Preparing for Summer Teaching Apprenticeships

The more experience or training you have with the following activities, the greater success you will have with this program:

• Time Outdoors (especially growing up playing in the woods, deserts, or beaches around your home; harvesting fruits and vegetables, fish and animals both domestic and wild, as a youth; plus taking adventures on the mountains, prairies, and waterways of this beautiful earth as a young adult)
• Teaching Experience (especially understanding the needs of various ages)
• Wilderness Survival; Traditional Craftwork
• Wild Edible Foods & Herbal Studies
• Gardening and Farming
• Permaculture Design and Earth Skills Courses
• Community Living Experiences
• Eclectic Spiritual Tolerance
• Music & Artwork; Photography & Recording; Writing & Journaling
• Wilderness First Aid, Search & Rescue; Lifeguarding; EMT Training
• Hunting and Fishing
• Wildlife Study (in-the-field biology classes, sit-spot sensory awareness exercises, etc)
• Orienteering (map reading, aidless navigation, etc)
• Search & Rescue; Lifeguarding; Wilderness First Aid, EMT Training
• Martial Arts Training (moral code, etc.); Ballet/Dance (balance work, etc)
• Writing & Journaling; Photography & Recording; Sketching & Drawing
• Pioneering Skills (use tools safely and efficiently, etc.)

Application Process

These residential programs require a lengthy application process to ensure that this is the right choice for you, and that you are the right choice for us. To apply, first call Chris Chisholm at 253-604-6481 or email us with questions.

Your application should contain:

• Completed and signed registration form.
• 3 year driving record with a copy of your current driver's license.
• Federal FBI Background Check. This process takes approximately 2 months, and we will give you instructions.
• Copies of all past relevant certifications you have received, particularly in Wilderness Medicine and water-related rescue training. If you do not have a recent 24 class-hour or longer Wilderness First Aid training (september or later), then you will need to show that you have registered for such an upcoming course (regular first aid, or mountain-oriented first aid that is only 16 class hours, is not sufficient). In addition, if you have not taken a recent CPR class, then you will need to show that you have registered for an upcoming "CPR for the Professional Rescuer" class (regular cpr is not sufficient - you need infant CPR and practice using a defibrillator).
• Your most recent educational transcripts. Unofficial copies are fine, but if you do not have a high school diploma, then you will need to schedule a date for taking the GED exam.
• A cover letter detailing your passion as an outdoor educator or specialist, your intention to complete this apprenticeship opportunity, and what you hope to do in the future with this educational experience.
• A description of any training, skills or experience you have in teaching, coordinating and guiding outdoor educational activities.
• A description of any previous environmental education you have received, including academic work, mentoring during your childhood, personal dirt time, and trainings at other earth skills schools. For instance, make a list of times you might have experienced plants, animals, minerals, and outdoor phenomena in the past on a personal level. Perhaps herbs had effect on your own healing, or an animal encounter as a child or adult had an impression on you. List the herbs, animals, minerals and outdoor phenomena that you have studied or largely understand, without getting too off-tangent and lengthy. Note if and when you have experienced gardening with herbs, taking care of animals, or working with minerals.
• A letter of recommendation from a recent employer, and a letter of recommendation from a recent teacher.
• $500 deposit, which will be refunded (only) if your application is not accepted and you do not wish to attend any of the scheduled training courses. Please click here for refund deadline dates.
• After being accepted, you will need to review our web site to understand Wolf Camp offerings and its full schedule, plus read Book VII of Journey Earth Conservation Course - Trail of the Environmental Educator which we will send you before arriving.

Word to the Wise: All those who have kept their applications concise and focused are almost always accepted. We generally don't get applications from people not eligible because the very detailed description of the program on this page has turned out to be an excellent filter. In other words, you decide if this program is what you most need in your life next year. Those who wrote rambling essays or thought we weren't completely serious about our drug policy, for instance, weren't successful. Suggestions for your biography include any previous training, skills or experience in teaching (including age groups and a description of knowledge of their needs), a list of any nature awareness and survival skills you know and your level of study with them, and a description of your method of continuing education in these skills.

Responsibilities on Campus

The most important behavioral expectations while enrolled in the apprenticeship programs include: pouring your greatest effort into learning these earth skills and teaching skills; maintaining professional hygiene (including appearance and smell of body, hair and clothes) and behavior (including the very same agreements which youth campers must uphold during camps and contracts guaranteeing the physical and emotional safety of all participants - see youth camp pages to read these agreements - obvious exceptions include provisions for married persons, for example) throughout the summer youth camp season; remaining free of drugs (including alcohol, tobacco, and illicits) during the youth camp season; never harboring any illegal items, people or behavior on or in the vicinity of Wolf Camp; never having participated in child abuse or workplace sexual misconduct, nor having any impulse to do so; not unfairly discriminating against anyone based on color, ethnicity, origin, sex, sexual orientation, religious preference, or handicap; and performing in a professional, safe manner to help make Wolf Camp the most excellent outdoor educational program possible.

Living on campus also means sharing responsibility for maintenance of all common facilities as well as your own shelter space (usually tent under tarp in the summer, or in a yurt or cabin in the fall-spring) just like if you were renting a house elsewhere and needing to spend time cleaning, etc. However, it is much more efficient to live in a community like this where you are taking turns cooking, cleaning, recycling, shopping, organizing supplies, caretaking farm animals, etc., etc., rather than having to do all that on your own, and thereby leaving more time for your studies. Blog entries, making foods from scratch, maintenance checks and first aid drills can also take up some time, and they are important aspects of your learning program.

 

Notes from Chris

Potential for future work as a lead instructor will depend on enrollment in camps, the number and size of school contracts that become available, your progress on improving your earth skills, the number of camps for which you assisted in the past, your previous education and work experience, and our assessment of your teaching skills. Remember, this is a teaching apprenticeship designed for people who really want to share these skills with others in the near future. Beyond the training period, you will be learning the skills vicariously while on the job, and ultimately, it is up to you to practice on your own during the off-season to become accomplished in these earth skills, although you may enroll in any of our fall-spring Cooperative Intensives as well. During the summer, the needs of our youth campers will be our focus. If you simply want to learn the skills instead of spending time assisting children this summer and teaching (here or elsewhere) in the future, we encourage you to consider another program.

I’m looking forward to receiving your application, but feel free to call or email me so I can clarify any questions you have. There is so very much to gain and to give in this program, so I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

Until then! - Chris Chisholm