Cottonwood Institute (CI) is excited to unveil a new equitable, transparent, and thrivable pay structure for our instructors.

When I started in the outdoor industry in the late ’90s, I was working for a company that was hiring instructors as contractors and the starting pay was about $75 – $100 per day. Fast forward 25 years later and some organizations are still hiring instructors as contractors and still paying about $100 per day. This isn’t good for our instructors, our long-term sustainability, or the future of the outdoor/environmental education industry.

Instructors Should Be Employees, Not Contractors 

Contractors are expected to carry their own insurance, so if they get hurt instructing on a trip, they have to pay the bill. Well, at $100 per day, they probably don’t have insurance. This reality isn’t fair or equitable, and Cottonwood Institute stopped hiring instructors as contractors back in 2019.

Cottonwood hires instructors as employees, so they are covered by workers’ compensation if they get hurt instructing on a trip. Our instructors are also now eligible for overtime at time and a half if they work more than 40 hours in a week or more than 12 hours in a day. Cottonwood pays instructors for the hours that they are awake with students, so if they start their day at 6am and go to bed at 11pm, they are paid for 17 hours that day. Instead of making $100 per day, Cottonwood Instructors are making closer to $350+ per day depending on their experience and certifications.

Cottonwood’s New Instructor Pay Structure

As a small nonprofit, Cottonwood has always tried to pay instructors a livable wage, but with the skyrocketing cost of living on top of 8-9% inflation, our previous rates weren’t enough. We know that there are many other outdoor programs also offering innovative and equitable pay structures. In fact, some of our new compensation structure changes were inspired by our friends at Avid4 Adventure. Starting in October 2022, we are rolling out the following new, more equitable pay structure for our CAP and Field Instructors, which we hope other organizations in our industry will adopt as well:

Updated: October 2023

• Every instructor starts as a Level 1 Instructor at a base hourly rate of $20 per hour: 0-9 lifetime CI Field Days Worked
• + 2% of base rate ($.40/hr) for returning CI Instructor (5+ days worked with CI in previous school year: August – July)
• + 2% of base rate ($.40/hr) for Wilderness First Aid
• + 4% of base rate ($.80/hr) for Wilderness First Responder/EMT
• + 5% of base rate ($1.00/hr) for 3+ years paid guiding experience outside of CI. Because this past experience can be subjective, CI will review this on a case-by-case basis and values paid experience over volunteer experience.
• + 2% of base rate ($.40/hr) for Level 2 Instructor: 10-19 lifetime CI Field Days Worked
• + 4% of base rate ($.80/hr) for Level 3 Instructor: 20-29 lifetime CI Field Days Worked
• + 6% of base rate ($1.20/hr) for Level 4 Instructor: 30-39 lifetime CI Field Days Worked
• + 8% of base rate ($1.60/hr) for Level 5 Instructor: 40-49 lifetime CI Field Days Worked
• + 10% of base rate ($2.00/hr) for Senior Instructor: 50+ lifetime CI Field Days Worked
• + 5% of base rate ($1.00/hr) for college degree
• + 5% of base rate ($1..00/hr) for K-12 Teaching Certification
• + 10% of base rate ($2.00/hr) for Master’s Degree
• + 10% of base rate ($2.00/hr) for functional Spanish proficiency (able to speak with and write to students and parents/guardians if necessary)

This still is not a perfect system, but we will continue to evaluate our base pay rates and incentives and do the best we can to offer an equitable pay structure.

Offer Bonuses For Instructors

Bonuses are typically reserved for full-time staff, not instructors. Starting in October 2022, all Cottonwood employees, including instructors, are now eligible for a bi-annual bonus of up to 5% of their annual gross pay earned each fiscal year (October 1 – September 30) based on the financial health of Cottonwood.

How You Can Get Involved And Help:

• If you are an outdoor or environmental educator, or know someone who is, apply to become a Cottonwood Instructor.
• If you are a fan of what we are up to and want to support our work, explore our ways to give page.
• If you work for an organization that hires outdoor and environmental educators, review your pay structure, offer better pay and benefits, and feel free to adapt and improve what we have created.

Keep in touch and keep livin’ the dream y’all!

Respectfully,

Ford Church, Founder and Executive Director

Cottonwood Institute