Summer Camp Educator

Position Title: Summer Camp Educator       

Supervisor: Director of Farm Based Youth Programs

Employee Status: Seasonal

Exemption: Non-Exempt

Location: In-Person, Farm Barn

Start Date: June 09 - August 20, 2025

Pay range:   $16-19/hour depending on experience

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (8:30-5:00 with some exceptions)

Who We Are

Shelburne Farms is an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future. We offer transformative learning experiences to help educators and students create a better world.  Our home campus is a 1,400-acre working farm located on the traditional, unceded and contemporary homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki.  

What We Do

• Engage youth and people of all ages in learning experiences that inspire them to build just, diverse, resilient, caring communities. 
• Steward our working lands and heritage buildings as we embody values of place and community through caring for and sharing our natural, agricultural, cultural, and human resources.
• Collaborate with educators and other local, national, and international partners to advance education for sustainability worldwide

Who We’re Looking for

Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit organization and a 1,400-acre working farm, forest, and National Historic Landmark in Shelburne, VT. We are seeking seasonal Summer Camp Educators (Waterfront Lifeguard Certified is a bonus) to teach 9-10 weeks of onsite day camps for ages 5 – 17. Shelburne Farms’ summer camp provides children with opportunities to use their senses, collaborate with their peers, and explore natural communities that support human health. To learn more about our camp programs, visit www.shelburnefarms.org/our-work/camps. Each week you will have a small group of campers that you will lead on day-long adventures around the Farm. Comfort and ability to work with children, outside in all weather, for up to 7 hours a day is a key component of this position.

What You’ll Do

• Teach and help coordinate up to 10 weeks of onsite outdoor day camps in collaboration with a team of camp staff. Meet often with the Camp Supervisor in developing and maintaining quality program and activities
• Assist in maintaining a positive atmosphere for all children, families, and staff
•  Lead age and developmentally appropriate activities and lessons on our Farm campus while engaging in play-based learning with the focus in education for sustainability
• Facilitate camp activities and lessons, and participate directly with campers in hiking, garden chores, animal husbandry, outdoor cooking, natural history, swimming, ecology, development of community, agriculture and farm games
• Attend and participate in camp staff meetings and daily set-up and debriefs with teaching team
• Mentor teen-aged stewards in training, and other volunteers through positive role-modeling, observation and feedback of their facilitation, behavior management, and instructional skills
• Share before and after care responsibilities, and assist with check-in and pick-up of campers
• Support  a continuous effort to build and sustain a diverse and welcoming working and learning environment for all program participants, guests, and staff.

Core Qualifications 

• Stamina and enthusiasm to teach daylong programs outdoors in varying temperature and terrain
• Teaching, coaching, or mentoring experience with children outside. Ideal candidates have experience in summer camps, classroom teaching, gardening, agriculture education, animal production or  natural ecosystems
• Strong group management skills and ability to communicate effectively with learners with different physical, mental, and emotional needs
• Completing a background check is a condition of employment

• Valid First Aid and CPR Certification required for all staff
• Valid Lifeguard certification required for all lifeguards, waterfront lifeguard certification preferred
•  Positive attitude and a willingness to be a contributing member of a team, while remaining flexible to changing schedules or program needs
•  Willingness to receive feedback, grow personally and professionally, and develop new skills

Work Environment & Physical Demands

• Indoor and outdoor work environments.
• Varied weather conditions.
• Ability to move over uneven terrain.
• Comfort working with and around farm animals.
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Benefits 

• Seasonal staff benefit summary here for 2025 benefits.

Deadline to Apply

• We will begin reviewing applications March 10, 2025 and will continue until positions are filled. 

To Apply 

If our vision and mission excite you, we hope you will share with us your experience and skill set that you feel would qualify you to make a contribution to the Farm.

Click here to submit an application and please include responses to the following questions. These are not meant to be a writing exercise but to introduce yourself in a meaningful way.

• Submit a resume and cover letter. In your cover letter, address:
  • Why are you interested in this position?
  • Tell us about your unique characteristics and life experience that will help you thrive in this role. (education, justice, equity, inclusion, ecology)
  • How did you hear about the position?

Shelburne Farms is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and we strongly stand against discrimination and harassment of any kind. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. 

If you need accommodations throughout the application process or have general questions, please contact us at jobs@shelburnefarms.org or 802-985-8686.