Who talks about freelancing in environmental education?
This summer, I've enjoyed working with ChangeScale in their Summer Dialogue Series about job equity and low pay in environmental education (EE). I was directly involved in two sessions about independent contractors in the field.
Who showed up to talk about freelancing in EE?
Both sessions included independent contractors and individuals from organizations who work with and hire contractors. Both full-time and part-time independent contractors were present.
You may be wondering about the types of roles independent contractors had and the type of work they were doing. Here's an overview:
Manager - Community Garden
Facilitator - Group facilitation about natural resources
Director - Curriculum design and project implementation related to food systems
Heritage Interpreter - Leads training in various sectors
Model - Brand awareness campaigns, BIPOC initiatives
Director - After-school and family nature program
Director - GIS and data literacy work
Consultant - Policy, curriculum, strategic planning
Environmental Educator
I was excited to see the specialties represented by those in attendance.
What about the individuals working at organizations? What type of work did they do?
These individuals had administrative roles. They were present because they wanted to make sure they followed fair practices when paying independent contractors. Their titles ranged from Executive Director to educator to contractor manager.
Listening to the experiences of the independent contractors present, I heard the same concerns about the freelance lifestyle that I heard in the survey I conducted when I first launched this project — concerns about work stability and the lack of benefits.
Freelancers across sectors share these same concerns, and they come up repeatedly in articles about freelance professionals.
How do you manage job stability?
What do you do to keep your services in front of people?
