Volunteering at the High Park Nature Centre

We are always looking for volunteers to assist with our programs! Please contact the Nature Centre at 416-392-1748 ext 6 or naturecentre@highpark.org if you are interested in becoming a volunteer Nature Interpreter.

Volunteer Nature Interpreter Job Description

· Reporting to the Nature Centre Coordinator and the Nature Interpretation staff, volunteer nature interpreters will assist with the daily operations of the High Park Nature Centre.

Qualifications:

· Minimum of 6 months experience working with children in an education capacity.

Responsibilities:

· Assisting with the delivery of outdoor nature interpretation programs and activities for school groups, summer camp participants, families, day care centres and community centres, etc.

· Preparing to teach portions of programs and/or assisting children on a one-on-one basis

· Maintaining the cleanliness of the Nature Centre on a daily basis

· General animal care duties (feeding, handling)

· Helping to prepare displays, posters and program activity materials

· Assisting with the supervision of children on hikes, etc

· Communicating well and working as a team with staff and fellow volunteers

· Signing in and out each day on the appropriate forms

During your volunteer placement, Nature Centre staff will:

· Provide positive encouragement and ongoing feedback

· Check in regularly to see how things are going

· Evaluate your performance throughout the placement

Time Commitment:

· We ask our volunteers to agree to a minimum time commitment of 3 hours per week on a season by season basis

All volunteers will be required to:

· Fill out a volunteer application form and supply a copy of their resume

· Sign a volunteer agreement

· Undergo a police record check

· Observe a minimum of 2 programs before beginning to teach (you can feel free to assist participants one-on-one while observing)

Reference Letters

• We are happy to provide reference letters and verbal references for our volunteers. To be eligible for a reference, you must complete a minimum of 40 hours of volunteer work and be engaged in teaching and assisting in programming. You must also fill out a self-evaluation form and ask for the coordinator to complete a performance evaluation to form the basis for your reference.
• NOTE: We encourage our volunteers to share their talents and interests with our participants! If you are a musician or an artist and would like to lead a program, please let us know! If you are a photographer and would like to take pictures during our programs, let us know - we are always looking for great photos to help document our programs!