Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Spring and Summer Job Postings v2.0

We've had postings up for a few months now. We've sent them to our various professional organizations, to the College, and to all the social media outlets. Yet we have seen very, very few applications come in this year.

If you have experience teaching children, education in the natural history of the region or post-secondary education in science, education, environment, outdoor recreation; we need to hear from you. Please see the text below for the full posting.

Thanks


Open Competition

School Programs, Public Programs  
&
Visitor Services Staff

The Waskasoo Environmental Education Society, a non-profit charitable society that operates the Waskasoo Park Interpretive Program on contract for The City of Red Deer, has a number of part-time positions available for the coming spring and summer for School Programs Interpreters and Visitor Services Attendants.

Based at Red Deer's Kerry Wood Nature Centre, the successful applicant(s) will assist with the design and delivery of our spring school-programs and provide natural history and tourist information to the general public. The position also entails operating the building when other staff are away, retail sales work, light clerical duties (word processing, poster-making etc.), assisting the Park Interpreters with their programming, and related duties such as program preparation/cleanup.

Essential Qualifications:
·         some post-secondary schooling in science, western Canadian natural history, education, or interpretation;
·         excellent public communication skills and experience / love for working with the public (including children);
·         good working knowledge of the natural history of central Alberta.
·         a neat appearance and the willingness to wear the Park uniform, and to abide by the WEES smoking and other policies;
·         the ability to work cooperatively with other staff and volunteers;
·         willingness and ability to stay the entire term of this position;
·         good health: some lifting is required;
·         good organizational skills and the ability to plan your schedule and workload;
·         current first aid / C.P.R. certificates;
·         reliable and trustworthy, punctual and conscientious;

Desirable Qualities:
·         Good working knowledge (conversational and written) of French is essential
·         experience in art or graphic design;
·         life guard certification
·         experience with computers (Windows environment) and basic word-processing, spreadsheets, database and desktop publishing; experience working on a computer network;
·         basic knowledge of the human history of central Alberta.

Wages, Term and Conditions of Employment:
 Part time for the spring and summer of 2013

To Apply:
Apply in writing ASAP to:

Waskasoo Environmental Education Society
6300 - 45th Avenue
Red Deer, AB
T4N 3M4
Fax: 347-2550
e-mail: todd.nivens@waskasoopark.ca

Include a résumé outlining related experience and references, and
a brief letter explaining why the position is of interest to you. No phone calls, please.

Friday, April 05, 2013

Peek Into Our Solar System

Ok, it's not planets and moons we're talking about here; it's our solar, photo-voltaic (PV) power system.

In 2005 we installed the first bank of our solar array and the first power inverter. This was a momentous occasion for Red Deer as we were the first facility in the City to install and operate a grid-tied, solar PV system.

Over the years as we obtained funding, we've expanded from a small 20-panel and one inverter system to our current set up of 80 panels and four inverters. The impact of the system has been dramatic. We've cut our monthly power bills significantly, and demonstrated the system to hundred of people. We've given building tours to groups, consulted with individuals, and assisted other organizations with their own solar projects.



Now, you can have a look inside the system and see how much power we're producing, compare trends over time, and see how much CO2 we've offset and the value of that offset in carbon credits - if we were claiming any.

Here is the direct link to our Sunny Portal - the site where all the data is uploaded and displayed. The data is displayed in almost-real-time - it refreshes every hour - so you'll have a current (little electrical pun there) snapshot of what the system is doing.

You can also get to the site by going to our website's Sustainability page and clicking the button for "Sustainability in Action".

Happy graphing!