Outdoor, environmental education and recreation

Position: Education Assistant
Organization: rare Charitable Research Reserve
Location: Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario

Who You Are

You are an aspiring educator with a particular enthusiasm for working with school-aged children. You are able to understand that your success is only as good as the whole, and you foster meaningful relationships with rare’s community of visitors and supporters. You have high expectations for yourself and your work and a healthy appetite for experimentation, while willing to learn from failure. You are someone who enjoys being independent and working as part of a team responsible for the delivery of our programs.

Who We Are

We are a community-based urban land trust and environmental institute that stewards over 1,500 acres of land in Waterloo Region/Wellington County. The lands we live on, work on and derive benefit from were taken away from the original stewards, and it is our goal to restore that connection and to work towards building ethical, reciprocal relationships. This includes learning about and acting on our responsibilities as settlers and unlearning our cultural and historical biases. Most of the land currently in our care is located within the Haldimand Tract, which is territory of the Onkwehon:we peoples of the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit Anishinaabe First Nation. In addition, we steward land at the border of the Upper Canada Treaty No. 3 and Treaty 19 which is also territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. We honour and respect the sovereignty of these First Nations and their ancestors.

Conservation is our priority, and our goal is to make the environment more relevant in peoples’ lives through environmental research and education. Modelled after an academic institute or research lab, the culture we strive for is a casual work environment that is positive, supportive, collegial and often experimental. As a registered charity, we are not working towards making the biggest profit for a corporation but working towards finding the best ways on how we want to live sustainably. You can find more about our culture and values, who we are looking for and what you can expect in the Frequently Asked Question section at: https://www.raresites.org/about/careers#jobs

The Role

Reporting to the Senior Educator, the Education Assistant will work collegially as part of the education team with program advisors, colleagues and volunteers, to take a pivotal role in rare’s attempts to provide multidisciplinary learning opportunities that equally value Western and Indigenous knowledge systems. By privileging a diversity of knowledge systems, the education team is exposing students to a higher quality of education and are equipping students with a greater capacity to learn and think for themselves and as a collective.

We believe that environmental sustainability is an attainable goal that can be reached when we recognize and enact our inherent responsibilities as people in relation to one another and to the environment. This feeds into our unique approach to education, called the rare Chain of Learning, which builds knowledge from the most senior teachers to the youngest students, and the community alike.

Specifically, this role entails:

• Training including site and program specific learning, safety training (e.g. WHMIS), and inclusivity training (e.g. AODA, supporting LGBTQ+ youth, supporting Indigenous youth)
• Leading interpretive hikes and education programs for community groups, the general public and school groups
• Participating in the development and delivery of Summer ECO Camps and PD Day ECO Camp
• Preparation and clean-up of daily activities and equipment maintenance
• Helping with administrative tasks associated with accommodating schools, community groups and families
• Occasionally providing and hosting special events and workshops at rare during evenings and weekends
• Providing assistance at Springbank education and demonstration gardens. Duties may involve planting thematic gardens, spring clean-up, watering gardens, at times with children’s groups
• Creating virtual educational content including Nature Activity Videos and Virtual Field Trips
• Attending staff meetings and report on ongoing activities

Requirements

• Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a program in education, child and youth studies, early childhood education, biology, ecology, environmental sciences, outdoor and recreational studies, a related discipline
• Demonstrated interest in Settler-Indigenous relations, Indigenous resurgence, ecology, the arts and environmental interactions as they relate to education
• Experience in developing and delivering environmental programs to children
• A current police check, including a Vulnerable Sector Screening*
• Able to participate in all-weather hikes over rough terrain
• Reliable transportation to/from work
• Fluency in other languages, considered a strong asset

* Costs associated with the VSS Police Check will be covered by rare for the successful candidate.

In addition to following all COVID-19 safety measures to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and guests, the rare Charitable Research Reserve requires all staff be fully vaccinated (at least two doses) against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.

Don’t meet all requirements?

We don’t expect you to be perfect, but we want you to have confidence in your own ability to progress. If we decide to hire you, we want you to succeed and we will support and train you in areas that need developing. Conferences, training and mentorship by more experienced colleagues and volunteers are all considered part of your work and encouraged.

Work Environment

• A hybrid work model, responsibilities for this role are carried out primarily in our office and on site, and remotely when possible. This position requires outdoor work, particularly during certain times of the year.
• Required to work outside of regular office hours as needed, which is adjusted by flexible tracking system for time worked.
• Physical activity may include lifting boxes with materials, setting up equipment, etc., up to 20kg, ability to travel across all terrain types, including during inclement weather conditions.
• Invitation for voluntary participation on the JEDDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization and Inclusion) committee.
• We operate across different sites and throughout the Region of Waterloo and Wellington County. This role may require traveling to various schools and sites.

Compensation Package

• This is a full-time 4-month seasonal position with a salary of $21.30 per hour for 35 hours per week.

Deadline for applications is April 11, 2025.

Anticipated start date is April 28, 2025, and we expect you to have all prior obligations and any degrees completed by that date.

How To Apply

Applicants are invited to send their application as ONE attachment to the following email address: jobs@raresites.org

Only documents including a cover letter and resume compiled into ONE PDF file will be reviewed. Any application materials provided within the body (text) of your email or as separate documents will not be considered. Cover letters for this position may be addressed to Istafa Sufi. Please include the name of the position for which you are applying in the email subject line.

Please mention you saw this at GoodWork.ca.

No phone calls or social media outreach please. Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview.

As part of our commitment to racial justice, reconciliation, and equity building, we welcome individuals from marginalized communities including Black people, Indigenous people, people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ and self-identifying women candidates to apply for this position. We encourage people with disabilities to apply. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

We are dedicated to removing bias from our hiring process. For this reason, we have implemented an anonymous review component in our recruitment process. What does this mean? We will be removing your name, address, and e-mail address and any other potential identifying information from your application/resume prior to it being reviewed by the hiring manager, during the first stage of the recruitment process. If you are selected for an interview, this information will become available to the hiring manager only at that time.