Helping others enjoy hiking

[HughK]

Found this on the Boston Craigslist, and thought someone would be interested in helping out this organization Outdoor Exporations in Medford provides opportunities for disable youth to experience a wide variety of outdoor activity. www.outdoorexplorations.org

Trip Leaders lead many of OE’s outdoor programs (one to three days in duration), including sea kayaking, hiking/backpacking, snowshoeing, ropes courses, and family camping programs. Trip leaders facilitate OE’s experiential based programs (with a team of OE volunteers) for groups of participants with and without disabilities. Programs include facilitating games, initiatives, team building, teaching outdoor skills, debriefing activities, and giving feedback to participants and volunteers. Note: Most OE programs are one-day trips and take place on weekend days (Saturday or Sunday).
Responsibilities Include:
Facilitate all aspects of outdoor trips for people with and without disabilities. This includes pre-trip meetings with staff/volunteers, packing out trip, leading trip, supervising safety/risk management, coordinating and evaluating volunteer staff, debriefing with OE Program Coordinator and clean up of all equipment.
Supervise and incorporate volunteer staff during OE’s experiential based outdoor programs
Facilitate outdoor skills trainings (e.g.-kayaking, backpacking) for staff/volunteers
Help train assistant trip leaders and effectively role model all OE policies and procedures
Qualifications:
The position of Trip Leader requires an energetic individual with strong leadership, communication and outdoor trip leading skills/experience. Experience with the needs of people with disabilities and with leading experiential-based programs is important. The Trip Leader must also possess a positive attitude, strong presentation skills and be able to work effectively with a variety of staff, volunteers and people.
Education/Training:
3+yrs leading outdoor trips in sea kayaking, backpacking, canoeing, rope courses or other related programs.
Bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Education, Therapeutic Recreation or equivalent field experience.
Extensive experience working with people with disabilities.
Strong leadership, communication and supervisory skills/experience.
A Wilderness First Responder (WFR) or Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification is required for this position.




Compensation: Trip Leaders will be paid on a per trip basis.
Trip leaders can expect $80-120 per day depending on the program type and their level of experience.
This is a part-time job.
This is a contract job.
This is at a non-profit organization.

 

[Stan]

Most of the trips are led by staff and volunteers but some of the programs may now be contracting staff.

I led trips for this organization for several years and traditionally training in working with various disabilities, first aid and polishing outdoor skills had been conducted for volunteers each spring.

The age groups are not just for youth with disabilities, all age groups are welcome, although the calling all youth program is for youth but not necessarily confined to youth will disabilities. Participants are screened for a variety of factors and some first attend skills clinics before actually engaging in certain adventures.

My experience was that the activities are well integrated between people with and without disabilities and that the "help" goes both ways. The distinction between who has a disability and who doesn't becomes quite blurred in the environment created by Outdoor Explorations and I can happily and proudly count among my backpacking and paddling friends, several who I first met through this fine organization.

 

[KayakDan]

OE seems to be a great group,and our friends,Buddy and Dottie Hogan,have really moved their kayak program forward. I'm looking forward to working on some of the kayak,and possibly winter trips with them this year.