B’naiture Youth Mentor Grades 6

B'naiture Youth Mentor for Grades 6–8 Part-time

START DATE:

September 2025

Would you love to guide middle schoolers through meaningful nature-connected experiences that support their personal development?

JOB DESCRIPTION:

B'naiture is a two-year, experiential program for youth ages 11-13 that uses nature as a vehicle to explore the transition from childhood to adolescence. B'naiture is forging a new Jewish pathway for nature and soul-centric B'nai Mitzvah.

This program of Wilderness Torah weaves Jewish teachings, story, and song with personal challenges, outdoor skills, non-parental mentorship, peer group community building, and nature awareness activities to provide an embodied way for youth to explore coming-of-age. B'naiture meets from October—May on six Sundays from 10:30-4:30pm in the East Bay Parks, six Wednesday nights in Berkeley backyards, and three weekend camping trips.

We seek educators with 3+ years experience in youth mentoring, nature connection, wilderness skills, and Jewish learning to serve as a mentor for our B'naiture program for the 2025-26 season. As a B'naiture mentor, your role is to provide nature-based games, challenges, crafts, stories, Jewish and nature-based learning, and help guide youth into their teen years.

Compensation: $26-30/hour

Pay is commensurate with experience; this is a part-time, contract role.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Attend staff training weekend, additional trainings throughout year, and end of season staff debrief
• Create plan in collaboration with lead mentors before each meeting
• Participate in monthly staff meeting, and additional meetings as needed
• Mentor and guide youth, maintain safety and health of all participants
• Profile select group of participants- responsibilities include scheduling and following through on parent meetings and providing additional support as needed
• Arrive promptly for each meeting
  - Sundays generally 9-5 and Wednesdays 4-8:30, and for set-up, clean-up and duration of camping trips
• Respond promptly to e-mail correspondence from program manager and team

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPECTATIONS:

Head

• A willingness to learn new things
• Timeliness and foresight: able to arrive promptly and prepared with materials and teaching you have agreed to for each program day
• A knowledge of and/or commitment to learning Jewish stories, songs, and teachings is helpful
• Knowledge of the Eight Shields model desired
• Knowledge of and experience with Rite-of-Passage desired

Heart

• A love of and deep connection to the natural world
• An ability to be a team player, as much of what we create is a collaboration of our ideas and experience
• Excitement to cultivate community and cohesion amongst staff and participants
• Experience and love of teaching, mentoring, and working with youth ages 11-13

Hands

• Specific nature-based and wilderness skills you are excited to teach
• Comfort with building and tending fire, basic whittling skills; music skills a plus
• Ability to lift at least 25 pounds; able to be outside in various weather conditions, from very hot to extremely rainy and wet with a bright attitude that inspires the kids

ABOUT YOU:

• 3+ years experience providing either wilderness, nature-based or rites-of-passage programming
• Naturalist and wilderness skills knowledge; experience teaching wilderness skills is a bonus
• Knowledge of the Jewish calendar and holiday cycles, stories, and values;
  Experience teaching in Jewish education is a bonus
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a dynamic team of youth mentors and can think on their feet
• We are ideally looking for people who are interested in continuing on with us as mentors in the future.

ABOUT WILDERNESS TORAH:

A five-time Slingshot award winner as one of the nation's most innovative Jewish nonprofits, Wilderness Torah's mission is to…