Vegan Nature Camp Counselor: Summer Camp

Nature Camp Counselor in Call of the Wild Camps: Inspire Behavioral Learning has openings for Vacaville day camps in Summer 2025!

Do you love working with children? Do you love the outdoors, nature, and hiking? Are you vegan? How about combining your passions into one fun seasonal job? We seek energetic, creative, and dependable outdoor enthusiasts to join us in creating and implementing educational programs outdoors in Vacaville. Nature Camp Counselors teach in outdoor nature camps for elementary school age kids to connect with nature, hike, read, write, explore, learn, and play in forests of the Bay Area!

You may be the ideal camp counselor for this job if:

• You are a communicative and collaborative team player bursting with creative ideas, fun, adaptable, friendly, outgoing, energetic, and eager to inspire and engage children 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: Inspire Behavioral Learning, LLC believes that to inspire learning is to inspire action! We do this by moving individuals to learn in ways that are personally meaningful, motivating, and relevant to their entire lives.

WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE:

• We value new ideas, positive and constructive feedback, and intrapreneurship - a system allowing an employee to act like an entrepreneur within the company.
• We value diversity and include children with disabilities and typically developing children alike in our programs.
• 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:

• Complete training online and onsite at Lagoon Valley Park (initial training is before the start date of the first session of the camp season)
• Punctually and reliably attend scheduled work hours, rain or shine, including training, staff meetings, and camp session dates
• Attend outdoor nature camps, rain or shine, each scheduled day for the season you are hired to work (Vacaville summer camp sessions are June 9-20)
• Safely lead hikes in parks up to approximately 6 miles per day for K-5th graders in small groups
• Maintain a 4:1 or 5:1 student: staff ratio or ratio approved by the camp supervisor
• 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
• Teach and lead outdoor language arts activities for children with nature and wilderness themes, including circle time with story time and singing, literary show-and-tell, skits, nature journaling, mapmaking, creative writing, and authoring and illustrating books
• Teach and facilitate science activities on topics in biology, ecology, zoology, life science, environmental science, outdoor education, stewardship, conservation, preservation, etc., integrating naturalistic observation, group discussion, games, children's books, and writing activities
• Teach 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
• Teach and facilitate nature-themed arts and crafts
• Engage children with a fun teaching style and high energy, creativity, adaptability, spontaneity, dynamism, and positivity
• Supervise and facilitate children's rest breaks, snack and lunch breaks, and physical play breaks
• Provide naturalistic executive function teaching across diverse activities
• Implement teaching and behavior management based on principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), including prompting, positive reinforcement, and 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
• Make sure campers follow safety rules and leave no trace principles
• Actively contribute and participate in staff training and meetings
• Proactively communicate camp questions and concerns with the camp director and supervisor
• Follow directions and implement feedback from supervisors
• Interact with students and staff in a kind, caring, respectful, positive, and professional manner
• Represent Call of the Wild Camps in a positive and professional manner with customers, staff, and park visitors
• Perform other duties as assigned

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Provide proof of your high school diploma or higher degree
• Provide your academic transcripts (unofficial transcripts are permitted) in good standing

Certification and Safety Requirements:

• Provide proof of unexpired CPR and First Aid certification that remains unexpired through all camp dates you're applying to work
• Provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination
• Pass a DOJ and FBI background check

Experience:

• Minimum 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 12 months of experience working with elementary school age K-5th graders
• Experience hiking trails of moderate difficulty on hilly and uneven terrain up to approximately 6 miles per day
• Experience working with culturally, linguistically, and developmentally diverse children
• Experience working with students with widely diverse abilities, such as giftedness, typically developing children, children with disabilities (e.g., autism, ADHD, dyslexia, speech and language delays), and English Language Learners (ELL)
• Experience taking initiative leading groups of children
• Experience leading extracurricular enrichment activities for elementary school age children
• Experience implementing effective and appropriate behavior management for elementary school age children
• Experience with child development and implementing age-appropriate, grade-appropriate, developmentally appropriate activities for grades K-5, ages 5-10
• If you lack the experience requirements for employment, you are welcome to apply from the company website www.inspirebehavior.com for an unpaid internship to build your experience!

Skills:

• Ability to model and educate about veganism as more than a diet
• Ability to hike trails of moderate difficulty on hilly and uneven terrain up to approximately 6 miles a day each day
• Ability to carry a loaded hiking backpack weighing up to 20% of your body weight for the duration of each camp day
• Fun and engaging teaching style with high energy, creativity, adaptability, spontaneity, dynamism, and positivity
• Kind, caring, compassionate, and patient with learners of all skill levels
• Demonstrate care for children and a desire to help the whole child learn and grow in enjoyable ways, in addition to language arts and/or biology subject-matter competence
• Command of American English phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics
• Eagerness and openness to continually learn and develop your skill set, no matter how minimal or extensive your experience
• 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 work independently and as part of a team
• Punctuality and reliable attendance
• Demonstrable love of nature and the outdoors, eco-conscious, and health-conscious
• You can articulate how veganism benefits animals, health, and the environment
• Demonstrable love of language arts and literacy teaching
• Enthusiastic about making education relevant to children's lives

Other Requirements:

• You are an adult (age 18 )
• Provide proof of a valid California driver license
• Possess your own reliable transportation for commuting to and from work sites

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience hiking in Lagoon Valley Park and familiarity with its flora and fauna
• Majoring in or degree in biology, environmental science, education, or related field
• You are vegan, as defined by The Vegan Society.

​PERKS AND BENEFITS:

• Have fun teaching kids in the outdoors!
• Paid training
• Paid rest breaks
• Off-duty meal breaks
• Supportive and friendly environment with coaching and mentorship
• Successful hires may be invited to return for additional seasonal camps
• Become part of a company that truly cares about both the employee’s and student’s happiness and success!

LOCATION: Lagoon Valley Park, Vacaville, CA

SCHEDULE: Summer 2025 camp sessions run Mon-Fri, June 9-20. Work hours from 8:25 AM-4:35 PM.

ON: Non-exempt employee for temporary, seasonal work.

APPLY: Have a relevant, up-to-date, accurate resume, and complete the summer camp application screening available on Inspire's website www.inspirebehavior.com.

If you lack the experience requirements for employment, you are welcome to apply from the company website www.inspirebehavior.com for an unpaid internship to build your experience!

We look forward to connecting with you!

Keywords: Vacaville camp counselor, summer camp counselor, camp leader, nature camp teacher, camp instructor, outdoor educator, outdoor camp educator, outdoor camp counselor, naturalist, nature camp counselor, science camp counselor, reading camp counselor, writing camp counselor, youth leader, youth group leader, program leader, lead camp counselor, and elementary program leader.

Job Types: Full-time, Temporary

Pay: $20.00 - $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Referral program

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift

Work Location: In person

Salary : $20 - $22