry a loaded hiking backpack weighing up to 20% of your body weight for the duration of each camp day
• Ability to stand, bend, squat, stoop, sit, climb, and lift (up to 50 lbs)
• Demonstrate a fun and engaging leadership style with high energy, creativity, adaptability, spontaneity, dynamism, and positivity
• Friendly, kind, caring, compassionate, and patient teaching style for learners of all skill levels
• Eagerness and openness to continually learn and develop your skill set
• Command of American English phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics
• Excellent ability to break concepts down into simple and easy steps
• Excellent time-management and organizational skills
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• Ability to confidently take initiative with minimal direction
• Eco-conscious skills with a demonstrable love of nature and the outdoors, life sciences, biology, environmental science, outdoor education, or environmental education
• Health-conscious skills with a demonstrable love of active and healthy living
• You can articulate how veganism benefits animals, health, and the environment
• Enthusiasm for nature-themed language arts and literacy teaching
• Enthusiasm for making education relevant to childrens lives
• Demonstrate care for children and a desire to help the whole child learn and grow in enjoyable ways, in addition to subject-matter competence in language arts and relevant life sciences

​Other Requirements:​

• You are an adult (age 18+)
• Proof of a valid California drivers license
• Possess your own reliable transportation to regional and city parks in Oakland and Berkeley

​PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience hiking in Joaquin Miller Park, Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, and Tilden Regional Park
• Experience working specifically in an outdoor nature camp
• You are vegan, as defined and described by The Vegan Society and on Inspires website

PERKS AND BENEFITS:

• Have fun teaching and inspiring kids and novice educators in the great outdoors!
• Employees get paid training; paid rest breaks; off-duty lunch breaks; and retirement plan if working at least 30 days
• Referral bonus
• Expand your leadership skills in a supportive and friendly environment with coaching and mentorship
• Become part of a company that truly cares about both the employees and students happiness and success!

LOCATIONS: Parks in Oakland and Berkeley. Joaquin Miller Park, Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, and Tilden Regional Park. Only applicants in the East Bay are considered.

SCHEDULE: 8:25 AM-4:35 PM, M-F, June 23-July 18, with July 4th as a day off.

CLASSIFICATION: Non-exempt employee, temporary, seasonal.

COMPENSATION: $23.00/hr

To learn more about Call of the Wild Camps: www.inspirebehavior.com/call-of-the-wild-outdoor-nature-camps-academic-camps

APPLY:

* Have a relevant, up-to-date, accurate resume, and

* Complete the application questions in the Google Form here: https://forms.gle/xgBKKZdEYcoYQkYk8

We look forward to connecting with you!

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Job Types: Full-time, Seasonal, Temporary

Pay: $23.00 per hour

Expected hours: 38 - 39 per week

Benefits:

• Referral program
• Retirement plan

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift

Work Location: In person