Land-Based, Outdoor Education

Position: Indigenous Land-Based Outdoor Educator
Organization: Evergreen
Location: Evergreen Brick Works, Don Valley, Toronto ON

Evergreen is seeking an Indigenous Land-Based Outdoor Educator to join our team!

This role will be located at Evergreen Brick Works on the traditional territory and homelands of the Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Haudenosaunee, and the Mississaugas of the Credit.

We are a national non-profit transforming public spaces in our cities for the health of people and our planet. With over 30 years of championing urban sustainability, we see the potential of our cities to solve some of the biggest issues facing our time and believe that our public spaces are the key to unlocking it. We see beyond the spaces that exist today and imagine them transformed into places where people and nature thrive.

Why Evergreen?

Evergreen has a great team! In staff engagement surveys, Evergreen employees consistently report that their colleagues are one of the best things about working here. What else is in it for you?

• Access to mental health resources for all staff, regardless of role.
• Free shuttle bus from Broadview Station.
• Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that support staff who are Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQ+, as well as ERGs for allyship learning, and to support caregivers of all kinds.
• Active workplace committees, including Health & Safety, DEIA, and Employee Engagement.
• Access to informal and formal skills development and resume/portfolio building opportunities beyond your role.
• A beautiful head office location surrounded by nature at Evergreen Brick Works, where 1-2 days annually the full staff team comes together on-site.

Key Accountabilities

This role differs from other Outdoor Educator roles because it specifically supports Evergreen’s Indigenous Land Connections (ILC) offering. As part of the Visiting Schools Program, Indigenous Land Connections is an Indigenous-led immersive journey through Evergreen Brick Works guided by Indigenous Seasonal Teachings. As the seasons change, so do our program of activities.

We know that Indigenous peoples have a vast diversity of teachings and worldviews, so this program was designed to be a guide that can be adapted to honor the facilitator(s) specific traditional teachings and worldview. It was designed across the years by Indigenous community members and staff from backgrounds including Anishinaabe-Ojibwe and Metis Nations.

The Indigenous Land-Based Outdoor Educator contributes to the overall success of educational land-based programing at Evergreen by supporting a culture of experiential learning, place-based activities, and nature connection. They are responsible for core program functions, especially the planning and delivery of safe and engaging programs for students, youth and the wider community.

A day in the life of this role might include:

• Deliver engaging public and private educational classes and outdoor nature-based activities for children, youth and adults who attend Evergreen’s Nature Play and Learning Programs. This may include Visiting Schools Program, Camps, Nature School, Team Building or Tours.
• Contribute to the continuing development and delivery of the Indigenous Land Connections offering as part of the Visiting Schools Program, Professional Development for Educators and Community Partnerships.
• Facilitate land-based and nature-connected programs that represent the core values of Education and Children’s Programs at Evergreen: Place-Based, Ecological, Experiential, Active and Mobile, Arts-Infused, Integrated, Inclusive.
• Be a contact in hosting Indigenous communities, organizations, and partners when they visit Brick Works. Depending on teachings and skills, this might include: fire keeping, caring for medicines, and participating in ceremony.
• Deliver programming involving the use of loose parts, natural materials, and inquiry-based learning approaches.
• Reflect on your work to solve problems and make programs better.
• Deliver programs safely according to Evergreen’s policies and training, including the benefits of healthy risk-taking and doing regular risk assessments.
• Provide a welcoming experience for visitors and act as an ambassador for Evergreen, including liaising with teachers, parents/guardians, and volunteers.
• Document and report any issues regarding: incidents, customer service, program spaces and materials.
• Seasonal assistance with summer camps or winter skating programs may be required.

What You’ll Bring

Aren’t sure if you check every requirement on this list? That’s ok! We are still interested in hearing from you. We’d love to learn more about how your unique experience might make you a great addition to Evergreen.

Success in this role will be supported by the following target qualifications and core competencies:

• Is First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit. Please note that as a part of our responsibility to Reconciliation, Evergreen will ask for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit membership or citizenship documentation for any role that uses, shapes, and programs with Indigenous Knowledge (IK) or is a dedicated role held for a First Nations, Metis, or Inuit person.
• 1-3 years education or experience in children’s environmental education or related fields.
• Experience and comfort facilitating learning experiences for people of all ages.
• Experience delivering educational and/or experiential programs outdoors.
• Experience working with individuals of different ages, cultures, backgrounds, and abilities.
• Anticipate, understand, and respond to the participants with care and creativity, fostering an environment that exceeds their learning and developmental expectations.
• Adapt to changing priorities and conditions, responding quickly and effectively, while reacting to change with curiosity and excitement.
• Excellent communication skills. Speak, listen, and write in a clear, confident, and respectful manner using age-appropriate communication tools and techniques.
• Current Standard First Aid & CPR C training (or willingness to obtain pre-start).
• Complete a successful police reference check (provided by Evergreen).

You might have the following assets:

• Experience with Forest & Nature School practices and/or Nature Connection Routines.
• Experience with any of the following approaches to education: experiential, emergent, inquiry-based, play-based, or place-based learning.
• Naturalist or ecological knowledge.
• Indigenous land-based knowledge.
• Fluent in French.
• OCT (Ontario Certified Teacher) or ECE (Early Childhood Educator) Qualification.

Still Interested? Here are some other things you should know!

• This is a part-time, hourly role.
• The target hire rate for this role is $23.74/hour. To ensure equity and transparency, our target hire rates are real and are not flexible. If this posted rate does not meet your needs, we ask that you save your application for a time when there is a role and wage that is a fit for you.
• You’ll receive vacation pay equal to 4% of your earnings.
• Working conditions:
  • Working on site at Brick Works 100% of the time in Toronto for in-person programming.
  • Working with a variety of people, primarily children.
  • Working outdoors, sometimes in inclement weather conditions.
  • Participate in flood preparation, evacuation, and clean-up activities, if necessary.
  • Available Monday to Sunday (especially weekdays during school hours).
  • Shifts of 5 to 8 hours.
  • Standing for extended periods of time.
  • Lifting heavy objects (20+ lbs) on a regular basis.
• This role is supervised by the Program Manager.

Our Recruitment Process

Interested applicants should submit their candidacy by September 22, 2025 through our career portal. Please limit your resume to three pages. Please also include a cover letter to introduce yourself and to give us further context on your job history and skills you’d like to highlight. Candidates selected for an interview will be contacted directly by a member of our People & Culture team.

We aim to contact all interviewees within 2 weeks after the posting closes. If you don’t hear from us, we might be behind in our expected timeline.

We will have one interview held online through Microsoft Teams.

We are committed to ensuring that all applicants are notified when the role has been filled so that you aren’t left wondering about the position.

We’re always learning, so please reach out at any stage of the application process if you require support or adaptations. Evergreen is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified individuals. In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code, Evergreen will provide accommodations throughout the recruitment cycle to applicants who request them.

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