Nature Educator

A Day in the Life

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s mission is to conserve California native plants and habitats for the health and well-being of people and the planet. The Garden is a living museum which fosters the conservation of California’s native plants through our gardens, research, and education, and serves as a role model of sustainable practices. Within the scope of this mission, the goals of the Education team are to facilitate transformative experiences with native plants, encourage wider use of native plants in our communities, and empower conservation leaders for the future.

Nature Educators work collaboratively to lead youth-focused programs that ignite interest and curiosity about California’s native plants and habitats. You’ll provide general support to the Garden’s Education Department through school field trips, youth and family events, offsite after-school programs and general public interactions. Nature Educators should be passionate about sharing nature with the public, creative and flexible in their teaching approach, and able to work either as a team or individually to provide effective and impactful programming. This is a part-time (6-19 hours a week), temporary position that runs from runs February 10th through June 8th, 2025, and reports to the Youth and Family Programs Manager.

What You’ll Do

• Work with the Education department to provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)-based Garden tour programs with an emphasis on Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
• Lead and supervise groups of 6-15 students (grades K-5) on exploration tours of the Garden that incorporate STEM, NGSS, and CA Environmental Literacy standards.
• Serve as tour hosts by welcoming groups upon arrival, filling in group information and distributing family passes
• Travel to partner locations and schools to provide after school programming based on the K-6 Garden Pathfinder curriculum
• On select Saturdays, provide Pathfinder programming for guests of children ages 8-12, including supervision
• Participate in offsite outreach tables at community events such as school Science Nights and Earth Day
• Facilitate and support programming during regular family events
• Answer general questions about the Garden and its Education Programs to the public.
• Support interpretive activities such as creating signage, activity prompts, activity ideas, etc.
• Assist the Education Department with general departmental needs such as collecting plant materials, surveying visitors, entering data, prepping materials for programs, etc.
• Attend check-in meetings with Education staff as necessary
• Support additional education programming as necessary

You Must Be Able To

• Work least two Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning shifts from 9am until 12pm
• Work at least one Saturday morning a month to facilitate youth and family programs
• Work with visiting groups and offsite after school programs. Specific hours and dates depend on the group.
• Occasionally work on weekends.
• Pass a Livescan background check and complete Mandated Reporter training as required by the California state law
• Travel to offsite locations for afterschool programs and outreach events.
• Use your personal vehicle to drive for work. You will travel approximately once a week to clients within Santa Barbara and Goleta. You’ll typically spend 2-3 hours at the offsite location.
• Engage in occasional strenuous physical work including:
• Standing/walking for extended periods of time
• Lifting and carrying 50 lbs., bending, squatting, and walking stairs and Garden trails
• Tolerance of an outdoor work environment including exposure to outdoor environmental conditions, including extreme temperature fluctuations, rain, dust, allergens, poison oak, insects, small wild animals, and sun exposure

You Will Definitely Need

• A valid California driver’s license (because you will drive a Garden “cart” and drive to offsite locations for work)
• Excellent time management skills
• Flexibility and ability to respond appropriately to diverse group situations
• Excellent verbal communication skills with both children and adults
• Knowledge of ecology, botany, and/or natural history of California preferred
• Working understanding of outdoor etiquette and basic Leave No Trace principles

It Would Be Nice If You Had

• Experience in a botanic garden, environmental education, and/or a museum setting preferred
• Experience with informal education activities in a natural setting and/or experience working with children ages 5 to 12
• A degree in education, ecology, botany, or relevant science field (or work toward this degree)
• Spanish fluency

More About Us

The Garden is a beautiful place to work. In this role, you are often outdoors. In addition to beautiful views, outdoor work environments include exposure to extreme temperature fluctuations, rain, dust, allergens, poison oak, insects, wildlife, and sun exposure.

Disclaimer

You must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily, and if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.