Nature & Environment

WESTPORT — With a $2,000 grant to work with, all seventh and eighth grade students in the Westport Middle School will be taking part in a Diamondback Terrapin Science Program, through the Lloyd Center for the Environment, in the upcoming year.

DARTMOUTH — When the name of William M. Pinney, Jr. was announced by board president Mary Ellen Hawes Lees last Thursday night as the winner of this year’s George G. Haydock Award at the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s Annual Meeting, held at the Dartmouth Grange Hall, the audience erupted with an enthusiastic roar of approval and applause. 

Dartmouth, MA – The Alces Foundation, Grimshaw-Gudewicz Charitable Foundation, The Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust, and the Rodgers Family Foundation have awarded the Lloyd Center for the Environment $28,000 in grants to support its Science Curriculum Reform and Development Initiative in the Fall River public schools. 

April 22, 2008 – Dartmouth and Westport artists have teamed up to start a new open studio weekend event that emphasizes educating their visitors, in real-life environments by demonstrating their skills, one artist, at one studio, at one time.  Consisting of some of the area’s premiere painters, ceramic artists, photographers, jewelers and others, the ART drive emphasize a consistent level of professionalism and quality with some unusual studio venues that are spotted among the area’s coastal villages, lovely farm lands, and seacoast.  Taking place on the weekend of August 16 and 17, the ART drive artists will donate a percentage of their sales to The Lloyd Center for the Environment.

Dartmouth and Westport artists have teamed up to start a new open studio weekend event that emphasizes educating their visitors, in real-life environments by demonstrating their skills, one artist, at one studio, at one time.  Consisting of some of the area’s premiere painters, ceramic artists, photographers, jewelers and others, the ART drive emphasize a consistent level of professionalism and quality with some unusual studio venues that are spotted among the area’s coastal villages, lovely farm lands, and seacoast.  Taking place on the weekend of August 16 and 17, the ART drive artists will donate a percentage of their sales to The Lloyd Center for the Environment.

New Bedford, Massachusetts - On March 31, 2008, the New Bedford School Committee unanimously voted to support a motion submitted by Mayor Scott W. Lang to institute a school recycling program throughout the New Bedford Public Schools System.

Dartmouth, MA – Join Jamie Bogart, Research Associate at the LLOYD CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, on a unique journey.  You will experience a true spectacle in early spring as you observe the American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) courtship flight in the fields of South Dartmouth.  The American Woodcock is a unique member of the shorebird family because it spends its life near woodlands.  These upland birds are early migrants often visible before snowmelt, and are ground nesters.  In addition to open habitats, woodcocks require early successional to mature hardwood forest where their main food source, earthworms, is plentiful.

New Bedford, MA – Motor out to Cuttyhunk Island with Lloyd Center for the Environment’s Research Associate, Jamie Bogart, to view wildlife associated with the island in early spring. After a glimpse of flocks of sea ducks and the Elizabethan Chain from the “M/V Cuttyhunk”, step foot on Cuttyhunk Island for a walk to “the lookout”, the island’s highest point, whereby you’ll gain a sense of the island’s natural history, and enjoy superb panoramic views of Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Cuttyhunk bird life can be quite diverse, and we’ll stop for a look at any birds seen along the way.

Dartmouth, MA – Join LLOYD CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT’S Research Associate, Jamie Bogart, on a special journey.  By exclusive invitation, you will visit Mishaum Point, Nonquitt, Salters Pond, as well as the Lloyd Center’s maritime forest and waterfront, and the Slocum and Little rivers.  Departing from the Lloyd Center’s Headquarters, this unique trip will take place on Sunday, March 2nd, from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

On Sunday February 3, 2008, Lloyd Center staff scientists and volunteer surveyors completed the 2nd count for this season’s annual winter waterfowl survey, from the Sakonnet River in Rhode Island to Apponagansett Bay in Dartmouth.

On January 5, 2008, the Lloyd Center partnered with the Cuttyhunk Ferry company on board the ‘M/V Cuttyhunk’ for an excursion featuring seal viewing on Gull Island, and a walking tour of Cuttyhunk, the westernmost island in the Elizabethan chain. Led by Lloyd Center naturalists Jamie Bogart and Jasmine Smith-Guillen, and boat operator, Captain Jono Billings, a group of 25 enjoyed superb looks at wintering seals ,and stunning scenery from the “lookout” of Cuttyhunk as it exists during the island’s quieter season. 

Once a month, Lloyd Center Educators arrive in Quinn Elementary School’s third-grade classrooms armed with props, worksheets, activities and other materials. Why? - to teach the children about birds.  Through birds, students are exploring basic concepts of life science such as food chains, predator/prey relationships, adaptations, migration and extinction, life cycles, and habitat use. 

Dartmouth, MA – The Grimshaw-Gudewicz Charitable Foundation, The Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust, and the Rodgers Family Foundation have awarded the Lloyd Center for the Environment grants to support its Science Curriculum Reform and Development Initiative.  Financial support from these foundations enables the Lloyd Center to provide science programs to schools that might not otherwise be able to afford them, such as the public elementary schools in Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Fall River and Westport.  With the Commonwealth’s introduction of the Science/Engineering MCAS test in the fourth and eight grades, the Lloyd Center’s ability to provide interactive and effective science teaching has proven to be particularly important. 

Dartmouth, MA – Are you a “night owl”? Then join Lloyd Center Research Associate, Jamie Bogart as he travels the back roads of Dartmouth in search of screech, barred and great-horned owls. February is a great time to see and hear these silent night flyers because they are setting up nesting territories and respond readily to calls.  Owls are chiefly nocturnal birds of prey, feeding on rodents, birds, reptiles, and sometimes fish (usually scavenged).  They cannot move their eyes, so instead they move their heads. Owls can turn their heads 270o in either direction; this helps them triangulate to locate their prey.  Taped owl calls will be used to elicit a vocal response and to lure the owls into view. Hopefully, participants will see and hear these nighttime birds. 

Boston, MA - January 7, 2008 - Ze-gen, Inc., a clean energy company providing advanced gasification technology to convert waste into synthesis gas, generating low emissions electrical energy, today announced that Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has toured the company’s operative demonstration facility in New Bedford, MA. Senator Kerry’s visit included a tour of the facility and operational process accompanied by a discussion of the environmental and economic benefits of the technology.

New Bedford, MA – Hop on board the M/V Cuttyhunk and motor out to Cuttyhunk Island with the LLOYD CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT in search of wintering seals hauled out on Gull Island, a small sand bar the seals love, located just off Cuttyhunk and Penikese islands. Catch a glimpse of gray and harbor seals, or even ringed, hooded and harp seals. Gray and harbor seals are the most abundant seals in this area. Ringed, hooded and harp seals are known as ice seals and are only seen during the winter months in this region. These seals are called ice seals because their pups are born on the ice floes or the pack ice off the eastern coast of Canada. During the winter, many of these juvenile seals migrate south and are frequently seen along the coast of New England.

Westport, MA – Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to get outside and walk or to learn more about the natural world around you? If yes, this is the perfect trip for you. Celebrate the start of the new year with a relaxing walk on Gooseberry Neck beach! The walk will focus on coastal ecology and bird identification. Winter is a wonderful time to walk the coast and observe the effects of wave action on the slope and shape of the beach.

New Bedford, Massachusetts - Buttonwood Park Zoo Director, Louis E. Garibaldi announced he will retire today after serving as Zoo Director since 2004.  During his tenure as director, Buttonwood Park Zoo has expanded numerous exhibits and introduced innovative programs that have encouraged more families to discover the zoo.  2007 was a record breaking attendance year for the zoo with 13% more visitors entering the zoo gates than in 2006.

Dartmouth, MA – Celebrating the coming of the fall season, hundreds of enthusiastic Lloyd Center members gathered at the Center’s Hardscrabble Farm nature preserve last Sunday to enjoy a wide variety of nature related activities at the always popular annual Family Fun-Fest.  Drawn to many attractions, guests were kept busy tagging butterflies, discovering the thrills of kayaking on the Slocum River, taking guided walks on nature trails, and participating in unique scavenger hunts.  There was face-painting, wonderfully comic caricatures by a talented artist, seaweed-pressing, bagel-bird-feeder creations, and lots of happy children fashioning nature-masks, wreaths, and Japanese “hanging fish”.

Fifth-grade students from Quinn Elementary School visited the Lloyd Center for the Environment as part of the Turn-the-Tide Education Program.  Donning hip boots and nets, students were getting “down and dirty” in a field study at the estuary and discovering for themselves the species which inhabit the salt marsh, estuary and tidal mud flats.

New Bedford, Massachusetts -The City of New Bedford is moving forward with the second and final phase of the demolition and remediation of the former Elco Dress factory site.  The City has awarded the demolition contract to North American Site Developers Inc., (NASDI), a Massachusetts company founded in 1976, which provides comprehensive demolition, environmental remediation and investment recovery nationwide.  The Elco Dress building, previously determined by engineers to be “in poor structural condition,” is located on Church and Collette Streets in New Bedford.

New Bedford, Massachusetts - The public is invited to attend a civic meeting regarding the status of the cleanup, the former Morse Cutting Tools site (163 Pleasant Street, New Bedford, MA) a city-owned property, on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at the nearby Alfred J. Gomes Elementary School located at 286 So. Second Street.  Representatives of CBS Operations Inc., formerly known as Viacom International Inc., the party responsible for cleanup activities, will present the status of the cleanup project.  The two potential closure options for the site (one of which requires an Activity and Use Limitation (AUL) restricting future use) will also be discussed.

New Bedford, Massachusetts - What gobbles lots of trash, is fueled entirely by sunrays and saves money and the environment in the process?  The answer is solar powered “Big Belly” trash compactors and Mayor Scott W. Lang and State Senator Mark C. Montigny announced today that the City of New Bedford was awarded three new trash compactors by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Renewable Energy Trust.  The program is designed to promote clean renewable energy technologies, in this case solar energy, while assisting communities to enhance revitalized areas.

New Bedford, Massachusetts - Mayor Scott W. Lang will hold a news conference tomorrow, Friday, November 2nd, 2007 at 11:30AM on the steps of New Bedford City Hall.  Members of the local delegation and city council will join the Mayor in showcasing innovative, environmentally friendly technology awarded to New Bedford by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. 

This new equipment will support the larger effort to keep city streets clean.  Officials will also identify other strategies to be implemented citywide to address litter.

The Lloyd Center for the Environment is pleased to announce the winning entry in the competition among graphic art students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts  for the design of a twelve-month desk calendar for the Center, making use of original photographs donated by noted nature photographer, Geoffrey Dennis.

FAIRHAVEN - Have you been thinking about lowering your "carbon footprint"?  Do you want to make your own potting soil? Does your town charge a fee per bag for garbage pick-up? Do want to eliminate or reduce the use of chemical fertilizers on your lawn and gardens?

New Bedford – Oct. 20th, Operation Clean Sweep will target the Ward 5 in New Bedford in what will be the final cleanup of the season.  Operation Clean Sweep is a collaborative effort between the City of New Bedford, area businesses, volunteer organizations and engaged citizens.

DARTMOUTH, MA - All Lloyd Center volunteers – new and existing, are invited to join Volunteer Coordinators Mary Mandeville and Tammy Greenspan for a volunteer meeting.  The meeting will be held on Saturday, November 10th at 1:00pm at the Lloyd Center’s headquarters located at 430 Potomska Road in Dartmouth.

New Bedford, Massachusetts - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., one of the nation’s most stirring advocates for protection of the environment and social change, will be the keynote speaker for a special kickoff event hosted by the City of New Bedford on Thursday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Zeiterion Theatre, to launch the third annual Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change conference.  New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang will welcome Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to the city and will speak about the importance of addressing environmental and conservation issues at the local level.

Dartmouth, MA –  Geo-  what? Join Chris Wenzler and learn about geo-caching, the outdoor “treasure hunt” activity that is sweeping the nation, and then go out and score your first caches!