How to hire an environmental educator

How to hire an environmental educator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step environmental educator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an environmental educator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new environmental educator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an environmental educator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an environmental educator, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An environmental educator's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, environmental educators from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of environmental educator salaries for various roles:

   Type of Environmental Educator	Description	Hourly rate
   Environmental Educator	Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a wide variety of academic and career and technical subjects beyond the high school level. They also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.	$13-32

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • CPR
   • Natural History
   • Curriculum Development
   • Environmental Education Programs
   • Environmental Science
   • Outdoor Education
   • K-12
   • Trail Maintenance
   • Ropes Course
   • Canoe
   • Environmental Issues
   • Natural Resources
   • Natural World
   • Natural Sciences

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Collect GPS data with Trimble unit for interactive map.
   • Contract at end of term for assignments and train new AmeriCorps.
   • Develop hands on educational programs and activities for students' grades k-12.
   • Develop, plan and instruct outdoor and animal education programs for Pre-K to adult students.
   • Plan, organize and instruct various public environmental outreach programs to pre-k through adult audiences.
   • Participate in IEP meetings, parent- teacher conferences as well as faculty and staff meetings.

   More environmental educator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the environmental educator job description is a good way to get more applicants. An environmental educator salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an environmental educator in South Dakota may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level environmental educator. Additionally, an environmental educator with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average environmental educator salary

   $43,754yearly

   $21.04 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level environmental educator salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 23, 2025

   Average environmental educator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Illinois	$49,254	$24
   2	Iowa	$47,531	$23
   3	Virginia	$47,323	$23
   4	Washington	$45,034	$22
   5	Minnesota	$44,222	$21
   6	Texas	$40,842	$20
   7	Idaho	$40,808	$20
   8	California	$39,184	$19
   9	Wisconsin	$37,241	$18
   10	Colorado	$32,807	$16

   Average environmental educator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Student Conservation Association	$50,896	$24.47	17
   2	University of Rhode Island	$48,276	$23.21
   3	Western Washington University	$46,428	$22.32	5
   4	Colorado State Express	$45,310	$21.78
   5	Minnesota Limited	$44,450	$21.37
   6	Americorps	$43,773	$21.04	9
   7	University of Georgia Small Business Development Center	$43,382	$20.86	17
   8	Associated Recreation Council	$43,103	$20.72
   9	City of Boise	$41,688	$20.04
   10	City of Edinburg	$39,419	$18.95
   11	Wheaton Park District	$39,162	$18.83	1
   12	State of Colorado	$34,911	$16.78	3
   13	University of Maine	$34,014	$16.35	4
   14	University of Montevallo	$31,445	$15.12
   15	Butterfly Pavilion	$31,394	$15.09
   16	Ymca Of Greater Seattle	$25,185	$12.11	2

4. Writing an environmental educator job description

   A job description for an environmental educator role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an environmental educator job description:

   Environmental educator job description example

   The City of Roanoke is seeking two Environmental Education Instructors to perform responsible work in the daily operation of nature/visitor center, develops and delivers environmental education programs and activities, recruits volunteers, promotes programs, cares for center animals.
   
   Performs responsible outdoor recreation programs instructing participants in outdoor adventure activities and skills while promoting safe, ethical and sound outdoor environmental practices.
   
   Responsible for assisting in planning, promoting, implementing and evaluating outdoor adventure recreation programs for all ages and abilities.
   Conducts research in order to develop new program ideas.
   
   Implements the established risk management plan to protect participants, staff and the department and to provide care for equipment and facilities,
   
   Implements a safe transportation system to meet the needs of program, maintenance and safety.
   
   * This position is part-time; approximately 5-40 hours a month. Hours will vary but requires weekend work; schedule is negotiated with Supervisor. Work is performed under the supervision of the Mill Mountain Park Supervisor.
   
   KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
   
   Experience and/or knowledge of educational methodologies.
   
   Broad knowledge of natural sciences.
   
   Must have the ability to work with people of all ages and abilities in frontcountry outdoor settings
   
   Provide a safe, unique and enjoyable outdoor recreation program while being sensitive to the needs of the group.
   
   Ability to research, develop and execute programs with little supervision.
   
   Ability to express self clearly and concisely, orally and in writing.
   
   Knowledge of first aid procedures and safety precautions necessary in recreational work.
   
   Ability to act swiftly and appropriately in an emergency situation.
   
   Knowledge of outdoor recreation industry safety standards.
   
   EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
   
   Any combination of education and experience equivalent to two (2) years of college with emphasis on outdoor recreation program planning and implementation and evaluation. Proven experience in using and teaching appropriate safety considerations, technical adventure skills, understanding participant expectations and discipline in a recreation setting.
   
   SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
   
   Possession of valid appropriate driver's permit issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Appropriate certifications, as applicable, in outdoor and high adventure activities. Current First Aid and CPR certification or within 30 days of hire. Must be available weekends.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right environmental educator for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your environmental educator job on Zippia to find and recruit environmental educator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with environmental educator candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new environmental educator

   Once you've selected the best environmental educator candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new environmental educator. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an environmental educator?