Summer Position
GenWild Internship
This position is funded by The Generation Wild Grant, a Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) statewide initiative to get more kids outdoors. Open to applicants from the Southeast part of Colorado Springs
Wild Summer
Generation Wild of the Pikes Peak Region is our local community with a primary focus in Hillside and Southeast Colorado Springs. This initiative’s goal is to provide opportunities for low income families to get outdoors as well as create job opportunities for youth to see themselves in a new environment. This full-time paid position will provide opportunity to have Hillside and Southeast youth gain valuable work experience in environmental education, learn and work with trained education staff, develop professional skills, and use this opportunity to network with other organizations. This is a perfect opportunity to take a leadership role, develop workplace skills, and learn more about professional opportunities in environmental education. Additionally, you will learn program planning and execution, marketing, problem-solving, and non-profit management. This opportunity would provide you with exposure to careers in education and non-profit organizations, as well as provide professional skills applicable in all work environments. Guide Internships are designed to build your skills as you co-lead summer camp adventures in a fun environment!
Responsibilities
- Teach, live, and work with campers ages 5-16 as an Environmental Educator at camps (see our summer caps page for more info)
- Ability to teach lessons and activities from prepared lesson plans
- Attend staff meetings, planning sessions, and trainings as needed
- Write a portion of Catamount Institute’s end of summer wrap up report
- Support staff and organization activities as needed
- Flexibility in response to current and emergency situations and to shifts in camp responsibilities
Qualifications
- Open to applicants from the Southeast part of Colorado Springs and Fountain
- Excited about working with kids in the outdoors
- Must be at least 16 and either enrolled in high school or have a high school diploma
- Must be CPR and First Aid Certified (Catamount can help get these certifications)
- Science, history, recreation, teaching, or similar interest
- Must be comfortable living and working in the outdoors and hiking over rugged terrain
- Energetic, dedicated, & able to become involved in all aspects of the program
- Willing to ask questions and learn new things
- You must have housing in the Colorado Springs area.
- You must be available to work Tuesday, May 30th – Tuesday, August 15th with weekends and a week (July 5th-7th) off.
Salary/Benefits
- Generation Wild Guide Interns volunteering over 400 hours in a summer will be awarded a $3,000 length-of-service award in two installments of $1,500 at the end of June and July
- Get Catamount Institute shirts and gear, and prepaid adventure like rock climbing, caving, and more
- We will pay for you to receive your CPR/First Aid Certification if you do not already have it
- Training and development including child development and psychology, student behavior management, relevant laws, and teaching skills:
- Work along-side licensed educators
- Better your ability to manage a group of students
- Develop and teach lessons aligned with CO Department of Education Standards
- 1:6 teacher: student ratio (outstanding for the education industry)
- Build up your resume and experience with mentorship from Summer Fellows and Full-time Catamount staff
- Become a better naturalist:
- Local plants and animals
- Outdoor hard skills (camping, orienteering, backcountry cooking, Leave No Trace)
- Games and activities to teach ecological concepts
- Other perks, like spending your summer outside hiking, climbing, rafting, and exploring!
