Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site is seeking volunteers to help sustain, preserve and share the historic and cultural landmark.
The property, home to a 170-year-old, two-story Monterey-style adobe, is maintained by the Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation, a nonprofit entity that relies significantly upon volunteers to connect the site with the community, and with visitors from around the world, according to the Rancho.
One type of volunteer the Rancho is seeking is garden docents. “We share the history and the stories of the plants in our gardens,” said staff horticulturist Marie Barnidge-McIntyre, “so that visitors develop a deeper understanding of the site, and the people who lived here.”
The Rancho is also seeking volunteers to train as house docents who provide guided tours of the old adobe and teach visitors about its antique furnishings.
“Rancho Los Cerritos delights visitors from far and near because of the dedication of our volunteer docents, who share the site’s history in fun and informative ways,” said the site’s education director, Meighan Maguire.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 4pm to 5:30pm., the Rancho will host a volunteer open house to introduce community members to available volunteer opportunities.
With free training, volunteers can serve as tour docents, work with the staff horticulturist in the gardens, help the historic curator to categorize and preserve antiques, assist with the museum shop, or help at monthly programs like Creation Station and seasonal events like the Summer Concert Series, Mud Mania and Old Time Christmas Festival.
House Docent training will begin on Wednesday, Feb. 4 and continue on Wednesday afternoons through March 25.
Classes run from 3:30pm to 7pm. Garden docent training will start on Friday, Feb. 20 from 9am to 1pm and continue on Friday mornings through March 20.
Individuals interested in volunteering should RSVP to (562) 206-2040 or email the Rancho’s volunteer coordinator, Jan Shafer, at JanS@rancholoscerritos.org.
More Information
rancholoscerritos.org
