Life at Green River Preserve

This page is designed to be read prior to an interview. You'll find details about your housing and schedule, our programs, and policies that are important to know.

When you are finished with this page, please continue on to each page under the “Applicants” tab. If you'd like to know more about our culture and community, we encourage you to read the philosophy page of our main website first.

Community Agreement

Housing

Your Living Situation

Counselors live in a duplex cabin with five to seven campers and a partner counselor. Our cabins have electricity and running water, and they are enclosed with screen windows and doors. Expect a classic summer camp experience, which means fairly rustic living! We do have a staff lounge with plenty of food storage, a fridge and microwave, a TV, and comfy couches.

While leading trips, Expedition Leaders live in primitive shelters, either at their program Base Camp or on the trail. During training, scouting, and time off, Expedition Leaders will join Mentors and others in much more comfortable and modern housing.

All other staff, including Mentors, Kitchen Staff, and Interns, live in comfortable cabin buildings with varied styles and amenities, from shared bathrooms to separate, from bunk beds to queen beds. All buildings have running water, electricity, and wifi.

Almost every staff member will have one roommate. 

Daily Schedule

Morning

A day at Green River Preserve has three parts: Hikes, Activities, and Evening Programs. What you're up to in these times depends on your position, but the broad outlines will be the same. 

Each morning, our Mentors lead small groups of campers on Mentor Hikes. These hikes are the most important part of our program, and they last all morning until lunch. Mentors will work with a different group of campers each day, and they will guide them through a process of discovery and adventure to one of the many hike destinations on our 3,400-acre property. There will be one or two Counselors assigned to each hike on each day. 

From the Counselor perspective, mornings will rotate between assisting on Mentor Hikes, helping with duties around Base Camp, and taking the morning off. On hikes, a Counselor's responsibility is to supervise campers, ask questions, and share knowledge.

Our hikes involve will be crawling into caves, hanging out under waterfalls and hiking up to four miles a day. Counselors and Mentors may be traveling up steep hills, down slick trails, through mud, into caves, or walking in creeks or rivers. It's fun, but it can also be tiring! 

Afternoon

After lunch, we take a Rest Hour for sleeping and writing letters. (Sleeping.) Then we take off to the main event of the afternoon, Activities. Campers select their Activities beforehand, and they have a wide selection to choose from. 

Counselors and Mentors share a responsibility for teaching and facilitating Activities, depending on each individual's skills and experience. In general, returning Counselors, Mentors, or even dedicated Activity Coordinators will lead the activity, while new Counselors tend to assist. This means that new staff have the opportunity to grow their teaching skills before jumping into something unfamiliar. We also spend two days of Staff Training on Activities for all.

We end each afternoon with Free Time, a period in which staff either lifeguard, play field games, or simply observe campers as they run around and enjoy some unstructured time. 

Evening

Finally, we move from dinner into our Evening Program. The number and variation of these programs becomes richer with longer sessions, but each session can expect camp fires with stories and songs, campwide games like Predator Prey, and a variety show.

Mentors are in charge of facilitating one program per session, which involves things like setting up materials or wrangling camp musicians. Counselors play alongside campers, mediate when necessary, and ensure everyone is having fun and following the rules.

Special Programs

Campout

Campout is our most challenging and rewarding program. Campers who are here for two or three weeks embark on a two-night backpacking trip across our vast property. They form a team with their brother or sister cabin and set off in groups of 12 to 14 campers. Gear, food, and recommended routes are provided. 

Counselors work as a team of four to lead the trip, and Mentors join in as assistants for the first night. In other words, Counselors are the leaders and Mentors come in as backup. It's a challenge that pushes our staff to grow into careful planners and strong leaders.

Counselors are responsible for planning an age-appropriate Campout, leading the hikes to the campsites, facilitating games and activities at the campsites and on the trail, leading a night hike, and actively participating. Counselors are also responsible for overseeing food preparation, bear bag hanging, water collection and treatment, dish washing. Counselors are responsible for teaching campers proper Leave No Trace methods. This includes teaching campers how to use the bathroom in the woods and dispose of dish water and food scraps properly.

Each campsite includes a wooden shelter in case of hazardous weather.

During Staff Training, we do a full two-night backpacking trip to explore the property and practice these skills. 

Group Learning Projects

Group Learning Projects (GLPs) are day-long themed activities that campers choose while at camp. These are probably campers' favorite parts of camp! GLPs are conceived, planned, and facilitated by Mentors and Activity Coordinators. Returning Counselors can also lead a GLP if they have a special passion or interest.

GLPs range from climbing adventures and water hikes to puppet-making and outdoor cooking. In the beginning of the summer, Counselors are typically assigned to GLPs as assistants. Once Counselors gain some experience, they can take up the challenge to lead a GLP, which forms a particularly strong addition to resumes or internship requirements.

Two GLPs take place at the end of each two-week session, and four times during the three-week session.

Food

What will I eat?

We provide all resident staff three meals a day, both during training days and while camp is in session. Commuting staff can join us for meals whenever they choose.

For breakfast, we tend to eat things like pancakes and bacon, french toast and sausage, waffles and REAL eggs! We always have fruit and yogurt, oatmeal and cereal, and lots and lots of coffee.

Lunch can be pizza, gyros, grilled cheese, subs, chicken fingers, and tacos. We always have a salad bar and soup. 

For dinner, we enjoy comfort foods like fried chicken, spaghetti, pork tenderloin, barbecue, and, on the last night of a session, thanksgiving dinner. We always have a salad bar and a rice and bean bar. 

We offer a vegetarian option at all meals, and we make reasonable accommodations for employees with food allergies. Folks who have other dietary restrictions should plan to supplement meals with personal food. Vegans, for example, may always select from our veggy-heavy options available at each meal, but they should bring any special items or meat/dairy replacement items they want. That food can be stored in the Staff Lounge or Mentor Lodge, which have refrigerators and microwaves.

Due to the frequency of campers with nut allergies, which can sometimes be pretty severe, our kitchen is nut-free. Products containing peanuts or tree nuts are not allowed in the Dining Lodge. 

Important Details

Benefits

A resident position at Green River Preserve includes room and board and laundry service. We also provide staff training throughout the summer to continually expand your toolbox and address challenges or conflicts that arise. Staff participate in regular staff meetings to share and receive feedback.

All staff also experience one-on-one sessions during the summer with camp directors to review work performance and discuss goals, strengths and areas for improvement. We believe that our campers have the best experience when we are supporting our staff each and every day. Camp directors work hard to be accessible, approachable, kind, humorous, fair, accepting and supportive.

Some Fine Print

That you Really Need to Know.

You are serving in loco parentis so it is your responsibility to clean up after and comfort children
when needed. This may mean with personal protective equipment you also will be responsible
for cleaning up vomit, blood, feces, feminine products, or urine in the course of your job.

Essential Functions of a Position at Green River Preserve

Read written documentation both on paper and on screen; listen to and comprehend oral
communication; effectively communicate in both verbal and written communications; work
several days in a row, sometimes with little rest; work with and have patience for children for up
to 24 hours a day; be comfortable and work effectively in an outdoor or natural setting; hike up
to five miles each day; lift and carry up to fifty (50) pounds; make decisions in high-stress
situations; function and thrive in a community with very little personal space; respect and obey
authority; live and work with other people up to twenty-four (24) hours a day; utilize discretion
when faced with sensitive issues; maintain personal hygiene and health (bathe, eat, use the
restroom) without assistance of others.