Field Naturalist

About ESC: The Environmental Science Center (ESC) is a non-profit organization offering experiential environmental education programs at local beaches, streams, forested areas, and in classrooms throughout south King County. Our goals are to foster environmental stewardship actions in all participants of our programs, and to offer knowledge and resources for communities to deepen their relationship with their local environment. ESC recognizes that many communities in south King County – particularly Black, Indigenous, People of Color, immigrant/refugee, and low-income communities – have been systematically excluded from safe, positive, and relevant outdoor experiences, and we are striving to change that. We aim to remove some of the barriers to these experiences by providing free and low-cost programs, and by working to create a safe and affirming space within our programs and in the broader community.

Nature of the work: We are currently hiring Field Naturalists for public programs and school-based field study programs. 

Salmon Heroes is a fall program for 4th-8th grade students about the salmon life cycle, anatomy, and habitat needs, ethnobotany, watershed health, and human impacts on salmon habitat.  

Beach Heroes is a spring program for K-3rd grade students about the nearshore environment, adaptations and food web dynamics, and stewardship actions to protect the beach. 

Climate Heroes is a spring program for high school chemistry students about the impacts of coastal acidification on oyster farming and other plankton. 

ESC Public Programs occur year-round that include a variety of programs from toddler story times to senior-focused bird walks to booths at local festivals and many other public facing events occurring primarily on afternoons and weekends. 

Responsibilities:

• Facilitate 2-3-hour Field Lessons for Salmon, Climate, or Beach Heroes (depending on the season), which include lessons about salmon life cycle and habitat needs, common intertidal marine organisms, ethnobotany, watershed health, and human impacts on habitat
• Model appropriate stewardship behavior.
• Lead groups of 10-15 students during on-site Field Lesson programs.
• Opportunity to co-teach at public programs.
• Give feedback on programs and contribute to staff debriefs. 

Qualifications:

• Experience teaching youth in outdoor or informal settings.
• Experience teaching adults and elders in outdoor or informal settings.
• Knowledge of or enthusiasm to learn about topics covered in our school programs – primarily Pacific NW salmon ecology and human impacts on watershed health; Salish Sea marine invertebrates and nearshore environment ecology.
• Willingness to work outdoors in most weather conditions.
• Exceptional interpretive skills.
• Preference will be given to applicants who can teach in another language in addition to English, particularly languages commonly spoken in south King County, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali, Ukrainian, and Amharic.
• Must have reliable transportation to primary work locations (see below).
• Must be able to pass a Washington State background check.
• Up to date COVID-19 vaccination strongly recommended.

Compensation: $21.00/hour; $22.00/hour for bilingual naturalists

Time Commitment:

Part-time and seasonal: Approximately 10-15 hours/week; Salmon Heroes season runs mid-September through mid-December; Beach and Climate Heroes run mid-March through mid-June. There is the potential to work fewer hours if desired. Additional hours are available facilitating ESC’s year-round public programs. 

Typical school-based field lessons are 2-3 hours and are scheduled Monday – Friday between 9:00am and 2:00pm, with some programs starting earlier. Naturalist time commitment per shift is usually 3.5-4.5 hours. Public programs occur weekdays, late afternoons, and weekends and vary in length. 

Attendance is required at three in-person training days at the start of each field trip season. Spring training 2026 will be held on March 23-25. Training will be approximately 20 hours total, with some time allotted for asynchronous at-home work. 

Supervisor: Hanna Jones, ESC School Programs Manager

Work Locations Include (but are not limited to): 

• Seahurst Park (1600 SW Seahurst Park Rd, Burien, WA 98166)
• Normandy Park Cove (1500 SW Shorebrook Drive, Normandy Park, WA 98166)
• Renton Community Center (1715 SE Maple Valley Hwy, Renton, WA 98057)
• Mary Olsen Farm (28728 Green River Road, Kent, WA 98030)
• Mill Creek Earthworks Park (742 E Titus St, Kent, WA 98030)
• Clark Lake Park (12520 SE 240th St, Kent, WA 98031)

How to Apply:  Please fill out the Field Naturalist application form on our website envsciencecenter.org/about/jobs/ and e-mail a current resume with subject line “Job Opening Field Naturalist” to ESC’s School Programs Manager: hanna@environmentalsciencecenter.org

Applications due by Monday, February 23rd. For more information, please email Hanna.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. 

All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.