With a home base in St. Paul, Minnesota, Wilderness Inquiry sits right on the bank of the Mississippi River. From this main office and warehouse location, staff are sent to countless locations across Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as throughout the U.S., including popular National Parks such as Yellowstone and Glacier. The sea kayaking base camp in Little Sand Bay, Wisconsin takes kayakers throughout the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior's South Shore—known for its red sandstone sea caves, sandy beaches, picturesque lighthouses, and historic shipwrecks. Both locations offer lots to see and do during your off time!
Whether you're an expert or beginner in outdoor recreation and education (or not particularly outdoorsy at all!) there is a place for you at Wilderness Inquiry. Like participants, staff come from all backgrounds, skillsets, and interests, with one thing in common: we are all passionate about making the outdoors a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible community for all. With various program models, staff can enjoy working on extended trips across the country or spend their days working locally and returning to their own homes every night. Over the course of a single trip, Leaders will embrace many roles including educator, guide, leader and more. Seasonal positions are offered from March through November, with staff training dates available each season. Compensation ranges from $18-$21/hour for day programs and $172-$202/day for overnights/extended tours. Staff housing, meals on extended trips, and professional service stipends are also provided. If you're looking for a place to make friends, participate in cool experiences, get paid to spend time outside, and work with a crew of amazing individuals where you feel like you truly belong and make a difference, learn more about the Wilderness Inquiry community.
2024 Outdoor Leader Positions NOW OPEN! • Now seeking great applicants for a variety of Outdoor Leadership job openings. Explore featured job openings »
Take a virtual tour of the Wilderness Inquiry Apostle Islands Base Camp!
Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center is a public, non-profit residential learning center on Gridstone Lake near Sandstone, MN that provides outdoor educational opportunities to diverse audiences in an intimate setting. Residential and day-use environmental education experiences for thousands of K-12 students from across the Midwest focus on a selection of adventure, team building, outdoor/environmental education, cultural, natural history and science, wildlife ecology, and renewable energy classes. Osprey Wilds is also a retreat and conference center — the perfect venue for group meetings, conferences, retreats, reunions or special getaways.
Are you ready to gain experience in current environmental education methods through training seminars, direct mentorship, graduate level coursework and on-the-job learning? Osprey Wilds is seeking Environmental Education Fellows to teach ecology, wildlife, adventure, and cultural classes to large and small groups of all ages (including evening and weekend programming), serve as the primary representative and host to visiting conference and retreat groups, plan and lead summer camp programming and free-time activities, and provide basic husbandry for Osprey Wilds animal ambassadors. Applicants must commit to a full year: immediate openings through December—6 positions available. There is also a fall cohort (August 14th, 2024 to August 8th, 2025—9 positions available). Compensation includes a $300/week stipend, delicious meals during the work week (or when groups are present), private room in staff housing (that's adjacent to the beach!), the option of earning 10 graduate credits tuition-free through Hamline University, and continued learning in pedagogy, natural history, animal husbandry, curriculum development, and environmental education theory throughout the year. At minimum, applicants must have a Bachelor's degree in a related field (or equivalent work experience/training), able to commit to a full year, and live in communal onsite housing. If you are in the beginning stages of your professional career, interested in outdoor activities and animals, and passionate about growing participant skills and knowledge, explore fellowship details.
Looking for a Summer Internship? Osprey Wilds is also seeking sixEnvironmental Education Summer Interns to assist with summer camp programming with topics that include ecology, wildlife, adventure, and cultural classes as well as serve as an overnight counselor for residential camps. The anticipated work term is from June 17th through August 2nd, 2024 (flex to meet your college schedule).
Why work at Osprey Wilds? Check out what these staff members have to say about their experience.
Field Crew and Youth Corps Crew Leaders/Members, Summer Youth Corps Crew Leaders, Field Specialists and Individual Placements
Northeast Minnesota (Grand Rapids, Tower, Moose Lake, Gooseberry Falls State Park, Tofte), Northwest Minnesota (Brainerd, Bemidji, Fergus Falls); Central Minnesota (St. Paul, Hanover, Shakopee); Southern Minnesota Region (Mankato, Rochester, Kilen Woods State Park, Camden State Park, Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge); and in Iowa (Ames). The region is known for its spectacular wilderness: thousands of lakes, the beautiful north shore of Lake Superior, National Forest lands, and environmental policies that support land conservation.
Spend a season or year outdoors conserving natural resources, gain field experience, and make a difference!Conservation Corps provides youth and young adults practical and professional experience, career training, a stable income, and an opportunity to pay for educational expenses. All of this while being outside in the beautiful states of Minnesota and Iowa.
Benefits include a living stipend ranging from $2,200-$2,600/month depending on position, health insurance, student loan forbearance during the service term, a post-service AmeriCorps education award, and the opportunity to explore career options. If you are highly motivated, a committed individual, passionate about habitat restoration and the outdoors, and want to work on a team of peers, build trails, learn how to manage wildfires or lead youth in conservation work, explore current job openings, position descriptions, dates of employment and application deadlines.
Summer Crew Job Openings! • Conservation Corps has hundreds of full-time AmeriCorps Crew Member, Crew Leader, Outdoor Educator, Field Specialist, and Individual Placement positions beginning this summer!
Why serve outdoors with Conservation Corps MN & IA? Check out with these Members had to say about their experience.
Located on beautiful Lake Pokegama in the Northwoods of Minnesota, Camp Mishawaka is a traditional overnight summer camp serving children ages 8-16. Campers come from all over the country and world, representing 31 different states and 10 different countries. As a camp staff member you will develop as a leader, learn new life skills, and experience the incredible rewards of working with creative, hilarious kids all summer.
Mishawaka is now seeking a variety of summer staff members for the 2024 season (June 9th to August 10th), including Boys/Girls Camp General Counselors, Wilderness Trip Leaders, Trip Director, Head of Waterfront, Head of High Ropes Course/Climbing, Head of Sailing, and Head of Fitness. Staff at Mishawaka are provided with true leadership opportunities: overseeing and developing lessons for a specialized activity, living and fostering an atmosphere of safety and comfort for a cabin group of 4-6 campers for up to eight weeks, leading a variety of activities throughout the day, and/or possibly planning and guiding extended wilderness trips for up to five days. All the skills counselors learn (and hone), including critical thinking, collaboration, organization, communication, and creativity, have real world applications. Whether you are considering a career in education or another field, working effectively with people from different backgrounds and areas provides an experience that you will be able to draw on for years to come. Compensation includes a salary (based on experience, qualifications, and position), room & board, and a travel stipend. If you are passionate about connecting with kids and have the cultural competence and enthusiasm for working with a diverse and dynamic community, fill out the online application.
Ready for the time of your life? Check out what Mishawaka staff had to say about their summer experience.
Connecting people to nature and each other through transformative outdoor experiences, Eagle Bluff is Southern Minnesota’s premier outdoor learning center offering outdoor adventures and accredited environmental education field trips for youth, adults, families and groups!
Hone your talents. Improve your skills. Learn from professionals. Experience a year filled with curiosity, confidence-building, and outdoor adventure. As one of 11 participants in this year-long residential fellowship, Environmental Education Fellows develop teaching, interpretive, and public relations techniques rooted in principles of environmental education. Fellows are exposed to a wide variety of audiences through instructing hands-on, experiential, and inquiry-based adventure, science, and cultural history classes. Professional growth and learning are accomplished through direct teaching experience supported by staff, professional workshops, and a series of observations and evaluations. Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, excited about facilitating positive, outdoor experiences for students of all ages and backgrounds, and able to make a commitment from August 12th, 2024 to August 1st, 2025. Preference is given to those with a Bachelor's degree (or any equivalent combination of experience, training and/or education) and related experience as a naturalist, interpreter, camp counselor, trip leader, or other leadership position. Benefits include a $1,000/month stipend, dorm-style housing in a staff wing (with private room in shared suite and common living room), meals when visiting groups are in residence, food staples for the staff kitchen, significant PTO, several holidays, personal voicemail, WiFi access, staff gear + pro deals, and use of Eagle Bluff’s recreational equipment. Participants also have the option to earn a postgraduate certificate in environmental education from Hamline University. Learn more about the application process or contact Cheryl Krage for more information.
For over 50 years, Girl Scouts has brought girls from all over the world to the Northern Lakes Canoe Base on the shores of Moose Lake in Ely, Minnesota to experience the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in a way no one else can offer. Home to some of the world’s most pristine water, this is a canoe paddler’s paradise!
Wilderness Canoe Guides lead girls ages 12 and up on life-changing canoe adventures lasting from 5 to 10 days. Responsibilities include helping girls achieve their full potential as they paddle and portage canoes through the wilderness (and enjoy loons, waterfalls, and the northern lights!), working with each crew to create a warm and caring atmosphere, and ensuring the group has a safe, fun, positive, fulfilling, and educational experience. Duties also include pre-trip training, equipment and food/meal preparation, coaching campers on paddling, navigational, portaging and camping skills, and helping each crew feel a great sense of challenge and accomplishment throughout the trip, and leave with a deeper appreciation for the outdoors and environment. Season compensation starts at $2,995 plus a travel stipend up to $350, tent accommodations, and all food provided on the trail. Hands-on enrichment training begins as early as June 1st, 2024 and includes American Red Cross Lifeguard and Wilderness First Aid certifications and canoe/kayaking training, with work through approximately August 15th. Training is offered at no cost, and staff will be paid for their time while taking these trainings. Outdoor experience, an industrious work ethic, and a knack for working with people from a range of backgrounds is a must. Apply online or contact Melissa Garza for more information.
Melissa Garza (she/her/hers)
Program & Property Director
Girl Scouts of Minnesota & Wisconsin Lakes & Pines
2122 W. Superior St., Suite 1
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 409-3803 mgarza@girlscoutslp.org GirlScoutsLP.org
Camphill Communities are dedicated to creating communities where the recognition of each individual's gifts and contributions offer a model of renewal for the wider society. Camphill Volunteers live and work alongside children, youth and adults with developmental and other disabilities in one of fifteen sustainable communities throughout the U.S. (California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont) and Canada (British Columbia).
Spend a year developing yourself—discover your deeper purpose and share your life and gifts in a thriving intentional community with Camphill! Live-in Volunteers grow faster than they imagined possible, build deep, lasting relationships, and develop practical and creative skills that open doors for the rest of their lives. Begin to master new skills and carry them forward into your future. Biodynamic farming. Artisan baking. Woodworking. Leadership and cooperative collaboration. Mindfulness. Through a mix of structured training and hands-on practice under the guidance of mentors, you dive right in, and by the end of your year, you're not only comfortable with them, but you’re also leading others in learning. In addition to college loan support program, the community ensures that every volunteer's basic living needs are covered. This means you receive a monthly stipend, a private room in a beautiful environment, wholesome, mostly organic meals, medical insurance, and other essentials—from toiletries to use of community cars.
Camphill Is Actively Welcoming Volunteers! Apply for one of the 125 volunteer spots with start dates throughout the year and share your gifts in one of Camphill's 15 sustainable communities. Learn more about the volunteer experience and explore current positions here.
Whether you're an expert or beginner in outdoor recreation and education (or not particularly outdoorsy at all!) there is a place for you at 
Osprey Wilds is also seeking six 
Apply for one of the 125 volunteer spots with