The Education Project is looking for interns to help with its environmental camps in the Cederberg for the second camp season in 2017. Could you be our new intern?

We will be running environmental camps from our new Rietgat campsite at the Sanddrif Resort in the Cederberg, a mountain wilderness area in the Western Cape about 4 hours north from Cape Town. The camps cover a broad base of topics related to the environment and personal development. They generally run for three to five days for groups of 10 – 24 people. It is a self-catering set-up and groups have their own supervisors, so the role of the CLT is simply to provide and run the programme. We focus on school groups but have a variety of other groups attending camps as well. The camps are fee-based but we also provide sponsorship for groups who need it. This means that groups come from a wide range of backgrounds. Programmes are tailor-made for each group in consultation with the group leader, and cover a broad range of topics and activities, including predator research, mammals, Fynbos and Karoo biomes, reptiles, Black Eagle research, geology and geography, fossil finding, astronomy, art and creative writing, hiking, swimming and exploring.

We are offering an internship position in the Cederberg from the beginning of September to the first week in December 2017. We are looking for a general assistant with the environmental knowledge to help on the camps. The intern would be expected to travel up from Cape Town with the group on the CLT bus and then stay in camp with them until the group leaves at the end of the camp. 

Description of intern’s role

Camp assistant, including but not limited to:

• Practical campsite set-up, running and maintenance
• Helping to facilitate hikes, outings and all other camp activities (including art and creative writing)
• Creating and leading sessions, presenting aspects of the programme
• Learning about the topics that we cover (e.g. fauna, tracking, flora, geology, predator research, etc.) to help explain and answer questions
• Keeping an eye on children (safety, support and discipline)

Requirements

• Passionate about the environment and able to share this interest
• Work well with people, particularly children (aged 10 and up)
• Teaching experience an advantage
• Must have valid 1st aid level 1 certificate
• Must be fit, generally healthy and enjoy hiking
• Fluent English essential, additional Afrikaans or Xhosa an advantage
• Good general knowledge of plants, animals, geology, etc. an advantage
• Responsible and reliable
• Good organizational skills needed for overseeing campsite supplies, etc.
• Patient, confident, good humoured, professional
• Prepared to do mundane tasks and physical labour
• Able to deal with isolation, solitude and simple living
• Must maintain cleanliness, keep living space neat and take good care of equipment
• Prepared to work flexible hours – during camps days start early and can end late at night
• Computer skills (especially MS -Word, -Excel and –Power Point) an advantage but not essential
• Good writing skills an advantage but not essential
• This is open to all genders and nationalities

What we offer and what we don’t

This is an opportunity for hands-on experience in a beautiful setting. There is lots of room for developing personal interests and really contributing to the project. 

As the intern, you will drive up with us in our bus when we go to the Cederberg for the camps, and you will drive back with us. During camps, the intern stays in camp with participants at night. 

The intern will stay in their current accommodation in/around Cape Town whilst not doing camps. The intern must provide own food and transport to meet the educator/ driver in Cape Town at a location that will be specified to the intern. 

Please note that it is essential that you have a financial backup, we are not able to support you or supply transport home if you have financial problems. 

Stipend: R500 per camp 

How to apply

If you are interested and consider yourself suitable for the position, please complete the following documents and send it to Hadley Lyners at [email protected] 

1. The attached application form;
2. Your CV and;
3. Your letter of motivation. 

We will be conducting interviews as suitable applications come in, until we have found someone. 

We, therefore, suggest that you submit your application ASAP. If you have not heard back from us, please consider your application as unsuccessful.

Closing date for submissions: Friday, 21 July 2017