Naturalist

The Pocono Environmental Education Center currently has an opening for a Naturalist for the 2008 season.

PEEC is located in the National Park Service Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA), 20 miles southeast of the tri-state junction of PA, NJ and NY.  The center’s outdoor classroom consists of a 38 acre campus with easy access to over 140, 000 acres of public lands – fields, forests, ponds, lakes, waterfalls and scenic gorges.  As a year-round residential field center, PEEC provides experiences in environmental education, ecology, natural history, outdoor pursuits, arts and humanities, providing educational programs and services for elementary, middle and secondary school students, college students, educators, non-profit groups, families, scouts, senior citizens and its local community.

Responsibilities:
The Naturalist will provide teaching on a variety of natural history topics to audiences ranging from small children to seniors. The person in this position will teach alongside instructional staff for school group programs, and also provide instruction for natural history outings offered on our public calendar. The Naturalist provides leadership for instructors and interns through ongoing teaching and training about natural history topics such as botany, forest ecology, wildlife, conservation, aquatic ecology, birding, and more. The Naturalist will frequently have weekend work hours, and will serve as an assistant to the Weekend Manager.

Other responsibilities include:
Provide opportunities for instructional staff to increase knowledge. Contribute to annual calendar of events and program offerings. Serve as a point of contact with local natural history entities such as the Audobon Society, the National Park Service, research groups, etc. Maintain and monitor nest boxes, bat boxes, and bird feeders. Coordinate removal of threatening and/or invasive plant species. Perform administrative tasks related to the position. Maintain existing / develop new Natural History displays and exhibits. Teach / lead education programs focused on natural history.

Qualifications:
Bachelors degree in Science, Biology or related field. Working knowledge of natural sciences, and resource interpretation. Working knowledge of regional flora, fauna and ecology. One year minimum working in a related field of sciences or education. Strong work ethic, desire to work with a team, positive mindset, outgoing personality.

We are looking for a Naturalist who can provide teaching and leadership in Botany, Forest Ecology, Soil Science, Geology and/or Geography. The PEEC program is strong in wildlife studies and would like to expand programmatic consideration of the natural world to foster a holistic understanding of environmental sciences.

Salary:
Starts at $1200/month plus room and board. Season contract will run through November. Position may continue from year to year, pending successful performance evaluations. Also, there may be opportunities for part time work in December and January.