The Lake Leelanau Lake Association (LLLA) has grown in the past few years, and so has its need for volunteers. Right now we are looking to fill the following assignments:

If you are interested in volunteering for any of the activities below, please fill out our volunteer interest form below.

If you volunteered with us last year and would like to volunteer again but have not yet heard from your program lead, or if you have any questions in general, please email us at [email protected].

Volunteer Interest Form

Volunteer Opportunities

North Lake Leelanau & Leland River (NLL) Community-Based Monitoring Pilot Program

Observe your own shoreline 2x/week or more when in residence, looking for sprigs of an invasive plant

Needed: Waterfront owners (80 or more) on NLL willing to purposely survey their  own property shoreline while in residence during the summer season

When: At least 2x/week in June, July, and August

Responsibilities: Walk and observe your own personal shoreline (in the morning with a cup of coffee or while you’re out kayaking) and report any suspicious plant that looks like Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) by sending a picture or two from your phone to our lake biologist. This plant naturally fragments to reproduce, and those fragments routinely get washed up on shore.

Skill Sets Required: No technical knowledge required! Simple training aids will be furnished. All you need is a deep desire to help our team identify EWM in its early stages so we can immediately find and eradicate it, thereby ensuring NLL stays EWM free!

Please join our army of 80 or more NLL property owners and encourage your neighbors to do the same!

Ron Reimink with EWM
Boat wash sign

Boat Wash Station Volunteer

Role is critical to advancing efforts to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in Lake Leelanau and surrounding lakes

Needed: Individuals/groups committed to staffing one boat wash station

  1. DNR Narrows – 136 S. Lake Leelanau Dr., Lake Leelanau
  2. DNR East/Bingham – 7822 E. Bingham Rd., Traverse City
  3. Suelzer Park – 4343 N. Lake Leelanau Dr., Lake Leelanau
  4. DNR West – 4491 S. Lake Shore Drive, Cedar

When: Preferred schedule is one three-hour slot (2 people per slot) on each Monday or Thursday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We will be flexible and accommodate scheduling conflicts.

Responsibilities: (training provided)

  1. Talk to boaters about AIS and hand out information
  2. Wash boats and show boaters how to use boat wash station
  3. Record data on a clip board for each boater

Skill sets preferred:

  1. Good verbal communication skills and willing to approach people
  2. Passionate about protecting the lake and prevention of AIS
  3. Knowledge of boats is a plus

Note: Community groups/neighborhood associations are acceptable for filling individual slots

Property Care Volunteer

One of our incredibly generous members allows the Association to use her lakefront property and storage spaces for our lake operations and materials. Without access to the lake and a space to store our daily materials, we would not be able to carry out our important work to protect the lake from aquatic invasive species. To uphold our agreement, the Association must maintain the property for safety and order.

Needed: 1 individual

When: Sporadically from May-October, less than once/week.

Responsibilities:

  • Cut back brush at the road to maintain visibility,
  • Remove down branches, brush, or trees from the road,
  • Maintain plant growth at entrance to the dock,
  • Remove leaves in front of storage garages, remove garbage and recycling.
  • Supply necessary tools

Skill sets preferred: Basic yard maintenance

Estimated annual and time commitment per session: ~20 hours from May-October, as needed

Property care
Our boat wash maintenance crew at work

Boat Wash Station Maintenance

Role is critical support for our engineer and boat wash staff to ensure equipment operability
Needed: 1 - 2 individuals supporting the following boat wash stations:

  1. DNR Narrows – 136 S. Lake Leelanau Dr., Lake Leelanau
  2. DNR East/Bingham – 7822 E. Bingham Rd., Traverse City
  3. Suelzer Park – 4343 N. Lake Leelanau Dr., Lake Leelanau
  4. DNR West – 4491 S. Lake Shore Drive, Cedar

When:

  1. Start-up (April/May – flexible schedule)
  2. Seasonal maintenance (April – October)
  3. Winterization (October/November – flexible schedule)

Responsibilities: (detailed procedures and training provided)

  1. Complete spring start-ups
  2. Provide maintenance support on an as needed basis
  3. Complete winterization

Skill sets preferred:

  1. Mechanical and electrical ability
  2. Safety focused
  3. Reliable, flexible and committed

Pea Gravel Bag Volunteers

Bags are required to secure burlap barriers used to control the spread of Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM)

Needed: 4-5 individuals required per bag filling session. Looking for a pool of ~30 people to commit to a few sessions/summer

When: Filling will occur on needed dates and times for ~1-2 hours during the summer.

Responsibilities: Fill 5-10# bags with pea gravel. This will be an assembly line process which will include volunteers performing one or more of the following tasks: shoveling pea gravel to bin, scooping pea gravel to bag, holding bag open, tying bag and sliding bag from a table to the trailer.

Skill sets:

  1. Adaptable to a flexible schedule
  2. Able to work in small teams
Pea gravel bags
Community outreach check in table

Active Community Outreach Volunteers

The role is essential for engaging business supporters and members

Needed: 1 – 3 individuals

When: Immediate availability (~5-10 hours per month, depending on season)

Responsibilities:

  1. Attend monthly membership meetings (via Zoom)
  2. Conduct outreach with riparians/business owners regarding membership (training provided)
  3. Assist leadership in event planning (wine social and annual meeting)

Skill sets:

  1. Current member familiar with our mission
  2. Strong communication and collaboration skills
  3. Reliable

Zoning for Water Quality Representatives

Build long-term relationships with local townships to ensure LLLA provides guidance on zoning to protect our water quality

Needed: Individuals that live in Suttons Bay, Bingham, and Solon Townships (1-2 individuals per township)

When: ~4 hours per month, year-round for meetings, some additional time for document review/education

Responsibilities:

  1. Attend Planning Commission meetings
  2. Attend LLLA subcommittee meetings
  3. Become versed on water-related zoning topics

Skill sets preferred:

  1. Good communicator
  2. Commitment to building long term relationships
  3. Interest in participating in local government
  4. Willingness to learn subject matter
Zoning
Shoreline Ambassadors Nancy Popa and Gloria Garrett conduct a shoreline consultation on Lake Leelanau.

Shoreline Ambassadors

Consulting with property owners on Lake Leelanau to identify changes in land use practices that can help protect the lake

Needed: Unlimited volunteers

When: Consultations primarily in the spring, summer, fall. Subcommittee meetings, year-round

Responsibilities:

  1. Complete Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership Shoreline Ambassador training (~10-15 hours)
  2. Attend monthly or bimonthly Shoreline Stewards Subcommittee meetings
  3. Availability for 5 shoreline consultations (~1 hour each)

Skill sets preferred:

  1. Interest in landscaping and land-use practices to protect water quality
  2. Communication skills to relay technical concepts to non-technical people
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