Role Description
Spend your summer enjoying beautiful Stanley Park whilst sharing your passion for ecology with others. Nature House Hosts provide important interpretation and education on the local ecology of the Park to visitors at SPE’s Nature House on Lost Lagoon. Receive training from experts on Stanley Park’s wildlife, plants and natural history, and develop your skills in interpretation and public engagement.
Duties
- Welcome visitors to the Nature House and share information about Stanley Park’s ecology and natural and cultural history in a friendly and engaging way;
- Engage visitors with educational displays in the Nature House;
- Provide directions and answer questions from park visitors;
- Promote SPE programming (such as walks, talks, events and memberships) as well as SPE volunteering opportunities;
- Support SPE staff to organize resource materials including books, photos and articles;
- Assist in Nature House opening and closing procedures;
- Light cleaning or tidying duties as occasionally required;
Time Commitment
The Nature House will be open Tuesday to Sunday each week between the first week of July until the first week of September. There is potential for this role to continue on a casual basis throughout the fall, winter and spring weekends.
Volunteers must be able to commit to at least two 3.5 hour shifts each week throughout July and August, in addition to attending all of the training sessions in June. Please see “Training” below for more details.
Training
SPE staff will provide thorough training on topics such as the ecology of Stanley Park and interpretation techniques. Volunteers will need to be available for approximately 20 hours of training, which will take the form of:
- Two full days of in-person training on consecutive Saturdays in June (dates TBC)
- Three 3-hour online training sessions on either Tuesday or Wednesday evenings in June (TBC)
Requirements
- Have a passion for ecology;
- Be interested in public outreach and enjoy meeting and interacting with people in an engaging way;
- Excellent communication skills;
- Have a passionate, enthusiastic, and confident nature;
- High commitment level and reliable team player;
- Have a keen interest in nature and Stanley Park – you do not need to know everything, just be willing to learn!
- Willingness to be active outdoors, in all weather conditions;
- 16 years of age or older.
Benefits
- Gain valuable hands-on experience in public outreach, nature interpretation and environmental education skills;
- Learn about the ecology of Stanley Park;
- Support members of the public to connect with nature;
- Spend the summer in Stanley Park, volunteering with like-minded people in a fun environment;
- Reference letter available after 25 hours of volunteer service;
- Attend the seasonal volunteer appreciation event;
- Access the benefits available to all SPE volunteers including discounted memberships.
Application procedure
Applications currently closed. If you are interested in applying when the next recruitment period begins, please email Harper, Volunteer Coordinator, at vols@stanleyparkecology.ca.