Summer Camp Jobs in the San Juan Islands

Established in 1935, Camp Nor'wester is a co-ed residential summer camp for girls and boys ages 9-16. The camp's activities are designed to teach traditional camping and outdoor skills, waterfront skills including sailing, canoeing and kayaking, as well as biking, archery, arts and crafts, singing and drama. All aspects of the program are supported by a strong ethic of stewardship with an emphasis on community living.

We strive to minimize the distractions often found in the 'real-world' and maximize everyone's exposure to a more basic way of living. While not primitive, we are rustic - we use outhouses vs. flush toilets, build wood fires to heat water for our showers, live in tipis and tents, learn how to build tarp shelters, dig pit latrines, start one-match fires, give up electronic gadgets, email and the internet. Basically, we 'unplug' for the summer and learn to live without some modern day conveniences and without many distractions of our often times hectic modern life.

Recreation

Typically staff leave the island on their time off to explore San Juan Island, which is great for sight seeing, camping, eating and just relaxing. There are a few public campgrounds and we have information on some affordable motel type lodging. If you don't have a car there is some public transportation but most staff end up offering rides to others. There are also some neighboring islands that are worth exploring and with some careful planning you could see a great deal of the San Juans.

You can also just go off for the day and return to camp, still on time off, and enjoy time to yourself away from campers in the Staff yurt. It is comfortably outfitted with couches, chairs, tables and magazines. It is also where staff can charge their cell phones. (Cell phones are not used in the presence of campers!)

Room and Board

We group our campers by grade, into groups we call Units. The campers live in either platform tents or tipis. Staff are assigned to a specific unit and will live in a tipi with 2 other staff members. The Staff tipis are clustered in among the camper tipi/tents of that unit.

Benefits

You will meet people from all over the country and the world who share similar interests and ideals and have a desire to spend quality time with children. As a role model for young boys and girls who will look to you for acceptance and understanding you can have a significant impact on their self-esteem and confidence. You will test your personal limits and be surprised at what you are capable of doing.

You will gain experience in the areas of leadership, communication, organization, teamwork, conflict resolution and community building. Pre-camp training sessions with various professionals will cover such topics as safety, emergency response, and working effectively with children. Employers understand the demands of summer camp work and know that individuals with such background often possess many important attributes such as flexibility, initiative, creativity and a positive attitude.

Transportation Info

There are a number of ways to get to camp. We will help guide you along the way. Coming from out of state, without a car, most staff fly into Seattle/Tacoma Airport. From there we hook you up with shuttles or car pools with other staff. You can also fly directly to the San Juans or take a hydrofoil from downtown Seattle. Once you are hired we will send you a plethora of information including travel options, plane, boat and bus schedules and maps. We are located on Johns Island which is 3.5 miles north of Roche Harbor, next to Stuart Island.

How to Apply

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New Staff - All new potential staff members must submit an application and three reference forms. Reference forms need not accompany the application but at least two must be received by the Camp before an application will be given serious review. Reference forms should be completed by an employer or teacher, preferably one who has first hand knowledge of your ability to work with children. Please do not have family members or friends complete these forms.

Returning Staff - must submit a Returning Staff application. Reference forms are not required for returning staff.

ALL STAFF must submit a completed and signed Authorization for Background Check form every year.

Applicants being seriously considered for a position will be scheduled for an interview.

Please read through all our staff information on our website before applying.

International/J-1 Applicants Welcome.

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