Thank You 2019 Lloyd Center Annual Fund Supporters!
The Lloyd Center for the Environment thanks all those that contributed to the Center’s 2019 Annual Fund!
The Annual Fund is a critical piece of our operating budget. For the Center to continue to provide the full complement of programs throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island, we rely on your assistance and generosity.
Through your tax-deductible Annual Fund contribution, you have partnered with the Lloyd Center in confronting the diversity of environmental issues existing today which will challenge us and generations to come.
Thank you for your support!
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Education Internships Available: Summer 2020
Have a passion for science? Experience or interest in working with youth?
The Lloyd Center for the Environment is in need of Education Outreach Interns for the 2020 summer season! Education Outreach Interns assist educators in teaching in-school and field-based science programs. The Lloyd Center’s educational philosophy is that hands-on, experiential learning brings the study of science alive! Additionally, interns assist with various Outreach programs such as story times, guided walks, …, and aquaria maintenance.
An Education Outreach Internship at the Lloyd Center is an excellent way to gain classroom experience, work with live animals, and connect to the local community! If interested in a summer 2020 Internship, please send your resume and three references to Ashley Gesner at Ashley@lloydcenter.org.
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Meet the Lloyd Center Education Department’s High School Volunteers
by Adeline Bellesheim, Lloyd Center Educator/Naturalist
Behind every great education program are the loyal volunteers who work hard to keep things running. The Lloyd Center for the Environment has been fortunate enough to have two amazing students from New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School volunteering with us over the last few months. As part of their Environmental Science Program, these students rotate between an academic cycle and a shop cycle, which is spent at the Lloyd Center. This opportunity has given them hands-on experiences in the world of environmental science.
The presence of our high school volunteers has been a huge blessing to the Lloyd Center. These two individuals have been helpful in a wide variety of tasks. They have traveled all over Fall River, Dartmouth, and New Bedford to assist the Educators with our well known in-school programs, including Feathery Focus, Coastal Exploration Programs, Estuary and Whales, and many more! Our Coastal Field Studies and Monarch Tagging events in the fall would not have been the same without them.
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Hints of Climate Change Visible in Second Count of Winter Waterfowl Survey
by Jamie Bogart, Lloyd Center Research Associate
The winter waterfowl survey was initially structured in 1988 to include “meteorological winter”, when the true marks of the season, snow and ice, coat the landscape. Count two of the 33rd annual winter waterfowl survey held on January 26, occurred on the heels of a recent Sunday where temperatures reached 60, and the day after pouring heavy rains, not falling snow, enveloped the region. The mid-forties early morning temperatures quickly warmed to what felt like anything but a cold winter’s day. The 8:00 a.m. high tide was average, but the heavy rains the prior day raised water levels, which meant lots of walking to locate birds in hidden, flooded coves. After a return to moderate ice coverage a year ago for January, the trend reversed again to almost no ice. In fact, with so much talk of ice relative to waterfowl, all but one of the past five January/February surveys has featured no or minimal ice on estuaries and coastal ponds.
With no significant correlation between ice and bird abundance in January, it’s difficult to use ice coverage as a predictor of waterfowl abundance. While extremely high coverage simply eliminates habitat for most species, no ice due to recent warmth can be occupied by birds leaving freshwater wetlands in much colder regions. Recent years with higher waterfowl totals had lower ice coverage, and abundance was strikingly similar. The count total for January 26 was 5,687 birds, only 73 less than last January, and only 25 less than the average of 5,662 for the past three years. Counts for January 2018-2020 have been 5,536, 5,763, and 5,687 birds respectively, for a range of variation of only 227 birds. What might explain these sustained waterfowl numbers in ice-free years?
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Upcoming events
Click HERE for more details and to pre-register. Pre-registration is required for most events.
Mid-Winter Owl Prowl
Sunday, February 2, 3:30am – 8:00am
Mid-Winter Nature Walk at the Lloyd Center
Saturday, February 22, 9:00am – 11:00am
Late-Winter Seal Cruise to Cuttyhunk
Date - to be announced
Full Moon Owl Prowl at the Lloyd Center
Monday, March 9, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
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Lloyd Center has a new online Wish List
Check out our Wish List on Amazon.com. Help if you can!
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Hardscrabble Nature Preserve Visitor Hours
The Lloyd Center’s main building is temporarily closed as the second phase of renovations and an addition to the main building begin. The driveway up to the main building will also be closed to the public, as well as a small portion of the Chaypee Woods Trail.
Trails will remain open from dawn to dusk, seven days a week.
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