Donate and Join LEA Today!

Volunteers

To help us complete the numerous environmental and educational programs in the area, LEA relies on a host of dedicated volunteers. We are always excited about working with new people and we have a variety of different ways in which volunteers can help out. We greatly appreciate the time volunteers give us and we try hard to match volunteers with appropriate and interesting tasks.

If you are interested in volunteering at LEA, please fill out this survey!

The activities listed below are just a few examples of how you can help us protect our waterbodies and their surrounding ecosystems.

Holt Pond Preserve Stewards

Holt Pond Stewards are individuals who enjoy exploring the preserve and would like to share their knowledge with others. This job entails wandering around Holt Pond Preserve and talking to people about places of interest in the preserve, wetlands ecology, LEA history and philosophies, and use guidelines. The steward will offer to lend relevant texts and field guides and equipment from from LEA’s lending library backpack. In addition, the Holt Pond Stewards will keep track of busy times/days during the year by tallying use data.

Lake Monitors

Volunteer Lake Monitors provide assistance to staff and interns collecting lake data. Lake Monitors can take Secchi disk readings (a measure of water clarity), go out water testing with LEA staff and interns, or provide a boat or canoe for use during sampling sessions.

Courtesy Boat Inspectors

Join the statewide fight against milfoil and other invasive aquatic plants by becoming a courtesy boat launch inspector. Inspectors’ volunteer sessions last 3 or more hours, at any time or day during the week. The job entails being at a local boat launch to talk to people about the threat of invasive plants and animals and how to prevent them from spreading.

Trail Adopters

Anyone can become a Trail Adopter, including individuals, families, friends, and school and camp groups. Volunteers may adopt sections of either Holt Pond Preserve, science center trails, or the Stevens Brook Trail, conducting trail inventory throughout the year, as well as simple trail upkeep. By adopting a section of trail, volunteers are helping to keep our trails accessible for others to enjoy.

Special Events Volunteers

LEA hosts several special events during the year, such as the Hey You! Cruise for sixth graders, Stevens Brook Clean-Up, Earth Day Celebration, the Annual Meeting, After-hours receptions, and others. Special Events Volunteers help plan and implement these programs.

Loon Monitoring Program

LEA relies on volunteers, like you, to gather information about loons and their young. They are looking for signs of previous nest sites, whether or not a chick has hatch in past years, the change in water levels throughout a season, and any signs of predation. Volunteers are asked to monitor loons on a bi-weekly bases at minimum. We encourage you to team up with a neighbor or a friend! To learn more about the Loon Monitoring Program.

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