Camp Staff

Our outdoor science camp staff is hand selected and hired based on  their experience working with kids at kids camps and elsewhere, their  desire to make a difference in the lives of the students and a love for  the outdoors. Each staff member undergoes a thorough background check  as  well as a drug test to assure our child’s safety at kids camp. Our  staff is a very dedicated, energetic, outdoor-loving,  kid-friendly  group of people. They work hard every day making science  camp a special  occasion in the lives of the children who come to Three Oaks Outdoor Science camp.

We have cabin leaders who stay in the cabins with the children   overnight. They go out on the trails with the students and attend all   meals with them. Your children are NEVER left alone. On hikes, the  cabin  leader walks behind the hiking group while the naturalists  navigate the  trail to the next lesson area.

Our Directors are very experienced professionals who have  dedicated  their lives to ensuring that our Environmental Education  program meets  all of the California State Science Curriculum  Standards.  They are  always updating our science camp programs to keep  them current and  exciting, meeting both the educational requirements of  teachers and  parents while still making every day fun and exciting for  the students  at Three Oaks camp.

We also have at least one full-time medic on staff at our outdoor   science camp at all times. Our medic deals with all of our child  related  issues including homesickness, headaches and stomach aches.  They assure  each child will receive any prescribed medication sent to  camp at the  appropriate time.

Our Naturalists are college graduates with a four-year degree in  one  of the sciences. All of the teaching that is done comes straight  from  The State of California Board of Education Science Framework.   Naturalists have a desire to teach the camp kids about the environment   and the way people affect our environment. We train our naturalists in  an intense week of on-site training for our outdoor science school.   The naturalists are introduced to the lesson material, then shown how   to create an outdoor lesson plan. The kids camp staff collaborate on   different styles and ways of teaching the students who come to our   program. Props, games, science activities and our unique natural   environment are what we use to reinforce the curriculum. Once the  Naturalists have been through training, testing and lesson  planning,  they are ready to take a trail team on a hike. A trail team  consists of  one girls cabin group and one boys cabin group. Numbers in  these  groups range from 18-28. It varies from school to school. The   Naturalist will meet with their trail team at a prearranged meeting  area  on the outdoor science camp grounds. One of the cabin leaders are  also  present and hiking on the trails with the kids.

Teachers are encouraged to come along as well. The teachers  observe the  outdoor science camp naturalists as they teach. The  teachers also assist  the students while hiking.

The Outdoor & Environmental Educator performs as a teacher in the cabins and outdoors on trails, acting as both a cabin leader AND as a Naturalists. On the trails, Educators play games, do experiments and use inquiry-based learning to challenge students to learn about the natural world and develop critical thinking skills. In the cabins, our Educators build confidence and pride through leadership and teambuilding activities. Three Oaks operates during the school season - September to June – working only weekdays; no weekends or holidays. Candidates must enjoy working with children and adventuring in the great outdoors as our program operates in all weather conditions. The Three Oaks Experience is an exciting, life-changing and rewarding adventure!!!  

Cabin Leaders  are the big brothers and big sisters of our program, as the primary supervision of our 10 – 12 year-old students. Cabin Leaders sleep in cabins overnight with the students, telling stories and singing songs at bedtime and waking them cheerfully each morning.  Cabin Leaders must enjoy hiking, playing outdoors, performing skits, lead team building activities and teaching night time programs like astronomy and night sensory hikes.