CURRENT OPENINGS FOR 2025 SUMMER CAMP
- Ranch Camp – Female Bunk House: This is a resident position for a female applicant. Daytime duties will include supervising a group of 8 teen campers in a horse focused camp experience. Applicant must have extensive horse experience as they will be teaching campers basic horsemanship skills through daily barn chores, grooming, tacking, riding lessons and trail rides. Evening duties include supervising the female teen bunk house.
Are you a talented, outdoor loving, responsible person looking for a residential summer camp counselor position for ’25? If so, we’d like to talk to you!
9 Weeks of Horses, Kids, Nature, Outdoor Leadership AND FUN!
EXPAND YOUR NATURE at Farm & Ranch Camp. Enjoy a summer of living, teaching, and working with children in the fresh air. Creative, fun-loving, responsible, experienced staff members are needed for our summer camp program that teaches children and teens to live cooperatively and to love the natural world around us.
WHO WE ARE:
Farm and Ranch Camp is part of The Center, a private, not-for profit organization located in Chicago’s southwest suburbs. Utilizing our 60+ acre working farm, campers become immersed in our forests, fields, wetlands, barnyard, and streams. We accommodate 40 campers in each residential session and up to 72 children per day in daytime only programs. We offer several different camping programs that are geared for different aged children. Farm Campers, grades 4-8, live in cabins in the woods behind the Main Lodge, while Ranch and Outdoor Adventure for Teen Campers, grades 9-10, live in rustic cabins on the farm. Farm Explorers and Junior Farmers, ages 3-10, enjoy daytime only programming that focuses on farm and nature based programing. Resident campers enjoy delicious, wholesome meals, featuring ingredients grown in our own garden. We try to live simply, naturally, and creatively as a part of this community.
Our programs aim to develop community, responsibility, and respect for people and nature. Activities range from creek walks to farm chores and animal care, campfires and campouts, arts and crafts, teambuilding initiatives, and horseback riding.
WHAT WE NEED:
-Residential Camp Staff, minimum age 17; 18+ preferred
-An ability to live and work in a close-knit community and with all kinds of people
WHAT WE WANT:
-Experience working with children and leading groups
-Outdoor adventure and living experience
-A love of nature and a passion for teaching kids about nature and animals
-High energy during long but rewarding days
-Program experience in any of the following: Arts & Crafts, Gardening, Farm Animal Care, Group Activities, Campfire Cooking
RESPONSIBILITIES:
-Create a fun, nurturing, safe environment for kids that fosters personal growth
-Positions require living on site to provide 24-hour supervision of campers.
-Participate in staff training, followed by 7.5 weeks of camp, a commitment of June 2 – August 2
BENEFITS:
Competitive salary starting at $3,800
Room and board
Meals
A summer in the woods and at the farm
Time off is scheduled daily
One or two nights off per week
APPLY HERE: https://thecenterpalos.org/staff-application/
