Lunch & Learn and Docent Info Session This Month

The Spring Point Ledge Light Trust will celebrate the upcoming summer of Open House activities with an afternoon event on Tuesday, May 22nd, at the Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, in Portland. The event will consist of a Lunch and Learn from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, at which a light fare will be served. This will be an opportunity to learn more about Spring Point Lighthouse and the activities of the Trust.

From 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM will be a Docent Information Session for those interested in volunteering to be docents (tour guides) at the Lighthouse this summer.

The events are open to the public. If you're interested in attending contact Sarah Robinson at saraclaytonrobinson@gmail.com or call 866-570-5703 x 0.

Docents Needed

The Trust is still seeking Docents, or tour guides, to help out with the summer Open House season, which begins June 23, 2012, and extends through early September. Docents lead tours through the lighthouse, interpret lighthouse history for visitors, assist in selling tickets, and assist in preparations for the openings. Docents play a vital role in the Trust's mission to promote public access to and education about the lighthouse and the surrounding harbor environment.

All docents will receive training prior to the commencement of the Open House season.

If you are interested in spending pleasant afternoons in the summer air and giving something back to this lighthouse, which a has stood guard to the entrance to the harbor for more than 100 years, send an email expressing your interest to Bill Berman, Chairman, at coordinator@springpointledgelight.com, or call the Spring Point Lighthouse information number at 866-570-5703 and follow the prompts.

Painting to Start Soon

Watch for painting to begin soon at the lighthouse. The plan is for the entire lighthouse from top to bottom to be cleaned and repainted. Future maintenance plans are repairs of a water leak in the lantern room, and reinforcing bands around the lower part of the cylinder where water has begun to seep through the plates and erode the cement within.

Docent Training Manual Comes to the iPad

The Spring Point Ledge Light Trust has developed an new iPad-based interactive training guide for docents working at the lighthouse this summer. The guide presents the history and structure of the lighthouse using video, photo galleries, illustrations, and self-administered review quizzes. It presents visual information on the islands, forts, and other points of interest surrounding it. It also contains links and references to resources that docents can use to gain additional knowledge.

Those docents with iPads will be able to load the guide, which is in iBooks format, into their iPads via iTunes. Apple's iBooks 2.0 app is required.

This new interactive guide takes advantage of Apple Computer's recently announced textbook initiative. It will allow the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust to take advantage of new technology to offer a training experience unique among lighthouse organizations.