Here at Blue Skye Farm, home of Wolf Camp & School of Natural Science you can learn for a day, or build a career in outdoor education through one of our summer experiential learning programs.
Full-Time Summer Training Programs
The Earth Skills Teaching Apprenticeship has been our hallmark residential program since 1999 for participants who want to learn to teach wilderness skills in a fast-paced, outdoor setting. Our goal is to ensure that by the end of the summer you have the skillset necessary to work anywhere in the field of outdoor education. You’ll get real experience in this full-time work-trade training program (with food and facilities included) from mid June through August with eligibility to join payroll when ready to co-teach summer camps. Click here for detailed information on the apprenticeship program.
The Blue Skye Farm Natural Science Education Internship is a sustainable homesteading educational program with permaculture and pedagogical components. Practice cultivating plants at Blue Skye Farm for the purpose of educating the community about sustainable agriculture, ethnobotany, and natural science through our kids camps, farm stand, and u-pick tours. Certified by the Washington State Farm Internship Program, you’ll help manage the Blue Skye Farm gardens and orchard here at the home of Wolf Camp & School of Natural Science. This is an immersive work-trade experience, with room and board included for qualified applicants starting in early summer, with income available while helping to teach kids camps later in the summer. Click here for detailed information on the internship program.
FAQ – What’s the difference between the Wolf Camp Earth Skills Teaching Apprenticeship and the Blue Skye Farm Natural Science Education Internship? These are very similar programs, with greater separation in the future when Wolf Camp separates from Blue Skye Farm. Apprentices and interns all start together for training, and reunite every weekend at Blue Skye Farm, but as the summer progresses, earth skills apprentices spend more time in the wilderness and up at Lake Sammamish where most Wolf Camp programs (day and overnight camps) take place, while natural science interns spend most of their time at Blue Skye Farm helping with day camps as well as running the gardens, farm stand, and u-pick orchard tours. Apprentices and interns share the goal of becoming the best possible teachers of nature education, but a focus of wilderness skills is greater with earth skills apprentices, and a focus of sustainable agriculture is greater with natural science interns. The required dates are also slightly different: June 12 – Aug 28 for 2027 interns, and June 20 – Aug 20 for 2027 apprentices, with extended stay for continuing education or part-time work available either way. Again, apprentices live primarily outdoors most of the summer (although with all food and facilities provided) while interns primarily live at the farm (more like full room and board) with fewer weeks off-site.
Application window will open November 15th after we confirm program updates in advance of our 2027 season, with preference for those who live in the region and apply by January 5th, who have a passion for natural science as well as permaculture skills, and want to teach summer youth camps with us in future years. Please note, we are not yet sure how many positions will be available depending whether any of our teenage Instructors In Training graduate to become interns or apprentices during the fall season, so it’s best to wait until November 15th before putting time into your application. Thanks!
Part Time Double IT Teen Mentoring Program
The part-time Instructors In Training (IIT) Program is similar to “Counselors in Training” or CIT Programs for teens who want to begin training to become outdoor professionals. Most participants of this program are past Wolf Camp students who want to complete our Earth Skills Teaching Apprenticeship over multiple summers until eligible for hire as instructors.
Email us with questions. We always keep your information absolutely private. While considering an application, check out our apprenticeship testimonials from novice apprentices, former campers-turned-instructors, and experienced educators who all succeeded in our summer apprenticeships and agree that the results far exceed expectations.