Shelburne Farms: Seasonal Children's Farmyard Educators
Position Title: Seasonal Children’s Farmyard Educator
Employment dates: April 22, 2026 - October 21, 2026
Work Schedule: 3-5 days a week (including weekends and holidays)
Hourly: $17.50/hour
Location: On-site (1611 Harbor Rd, Shelburne, VT 05482) Housing is not available for this position.
Application Deadline: We will start scheduling interviews the week of March 15.
What You’ll Do
Facilitate safe, engaging, hands-on activities with our farm animals and gardens, fostering connections between visitors and their food and fiber systems.
Welcome and assist diverse audiences in a warm, welcoming, and professional manner upholding excellent guest services.
Orient visitors to Shelburne Farms - its mission, programs, products, and campus.
Clean animal yards, barns, and pens as well as visitor and education spaces.
Care for our farm animals and garden while engaging visitors in your work. Animals include: sheep, goats, rabbits, cows, calves, pigs, chickens, turkeys, donkeys.
Bring the cheddar making process to life for visitors through interpretive education in our cheese making and information hub.
Support ongoing maintenance projects - ex. string trimming, fence maintenance.
Mentor Youth Farmyard Educators (ages 13-18) through positive role-modeling. During the summer, these younger educators-in-training work alongside Farmyard staff to learn about all that we do.
Foster a welcoming and inclusive working and learning environment open to multiple perspectives, for all program participants, guests, and staff.
Communicate honestly and effectively with the team to create a respectful and open work environment.
Attend orientation, training, and staff meetings as required.
Day in the Life of a Farmyard Educator
Each morning, staff gather for a brief meeting to create a schedule of activities and discuss updates, projects, and animal care tasks for the day. This is followed by cleaning and preparing the farmyard for visitor arrival.
Approximate breakdown of daily duties:
30% Leading hands-on activities and presentations with visitors such as spinning sheep's wool into yarn bracelets, hand milking one of our visiting dairy cows, visiting our sheep in their pasture, and afternoon animal chores.
30% Welcoming visitors and engaging them in conversations around our animals and gardens and their connection to agriculture and our food system, as well as answering visitor questions about our campus, mission, history, and products.
25% Completing ongoing farm tasks such as animal chores, deep cleaning barns, moving portable fencing, and string trimming
15% Bringing the cheddar making process to life for visitors through interpretive education in our cheese making and information hub.
At the end of each day, staff close down the farmyard, return animals to their pastures, and prepare the space for the following day.
Core Qualifications
Able to commit to our full season April 22-October 21.
Able to attend the farmyard educator training from April 22 - May 8 (approximately 35 hours/wk).
Able to work weekends and holidays.
Experience in education or public interpretation.
Basic knowledge/understanding of food, fiber and farm systems.
Able to handle challenging situations with a solution-oriented mindset and a calm demeanor.
Willingness to receive feedback and be open to learning and improvement.
Have a positive attitude and remain flexible to changing program needs
Committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive working and learning environment for all program participants, guests, and staff.
Valid First Aid and CPR Certification (training provided).
A completed background check is a condition of employment as you’re working with minors.
Work Environment & Physical Demands
Outdoor work environment with varied weather conditions including summer heat and humidity.
Navigate hilly and uneven terrain throughout each day.
Work with and around large farm animals, hay, bedding, dust, and animal manure.
Lift and move items weighing up to 50 lbs periodically.
Click here to submit an application
Shelburne Farms is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and we strongly stand against discrimination and harassment of any kind. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
If you need accommodations throughout the application process or have general questions, please contact us at [email protected] or 802-985-8686.
