Would you like to work with Splash? How does a day spent in nature connecting with kids and families sound to you? Splash is looking to hire field guides and docents for our exciting programs!
We are planning to deliver in-person field trips for school classes and more at the Nicolaus Dairy in Elk Grove starting in September and around the vernal pool grasslands at Mather Field beginning early in the new year. In preparation, we need to hire enthusiastic, part-time, seasonal docents and field guides to help lead these groups and engage them with hands-on activities.
FIELD GUIDES/NATURALISTS
POSTED 08 SEP 23
Location: Mather, CA
Classification: Seasonal/Temporary
Season Start: Dec 05 2023 – training starts in Dec, field trips start in mid-Jan
Season End: Apr 26, 2024 (with potential to extend into June)
Time Commitment: 25 hours/week
Schedule: Mon – Fri, 8 AM – 1 PM
We deliver in-person field trips for school classes and public groups around the vernal pool grasslands at Mather Field and the Splash Education Center in the spring. In preparation, we need to hire enthusiastic, part-time, seasonal guides to help lead these groups in the field and engage them with hands-on science activities.
- Seasonal guides for our vernal pool programs will lead three-hour field trips for groups of 10-12 fourth and fifth grade students, facilitating the students’ discoveries in the vernal pool grassland. The guides will also lead indoor activities at the Splash Center, such as helping students identify aquatic invertebrates at the microscope station, demonstrating the watershed/stormwater quality model, and sharing live animals in our Critterville room.
- We also hope that the seasonal guides for the Field Trips will help lead our 2-hour Vernal Pool Public Walks in spring – Critter Walks in March and Flower Walks in April into early May. Help us highlight the many critters and/or flowers in Mather Field! Hundreds of families and individuals come to explore with us! Guides may also help lead indoor activities at the Splash Center, similar to the field trips.
- With Field Guide support, Splash also delivers extracurricular programming for Nature Bowl teams, Scout groups, homeschool groups, and more…providing watershed-related learning and experiences tailored to the needs of the group.
- A few Seasonal guides will be invited to help guide our Youth Environmental Leadership Camp in June, where we take groups of 15 children who are heading into grades 6-7 on field trips around the area and do hands-on activities at our center. Through this program, we make sure the children are connected with nature, how humans impact the environment, and are exposed to many environmental and other careers.
Essential Qualifications:
- Background and interest in biology / natural history or experience teaching
- A love of nature
- An ability and desire to teach and spend time with children to facilitate learning and sharing
- Outgoing, enthusiasticm and engaging attitude
- Ability to maintain positive learning environment & calmly manage behavioral issues
- Sense of humor
- Ability to work in a team or independently
- Ability to walk up to two miles on uneven, unpaved ground rain/shine
- Commitment to work the entire 2024 field trip season from January 14 – April 26 (with potential for extension)
- Satisfactory completion of a background check
Note: Required training is provided. Don’t worry, we’ll train you on vernal pool specifics!
If interested in helping Splash teach kids about nature and our watershed, please email a cover letter and resumé to meghan.amos@sacsplash.org.
In the body of your cover letter/email, briefly explain why this position appeals to you and highlight what you would bring to Splash in your role as a Field Guide.
Apply by November 30, 2023.
DOCENTS
POSTED 08 SEP 23
Location: Elk Grove, CA
Classification: Seasonal/Temporary
Season: now – May 2024
Time Commitment: 25 hours/week
Schedule: Mon – Fri, usually 8:15 AM – 1:30 PM
The school year has started already and the nearby historic Nicolaus Dairy is prepping for a plethora of programs, offered through Project AWE. Project AWE is a collaborative effort of Sacramento Splash and the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San), offering educational opportunities in the areas of Agriculture, Water, Energy, and the Environment (AWE). Project AWE will host field trips for 200 classes during this school year, serving about 6,000 students!
- Docents will staff one or more stations at which students will learn from them and experience topics including: pollination, seed dispersal, where our food comes from, animal/plant life cycles, honeybees, the history of the farm and the Nicolaus family, dairy innovations over the last 100 years in California’s Central Valley, milking a life-sized mechanical cow, planting and harvesting crops, using historic tools to make new things out of old things, and making leather cow tag keychains with initials.
- Docents also help deliver extracurricular programming for Nature Bowl teams, gardening clubs, Scout groups, and more…providing Project AWE learning and experiences tailored to the needs of the group.
Essential Qualifications:
- Background and interest in agriculture, education, environment, and life sciences
- A love of nature
- An ability and desire to teach and spend time with children to facilitate learning and sharing
- Outgoing, enthusiasticm and engaging attitude
- Ability to maintain positive learning environment & calmly manage behavioral issues
- Sense of humor
- Ability to work in a team or independently
- Ability to walk up to a mile on uneven, unpaved ground rain/shine
- Commitment to work the entire 2024 field trip season from now – late May
- Satisfactory completion of a background check
Note: Required training is provided. Don’t worry, we’ll train you on the specifics, too!
If you’d like to be part of the team and help Splash provide these mooo-ving experiences for the kids, please email a cover letter and resumé to beth@sacsplash.org.
In the body of your cover letter/email, briefly explain why this position appeals to you and highlight what you would bring to Splash in your role as a Docent.
