Sustainability Matters seeks an Environmental Educator who is passionate about conservation and eager to join us in seriously making sustainability fun! The Environmental Educator will create and implement conservation education programs for K-12 students and adults in school, community, and park settings. They will also build and maintain partnerships with schools and community organizations, lead scientific research at our native meadows, and collect program impact data.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Educational programming

Plan and deliver environmental education sessions for:

  • middle- and high-school students in Fairfax County as part of our Guardians of the Green and EcologiGALs programs

  • K-12 students and adults in Winchester as part of the Sustainability Matters Native Meadow project

  • K-12 and college educators to use our meadows for student research and education

  • our members and the general public through webinars and in-person workshops on environmental topics of your choosing, such as winter seed sowing, composting, foraging, installing no-mow lawns, etc.

Partnership building

  • Create and maintain environmental education partnerships with schools, local government agencies, and community organizations to engage new audiences

  • Identify new opportunities to reach non-traditional conservation audiences with educational programming

Field projects & research

  • Work with members of our Technical Advisory Board to advise on our Making Trash Bloom project (planting pollinator meadows at landfills)

  • Lead research at our Making Trash Bloom and other meadow installations to track the growth of various native plants, the growth of invasive plants, and the presence of pollinators and other insects

  • Train and lead K-12 students and adult community volunteers in assisting with this research

Program administration

  • Collect and track pre- and post-program survey data, attendance numbers, and other metrics as needed for reporting purposes

  • Ensure that target outcomes for educational programs are met or exceeded

QUALIFICATIONS

The right person for this position will possess skills and qualifications including:

  • At least two years of experience as an environmental educator in K-12 and/or community settings

  • College or graduate degree in environmental science, conservation, horticulture, biology, or related field

  • Passion for conservation issues and for sharing knowledge with others

  • Demonstrated knowledge of and curiosity about conservation, horticulture, and nature

  • Knowledge about Virginia’s native plants

  • Experience with scientific data collection and analysis

  • Experience and comfort working within diverse communities often excluded from the environmental movement, including people of different racial backgrounds, income levels, political opinions, and countries of origin

  • Ability to communicate clearly both to the public and to staff

  • Comfort with digital platforms including social media, databases, G-Suite, Zoom, etc.

  • Fluency in another language spoken widely throughout northern Virginia is a plus

  • Teaching license or a degree in education is also a plus

Sustainability Matters requires all staff to keep COVID vaccination and boosters up-to-date.

LOCATION

All Sustainability Matters employees work remotely, but this position will require extensive in-person work primarily in Fairfax County and Winchester. Additional in-person events and meetings may take place throughout our service area, which includes the region loosely defined by Frederick, Fairfax, Rappahannock, and Shenandoah Counties.

To facilitate the travel necessary for this position, we require residence in Winchester or Fairfax County, or in the counties that lie between them: Loudoun, Clarke, or Frederick.

HOURS

This is a full-time, salaried job with flexible hours, including weekend and evening events. We offer unlimited paid time off; we work hard, fulfill our responsibilities (and then some), and take the time we need to recharge and enjoy full lives.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Sustainability Matters believes our people are our most important asset. We expect our staff to perform at the highest professional level, and we treat and compensate them accordingly. Salary range for this position is $50,000 – $70,000. Benefits include:

  • Flexible working hours, outside of established programming hours

  • Unlimited paid time off

  • Primarily remote work with up to 2-3 trips each week to facilitate educational programming and partnership development, primarily in Winchester and Fairfax County

  • Reimbursement for mileage driven within the region, based on the federal rate

  • A cell phone and laptop, or a stipend to offset the use of your own devices

  • A hot spot for Internet access, or a stipend to offset the use of your home Internet

  • Retirement account with an employer match

  • Life insurance

  • Short- and long-term disability insurance

  • Annual reimbursement allowance, accrued monthly, for pet healthcare and adoption expenses

  • Purchase of software as needed

We currently do not provide health, dental, or vision insurance.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

We seek to fill this position as soon as possible, but it will remain open until we find the right person. For consideration, please submit a cover letter, resume, and anything else you would like us to consider to jobs@sustainabilitymatters.earth.

ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS

Since our founding in 2018, Sustainability Matters has organized more than 250 educational and outreach programs for over 25,000 participants. Our partners include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Virginia Department of Forestry, the State Arboretum of Virginia, the city of Winchester, Fairfax County, and many others. We’re a creator of webinars with global reach and an architect of innovative, scalable projects like Making Trash Bloom, which is working to transform the waste management industry by planting native pollinator-friendly meadows on trash cells.

Our focus is on outreach that is truly universal, including both traditional and non-traditional conservation audiences. Our approach to conservation is realistic and practical, never purist. We’re about people almost as much as we’re about the planet: the community we’re building, both in-person and virtually, catalyzes our impact.

And that community starts with our staff and Board: we enjoy sharing meals both virtually and in person, showing off our pets during Zoom meetings, supporting each other in difficult times, celebrating our personal and collective successes, and working together to have a meaningful impact on our communities.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Sustainability Matters is an equal opportunity employer, drawing strength from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We value potential employees’ intellect, capacities, and work ethic. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, or any other non-merit factor. Bring your brain, and come as you are.