Environmental Educator Assistant

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is hiring an Environmental Educator Assistant in Queens, NY. The role involves supporting the After-School Conservation Club and Summer Outdoor Explorers programs by delivering lessons to youth, engaging in community outreach, and participating in professional development. The position requires in-person interactions and activities, including working at local parks and a DEC sleepaway camp, and does not specify any degree requirements.
The mission of the NYSDEC’s Region 2 Bureau of Environmental Education program is to engage the people of New York City with the area’s local natural resources through programs that raise ecological awareness, promote outdoor recreation, and inspire environmental stewardship.

Members will provide the primary support for the After-School Conservation Club (ASCC) and Summer Outdoor Explorers (SOE) programs (60%). For the ASCC program, members will deliver one-hour lessons to groups of 20 third, fourth, and/or fifth graders during the afternoon at an off-site NYC after-school programs operated by a community-based organization (ex. YMCA or Boys and Girls Club). Members will meet with the same one or two groups on a weekly basis (ex. Mondays at after-school A, Tuesdays at after-school B, etc.) for about 15 weeks in the spring and about 10 weeks in the fall. Members will be given latitude to deliver lessons tailored to the interest of their groups. The SOE program follows the same structure as the ASCC program expect lessons are delivered outdoors at local parks during morning or afternoon sessions over the course of 4-6 weeks. Members will support the regional educators with the delivery of other school and community programs, professional development workshops, and public outreach programs (10%). Members will develop and deliver lessons for the audiences listed above (10%). Members will spend one or two weeks at a DEC sleepaway camp and interact with and educate up to 45 youth, including campers from the DEC’s NYC Camps Diversity Program (5%). Members will complete mandatory SCA and DEC trainings and other professional development (15%).