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BECOME A VOLUNTEER
TLEA is an all-volunteer organization. There is no executive director, administrative assistant or paid support staff - just volunteers. The following are some of the volunteer opportunities in 2010 and 2011.
· Board of Directors - TLEA is always looking for energetic, hard working people to serve on the Board of Directors. We need people who are willing to devote some quality time in a variety of leadership roles or to serve on one of more than a dozen TLEA committees. The Board meets on the third Friday of each month, except December and February, from 7 p. m. until around 9 p. m. If you are interested please call one of our Co-Presidents: Kathy Cain at 783-7531 or Sue Ellis at 539-2939, or via an email at tlea@fairpoint.net.
· Road/Association Captains - These individuals will work with the Town Chairperson for their respective town: Casco, Otisfield, Oxford, and Poland. Their primary responsibilities will be to make house-to-house visits to non-members during the summer and to solicit members at their annual home/road association meetings. If you are interested, please call your Town Chair Person:
Ø Casco - Ed Leonard 627-7257
Ø Otisfield -
Ø Oxford - Pete Laverdiere 539-4347
Ø Poland - Tom Ray 998-5034
· Oxford Watershed Survey - Teams of volunteers and technical staff conduct on the ground surveys. In late April 2010, DEP experts trained some 30 volunteers about survey techniques and erosion identification during a two-hour classroom workshop. For the remainder of the day survey teams armed with cameras, GPS, and forms documented erosion on camp roads, town roads, driveways and residential sites in the portions of the Thompson Lake watershed lying in Oxford and the north part of Otisfield. If you want more information CLICK HERE. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Jean Hankins at 539-2521 or via an email at tlea@fairpoint.net .
· Milfoil Removal Project - Individuals are needed during July and August to work alongside the Hippobottomus in their kayaks to help pick up the milfoil fragments that come to the surface. If you want more information CLICK HERE. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please call Scott Bernardy at 539-8220 or via an email at tlea@fairpoint.net.
· Education Committee and Lake Day - Late in May each year, TLEA sponsors an all-day outdoors program for 120 elementary school children, usually held at Agassiz Village. Typically each group of children moves through a series of educational stations in which they learn about protecting the natural environment - how to plant buffer strips, wildlife identification, water testing, and the like. Planning for and conducting the event requires many individuals. If you want more information CLICK HERE. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact Sandy Roderick at 539-2697 or via an email at tlea@fairpoint.net .
· Loon Count - On the third Saturday in July, from 7:00-7:30AM, the Maine Audubon Society sponsors a one-day count of loons in the state, something they've done for many years. This statewide survey serves as an excellent indicator of how the loons are faring under the heavy pressures of boating traffic and lakeside development. Peggy Dorf of Oxford coordinates this even for TLEA. She divides the lake into sectors and assigns sharp-eyed individuals to specific spots. Volunteers are expected to be out on the water (usually in a slow-moving boat) at 7 a.m. on that day - rain or shine - and to count any loons they spot in their sector of the lake. Most volunteers finish in an hour or less. If you want more information, CLICK HERE. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact Peggy Dorf at 539-2973 or via an email at tlea@fairpoint.net .
· Lake Monitors - Sign up to join the 16 volunteers who search for invasive aquatic plants around the lake. The monitors have two goals: to record the locations and extent of any variable leaf milfoil infestations, and to pinpoint any new invasive plant infestations. If you like to kayak or canoe along the lakeshore, then with a little training and an underwater viewing device, which TLEA will provide, you can help ensure the future health of the lake. Each volunteer monitors about one mile of shoreline in the months July through September. If you want more information CLICK HERE. If you interested in becoming a volunteer, call Lerryn Besancon at 539-2407 or via an email at tlea@fairpoint.net .
Kayaker Removes Stray Pieces of Plants
Volunteer Marks an Erosion Site on Private Road
