Part-Time Outdoor Educator

Are you ready to make a real positive difference in the lives of hundreds of teens? Are you passionate about serving under-represented groups and helping them access the endless benefits of the outdoors? Join us as an Outdoor Educator and become part of a vibrant and diverse outdoor community right outside of Washington, DC. As an Outdoor Educator, you’ll have the opportunity to develop or refine your experiential education skills, providing exciting mini-adventures in local parks. You will also get to lead students on full-day trips to go rafting, caving, climbing, and skiing, just to name a few! With each program you lead, you will deepen your role as a crucial mentor to students from all different backgrounds, often learning just as much from them as they do from you. Wilderness Kids Alexandria is a rapidly growing non-profit dedicated to getting teens into nature. Apply now to join our dynamic and tight-knit team!

Wilderness Kids Alexandria seeks experienced Outdoor Educators for our After-School and Weekend Outing Programs with middle school and high school students. 

You are the right person for this role if you are:

• An adult (>18 years old) who has experience working with young people inside or outside the classroom–as an outdoor educator, teacher, camp counselor, coach, or other youth worker.
• Enjoy nature and sharing it with young people.
• Passionate about and skilled in working with young people from low income families, with immigrant children, and with children from the BIPOC community. Your passion and skill may come from having worked with such children before, and/or from living experiences similar to those of the young people we serve.
• Joyful when you are outside and comfortable among all that nature offers. You may have skills and knowledge to share, or a sincere desire to gain those skills. Perhaps you can identify plants and trees, identify the call of a bird, share the best way to set up a tent or tarp, or otherwise share your enthusiasm for the natural world.
• Prepared to respond to emergencies in outdoor settings that are not far removed from emergency medical care. Have first aid, CPR and AED certification, or are willing to undergo this training.
• Can follow or devise lesson plans that build and encourage knowledge, skill, passion, fitness, or life balance among our young people.
• (Preferred) Experience with top rope belaying at a climbing gym or adventure course, or willingness to learn.
• (Strongly Preferred) A licensed driver with a 3+ years of a good driving record and experience driving, or comfort about learning to drive, a 15 passenger van.
• Note: We are open to applicants who can work one or more days per week in this role. You do not have to work every programming day, but if you are able, we are interested in that too.

What you will do:

After-School

• On Weekdays during the school year, you will utilize your creativity and experience to find teachable moments as you lead a group of 10 to 13 middle-school students in outdoor education programming, in coordination with another Wilderness Kids staff member.
• Lead students in activities that may include hiking, climbing, observing, drawing, writing, playing games, flatwater kayaking, learning about flora and fauna, learning about watersheds or water cycles, etc.
• Manage and support WKA student interns in delivering program content and developing leadership skills.
• Follow the curriculum provided by Wilderness Kids and/or develop your own lesson plans in coordination with the Wilderness Kids Program Manager.
• Ensure the physical and emotional safety of children in the program.
• Programs run from approximately 3:00 p.m to 6 p.m., and you will be expected to be available for at least 15 minutes before and after the start of the program.

Weekends

• At least once per month, lead a group of 10 to 15 middle-school or high school students on a longer Saturday or Sunday outing to a natural area in the greater DMV area (e.g. Great Falls, Billy Goat Trail, Huntley Meadows, Prince William Forest, etc). Again, you’ll use creativity and experience to facilitate moments of learning and reflection for our students.
• Perform similar programming to the After-School program over the course of approximately 5 to 6 hours. Perhaps coordinate the efforts of “expert” partners, such as climbing or paddling guides.

Position Details:

• Start date: September 2026;
• Compensation: $20-24/hour, based on experience
• This is a part-time job, with the option to work year-round or seasonally.
• For this role, WKA supports a wide range of employment availability. Applicants with full-time jobs may work one 4-hour program per week, or 1-2 weekend outings per month. Applicants seeking more consistent hours have the opportunity to work several afterschool programs and weekend outings, for 20 or more hours/week.

What is Wilderness Kids Alexandria:

• Wilderness Kids Alexandria’s mission is to provide teenagers from under-resourced families and under-served communities in Alexandria with life-enriching experiences in nature.
• Our efforts rest upon findings that time spent in nature improves both mental and physical health as well as offering other benefits.
• Our young people are from low-income or otherwise under-resourced families in Alexandria and are in grades 6 through 12.
• We offer After-School programming, longer Weekend Outings, Skills Cohorts, and Summer “Peak” Experiences, farther afield from Alexandria.
• Wilderness Kids is founded upon seven values: Nature as Home, Gratitude, Self-Expression, Equity in Community, Curiosity, Skill, and Mindfulness. We impart these values in everything that we do.
• You’ll find more about us on our website at www.wildernesskidsalexandria.org

We hope to have staff whose life experiences resonate with our young people and strongly encourage applications from members of the immigrant and BIPOC communities.