Volunteers are essential to fulfilling the mission of the VLMP by monitoring their lakes. But volunteers also play a critical role administrating VLMP programs through the all-volunteer Board of Directors and Volunteer Coordinators. The VLMP has two types of Coordinators:
Regional Coordinators maintain contact with volunteers, organize training workshops, respond to requests from volunteers and manage data collection.
Data Coordinators enter water quality data from volunteer data forms into the VLMP’s LakeData database program.
Each of the 16 counties in Maine has its own Coordinator, and there are several local organizations such as Cobbossee Watershed District, Lakes Environmental Association, Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust and the St. Croix International Waterways Commission that function as Regional Coordinator for volunteers in their area. In addition to their role of working with volunteers, Coordinators also provide feedback and insight at fall planning meetings with VLMP staff. Typically Coordinators volunteer about 25 hours each year which, as a whole, saves the program over $15,000 annually!
For a list of lakes currently being monitored in each region see the List of Lakes By Region.
Coordinators By County
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Regional Coordinator Perspective by Elizabeth Payne
Elizabeth Payne
Wesserunsett Lake Monitor &
Regional Coordinatorfor Franklin,
Somerset& Washington Counties
Helping to facilitate the flow of VLMP data is a rewarding way to help protect Maine’s lakes. I coordinate the data coming from Somerset, Franklin, and Washington counties. It’s very gratifying to touch base with monitors from as far away as Schoodic Lake in Cherryfield and reassuring to know that so many people care enough about Maine lakes to volunteer their time—lots and lots of it.
I love best the way the work harmonizes with the predictable rhythm of the seasons. Every year, in mid-March, I get an email from Jim at VLMP reminding me of the upcoming monitoring season. Along with discussion of workshop dates and the like, he tells me whether the crocuses are up or the birds are singing. In mid-April a big packet arrives with the all the materials for the monitoring season.
I help with the recertification workshop on Clearwater Lake in May, which means contacting Franklin County monitors, many of whom I’m getting to know. For me, the Clearwater workshop signals the start of the summer season. It’s a pleasure to ride the rural roads to Industry—a trip back in time—and to bounce out to the deep hole in Linda Bacon’s Boston Whaler. More often than not it’s windy—and brisk!
In early August—high summer—telltale envelopes start trickling in, data sheets— recordings of water clarity readings, dissolved oxygen readings, phosphorus, color, and other information—collected by dozens of monitors from all three counties. My job is simple—to check the data sheets for completeness and correctness. If something is missing or awry, I contact the monitor and request clarification. Once I’ve checked all of the mid-season data sheets, I stuff them—by county—into manila envelopes and mail to the data entry people, who then enter the data into the VLMP database. In mid-October—about the time we shut off the water and shutter up the camp—the second batch of datasheets begins to arrive.
And so it goes. Autumn turns to winter and we all turn to other concerns. Then sometime in March—as perennial as pussy willows—an email appears in my inbox: “It’s that time again and by the way the crocuses are up.”
Data Coordinator Perspective by Joe Potts
Joe Potts
Sebago Lake Monitor &
Oxford County Data Coordinator
Being a volunteer, helping others, is an important activity to me. For the past twenty years I have been a contributing part of the VLMP operation. It started with doing water tests two or three times a month (i.e., Lake Monitor), then expanded to doing data entry for the lake monitors in a region (i.e., Data Coordinator). Notice that I did not use the word “work”; being a volunteer needs to be something you enjoy, utilizing a skill you have and resulting in a feeling that your contribution was helpful. Another key element is finding the time to volunteer. The Data Coordinator activity is a wonderful fit for me. I enjoy making productive use of my computer, and the periods of activity, mid-summer and late fall, are easy to fit into a busy schedule. The VLMP staff has been very receptive to suggestions on improving the data entry procedure; the software provided by the VLMP is easy to use. Now that I am retired, spending the winters in the South, the Data Coordinator role has proven to be a great work-at-home activity, regardless of seasonal location changes.
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