About the Role

1) Leading engaging outdoor learning sessions for teenagers aged 11-16. The club leader will design and deliver activities that promote nature-connection, nature-literacy and nature-empathy.

Examples of activities:

• teaching bushcraft skills like whittling, shelter building, outdoor cooking or crafts

• observing and learning about native plants and trees, bird and insect species

• teaching to connect with nature and having quiet time in nature

• teaching basic herbal knowledge, making tea or other concoctions

• include the students in gardening activities, e.g. planting hedges, weeding, growing seedlings

Growing Green will aim to bring in outside resources and members of other groups to learn about specific topics (e.g. hedgehogs). The club leader will provide the basics so these sessions run smoothly.

2) The successful candidate will work closely with Growing Green and suggest and facilitate improvements to the site. They will find biodiversity deserts within the school and help us turn them into spaces that can be used by wildlife and the nature club.

Examples of activities:

• find a space for a native hedge, a pond and pollinator border

• is there space for an orchard or even food growing

Growing Green will provide the support needed to implement these, e.g. by designing and buying plants for an insect border then coming to site to help with planting.

3) Supporting Growing Green in encouraging the school leadership team and teaching staff to incorporate outdoor learning into the curriculum in order to engage as many of the wider pupil base as possible with our nature projects.

Work Hours

We would like to start with one school, ideally after the February half-term ’25. The candidate would work for 2h per week, either after school or at lunchtime to facilitate the nature club (1h) plus 1 hour for writing up the session, preparing for the next session and networking with staff, such as grounds maintenance teams or teaching staff.

This is a trial that runs until the summer holidays 2025.

If our trial is successful, we would like to expand the role and include more schools into the program. The successful candidate could ultimately work up to 5 days in after school or lunchtime clubs in our schools, with working hours somewhere between 10-20 hours per week.

Ideal Candidate:

• Holds a Forest School Level 3 qualification (newly qualified Leaders welcome)

• Is confident and passionate about working with teenagers

• Holds a bushcraft qualification

• Is a healthy mixture of idealistic and realistic

• Has good communication and organisation skills - you will deal with teachers, students, grounds maintenance, school leaders and us

• Has good knowledge about nature, wildlife species and gardening

• Enhanced DBS certificate (we can help with this)

This is a great opportunity for someone with community spirit who cares not just about nature and the climate but also about young minds and wants to make a difference in the world around us. We are a small, friendly and hands-on team who are looking forward to working with you.

Interested? We would love to talk to you. Please submit your CV and cover letter below.