Environmental Program Instructor
Join our Team!
The Environmental Program Instructor is an exciting new position at North Cascades Institute that teaches, leads and supports youth, adult and family programs at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center for a ten month period, mid-February to mid-December.
On the trail with Mountain School students
Do you want to ...
... work inside one of the wildest, most dramatic national parks in the country surrounded by trails, peaks, lakes, streams, old-growth forests and the mighty Skagit River?
... engage people of all ages from across the country in a wide variety of environmental education settings, topics and programs?
... collaborate with a team of coworkers dedicated to environmental awareness, connection, stewardship and education?
... live in community, sharing delicious meals made from local ingredients prepared by our cooks and have the options to contribute to an organic garden, participate in organized social events, hang out next to a campfire after work and—on your days off—make plans to canoe, hike, climb, birdwatch and naturalize with others?
We invite YOU to come work with us in one of the most beautiful places in the country for one of the highest-regarded nonprofit organizations on the West Coast! For ten months, from mid-February through mid-December, you can soak all this in and have an experience of a lifetime.
Leading high schoolers on backcountry camping trips with Youth Leadership Adventures
This position is designed in particular for people who are early in their careers as educators and leaders. It is guaranteed to give you both a comprehensive, hands-on experience and a deep philosophical grasp of Environmental and Outdoor Education as a field. You will gain experience in what it takes to run a successful Environmental Learning Center. We are committed to helping you gain the skills you need to empower your career.
Position Location and Description
The work location for the Environmental Program Instructor is at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center located in the heart of the North Cascades National Park on Diablo Lake.
In the Spring, Mountain School, a residential environmental education program for local 5th graders, takes place from February to the end of May. Your summer activities will be a variety of fun, educational programs for the public, including families and park visitors, from June to late August. There are two tracks in the summer—one facilitating a variety of programming at the Environmental Learning Center, and the other leading to remote backcountry Youth Leadership Adventures with teens. In Fall, Mountain School resumes in September and continues to mid-December.
Different Kinds of Value
Guiding Big Canoe excursions on Diablo Lake during Family Getaways
When you serve as a Program Instructor at the Institute, there are valuable elements of our compensation package that go beyond your paycheck, including:
- Recruitment Incentive Bonus: An employee who successfully completes work from February 13 through March 15, 2023 will earn a $1,000 bonus!
- Paid Time Off: Paid sick leave, paid vacation, nine days of paid holidays and two paid service days.
- Subsidized Housing: You’ll pay only $350 for a room (including utilities) in nice houses located either on campus or nearby in Marblemount.
- Staff Meals: When programs are is session staff eat free in our Dining Hall - and our food is healthful and delicious, made from organic ingredients from local farmers, ranchers, fisherpeople and more through our Foodshed Initiative.
Interpretive activities during summer programs
- Professional development: Receive the equivalent of about one month professional training over a ten month period. This includes extensive start-up and seasonal transition training, weekly Teaching & Learning sessions, Wilderness First Aid, and Canoe Safety training.
- Supervisory Support: Receive careful, regular feedback from skilled, experienced supervisors to help you succeed in this and future work.
- Community: We excel at creating a learning community among our staff. We work together, live together and learn together. It’s not always easy, but we come together to do work that matters—and to have a lot of fun. It might be a weekend music jam session, wilderness adventures in the epic North Cascades ecosystem, growing amazing food in our staff garden, mushroom foraging, animal tracking, a bird identification session,or fishing for salmon on our property where Diobsud Creek joins the Skagit River.
Over 10 months together, you’ll gain friends, knowledge, skills and new experiences to last a lifetime! Check out our photo album of past Environmental Programs Instructors in action.
