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Gregory Jenkins

Outdoor Education Tutor
What employment sector do you work in?

NGO

How long have you had a green job for nature?

2 years and 2 months

Salary Range

< £20,000

Please describe the work that you do.

I guide groups of school children on our site to take part in educational activities outdoors, like earth walks, pond dipping, minibeast hunts and many others. Subjects vary from day to day, from history to natural sciences, but the focus is always on nature and spending time outdoors to appreciate it.

What do you most like about your job? Any dislikes?

My favourite thing about my job is the chance to spend so much time outdoors, but also inspiring that love of the outdoors in the children that I work with.

What inspired you into this career? 

Ever since a was a child I really enjoyed the outdoors, and even though the green spaces close to me were not great, I loved them. As the years went by, more and more of these green spaces disappeared and nature slowly seemed to get further and further away. Since then I have wanted to do something to stop that from happening to other people, so I knew I wanted to go into a career in environmentalism.

I also had a teacher in primary school that really inspired me to go out and explore nature more – to hike, to camp, to learn more about my surroundings – I hope to do that for someone else.

Have you faced any challenges in progressing your career so far? 

I have struggled to find jobs in the sector. I have tried to get into a lot of ranger and conservation jobs but all require very expensive certifications to get them, very few actually provide the training.

As someone that is in his 30s and getting into this career, I have not found many easy ways in, i.e. apprenticeships, training, etc.

What education/training did you have?

I studied a four year undergraduate degree in Environmental Sciences, in Spain and Sweden (University of Granada and University of Gothenburg). But most of the outdoor skills I have are self-taught.

What advice would you give to someone coming into the profession? 

If you love nature or the outdoors, you just have to go for it. It’s not a profession you get into for the money, but for the passion. It can be hard sometimes, but I like to believe I’m making a difference, and that makes it worth it.

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