Cape Cod, MA – Venture to the outer cape with Lloyd Center Research Associate Jamie Bogart to see the Endangered Right Whales, which congregate along the cape during their northward migration to take advantage of the abundant zooplankton food source. Great views from shore of these unique mammals which are seldom seen in the wild are possible. A great variety of avian life including seabirds is also present during all seasons on Cape Cod, and will also be featured on this unique trip. Visits will include Race Point and Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown, with other stops likely depending upon location and visibility of the whales.

This event will take place on Saturday, April 14, 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (poor weather date: Sunday, April 15). The cost to participate is $30 for Lloyd Center members and $35 for non-members (includes van transportation to and from the outer cape). Pre-registration is required by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 12.

Space is limited to 12, so early registration is recommended. Participants are to meet at the Shaw’s Supermarket Parking Lot on Route 6 in Dartmouth (van departs promptly at 7:00 a.m. and returns at approximately 4:00 p.m.).

This walk is suitable for all levels … although some birding experience is beneficial. In addition, be advised that light forest hikes followed by a lengthy beach stroll make for a significant amount of walking*. Participants should dress in layers, wear outdoor footwear (that may get wet), bring binoculars or spotting scope, a camera and lunch.

Pre-register online, or call the Lloyd Center Event Line (508-558-2918).  If you have any specific questions about the program, call Jamie Bogart at 508-990-0505 x 23 or email at jbogart@lloydcenter.org. 

*Be advised: For best views of whales, this outing is done entirely on foot and involves extensive walking along beaches and possibly intertidal areas. Participants should therefore be capable of moderate to strenuous hiking for long distances.

Thanks to a successful drawing contest over February vacation, the Lloyd Center for the Environment is holding another, this time children (ages twelve and under) will draw a picture of a ‘sign of spring’ found at the Center’s Hardscrabble Nature Preserve.

Visit the Lloyd Center, located at 430 Potomska Road in Dartmouth, over April vacation (April 14 – 22), walk the trails, visit the estuary, explore the nature center, and then have your child draw a spring observation found during your travels.

On Monday, April 23, a winner will be chosen, awarded a Lloyd Center family membership and t-shirt and have their drawing put on display at the Center. All children under the age of twelve are invited to participate.

For more information, call Amanda at 508-990-0505 x16.

Photo: A sign of spring – a red cardinal enjoys his lunch on a beautiful spring day! Photo taken by JoAnn Bernier Cornell

Richard Louv is the author of eight books including Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder and The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age. He has been recognized nationally and internationally as someone committed to the reconnecting children and families with nature. He is the founding chairman of the Children & Nature Network.  He  will be visiting the south coast community to speak on the occasion of the paperback publication of The Nature Principle.

As many organizations strive to promote a healthier environment for families through policy, planning and, activities and opportunity, Richard Louv’s message to health care providers, educators, local officials, and parents needs to be shared: our children are becoming estranged from the natural world because of contemporary trends, online activity, and social habits. They are missing some of the best lessons childhood has to offer.

DATE: Thursday, March 29, 2012

TIME: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Tifereth Israel Congregation, New Bedford MA

Books should be available to purchase at the event.

For more information contact Fern at fcallen@lloydcenter.org or at 508-990-0505 x 10.

The Lloyd Center’s intent of holding the contest was two-fold, to offer an inexpensive destination for families to visit over vacation, and an activity to get children involved with the natural world around them. Families visited the Lloyd Center, walked the trails, explored the estuary and nature center, and the children drew an organism that they found during their travels.

Amanda Nowicki, Lloyd Center Educator-Naturalist and a judge of the competition was very pleased with the turnout. “With so many beautiful drawings, choosing a winner was a very difficult task. We had so many enthusiastic and talented children participate in the contest, ranging in ages from as young as 19 months to 12 years old. They were all winners and I wish we could have awarded them all!”

D’Arcy MacMahon, Lloyd Center Executive Director, presented Abby with a certificate of accomplishment, a Lloyd Center family membership and t-shirt. Abigail’s drawing will be put on display at the Lloyd Center.

Photo: Lloyd Center Executive Director, D’Arcy MacMahon presented an award to Abby Jupin in the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s first ‘Draw an Organism’ contest. Abby’s entry of a hawk, inspired by the Center’s Red-shouldered Hawk was one of 15 that were submitted in the contest.

Harbor, Grey, and Harp seals may be viewed, and Great Cormorants are an abundant waterbird at this stop. Waterfowl such as eiders, scoters, and loons may also be seen on the boat ride out.

After seal-viewing, the boat docks at Cuttyhunk for lunch and an opportunity to set foot on the island. At this point, you’re free to venture through town to the lookout to gain a feel for the unique landscape and enjoy a panoramic view of surrounding waters.

For bird enthusiasts, follow Lloyd Center naturalist Jamie Bogart for bird-watching in the vicinity of Cuttyhunk Pond, where additional bird species may be seen. In addition to learning about some unique wildlife, you’ll leave with more knowledge about Buzzards Bay, and a new appreciation for its surrounding landscape.

Pre-register online, or call 508-990-0505 x10.  Pre-registration is required by Thursday, March 15th by 4:00 p.m.
If you have specific questions regarding the program, please call Jamie at 508-990-0505 x23, or email jbogart@lloydcenter.org.

Please see www.cuttyhunkferrycompany.com for further background about the company with which we are partnering for this outing.

Date: Saturday, March 3, 2012    RESCHEDULED DUE TO WEATHER: SATURDAY, MARCH 17th
Time: 10: 00 a.m. (boat departs) – 2:00 p.m. (boat returns ashore). Please arrive no later than 9:45 a.m. for check-in, boat leaves 10:00 a.m. sharp
Meeting place: Cuttyhunk Ferry Company parking lot, state pier, off Route 18 in New Bedford (see www.cuttyhunkferrycompany.com for directions)
Price: Members $43 Non-members $45 Children $20 Price includes lunch served on boat and packet of background materials. Additional items may be purchased (cash) on the vessel, and on the island.
Items to bring: binoculars, camera, appropriate clothing (layers, wind gear, hiking shoes)

Except for weather cancellation or personal reasons (illness, injury, etc), seal watch tickets are non-refundable.

The Seabird Ecological Assessment Network (SEANET) is a volunteer-based field survey project whose main objective is to gain information about beached bird deposition along coastal shorelines to help detect sources of harm to the marine environment, and assess the status of seabird populations.

This is a great project for birdwatchers, those passionate about our coastlines and wanting to learn about threats to marine ecosystems from a shoreline perspective, and those interested in citizen science, whereby volunteer efforts are directly used by organizations responsible for safeguarding our environment.

Volunteers conduct monthly surveys for both beached and live birds at their site of choice and collect basic environment conditions data during their walks. When volunteers find beached birds, they take measurements and photographs, mark the specimens, and document other findings from their walks.

Requirements are willingness to walk a beach once per month minimum, collect data according to the protocol that will be presented at the workshop, and commit to the project for at least one year.

We seek volunteers for the Buzzards Bay region (Westport to Wareham), living near or frequently visiting any walkable shoreline. Beach vacancies exist throughout the region.

The workshop will be led by Dr. Sarah Courchesne with assistance from Lloyd Center Research Associate Jamie Bogart, coordinator for the Buzzards Bay region. Volunteers will leave with necessary materials, a background necessary to start surveys, and a beach of their choice. Weather permitting, a walk on a nearby beach will follow the indoor session.

Date: Saturday, February 18, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Lloyd Center for the Environment (lower building)
Leader: Dr. Sarah Courchesne of Tufts University and Jamie Bogart, Lloyd Center Research Associate
Cost: free of charge
Items to wear/bring: footwear for beach walk, layered clothing, binoculars, camera, notebook

Click here for further background about the program and links to a variety of SEANET related information.

Anyone interested in volunteering and attending the workshop should contact Jamie Bogart at 508-990-0505 (x23), or at jbogart@lloydcenter.org.

Starting at the Lloyd Center property, join Lloyd Center Research Assistant Jamie Bogart for a series of stops along the country roads of South Dartmouth, where you’ll venture into the dark winter woods to attract owls with callback tapes.  Screech, great-horned, barred and long eared owls are all potential species heard and seen. At sunrise, enjoy a refreshing walk along a pristine coastal beach, where other birdlife can be seen. Winter waterfowl are abundant, and owls active during daylight hours can be seen on a lucky day.

At the outing’s conclusion, you’ll be treated to a light breakfast of bagels and coffee at the Lloyd Center facility where you can also enjoy the center’s great exhibits, viewscape and trail system in all its winter glory. Participants will meet at the Lloyd Center Headquarters located at 430 Potomska Road in Dartmouth (park in lower lot, meet in main facility at top of hill). To maximize field observation during peak hours of owl activity, the van will depart promptly at 3:30am!

The Lloyd Center’s Owl Prowl will take place on Sunday, February 19th, 3:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. (poor weather date: Sunday, February 26th, 3:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m., please note that in addition to stormy weather, windy conditions which obscure owl calls and reduce owl activity will cause postponement of the outing). The cost of the program is $9 for Lloyd Center members and $12 for non-members (children under 12 years old: $4.00 for members, $6 for non-members). Program is suitable for ages 10 and up. Pre-registration is required. To register for this program, call our event registration line at 508-558-2918 or simply visit our website www.lloydcenter.org and register online.

Participants are asked to dress warmly and wear footwear for light walking on forest trails and possibly on snow. Bring binoculars, a camera and flashlight, if you have them. If you have specific questions about the program or owls, please call Jamie Bogart at 508-990-0505 ext. 23. 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 270 degrees in either direction; this helps them triangulate to locate their prey.  Hopefully, participants will see and hear these nighttime birds.

With a focus on coastal ecology and bird identification, Mark will identify winter waterfowl and ‘washed up’ marine life. January is a wonderful time of year to walk the coast and observe the effects of wave action on the slope and shape of the beach. This is a very informal outing, and those that simply want to walk are more than welcome.

The program will be held on Sunday, January 1, 2012 from 10am – noon and is free to all. Participants should dress warmly and wear hiking boots; binoculars and cameras are recommended as well. Participants will meet at the Gooseberry Neck Parking Lot in Westport. Follow Route 88 south until the very end, turn right and proceed across the causeway to the parking lot. No registration is required. If you have questions about the program, call Mark Mello at 508-990-0505 ext.22. Start the New Year off “on the right foot” by walking the beach and enjoying our unique coastal habitats.

Kellogg is retired from a career as a chief financial officer at several companies including; Shannon Yachts, Americana Hotels & Realty Corporation and PaineWebber Properties Inc. He was a certified public accountant associated with Coopers & Lybrand in Boston and holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kellogg also is an accomplished sailor who has sailed on Buzzards Bay for more than 40 years and has made several trans-Atlantic crossings. He is a former director and treasurer of the Buzzards Bay Coalition, a trustee of the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School in Maine, and has served as chairman of the Wellesley finance and audit committees and as a director of the town’s affordable housing corporation.

DARTMOUTH — Thirty Dartmouth and Westport artists that teamed up this summer to organize the annual open studio weekend, donated $5,000 to The Lloyd Center for The Environment in Dartmouth to be used to support the Center’s ongoing environmental science programs in the Westport and Dartmouth public schools. In its fourth season, the Art Drive artists have now donated a combined total of nearly $13,000 to The Lloyd Center.

D’Arcy G. MacMahon, The Lloyd Center’s executive director said, “We are deeply honored to once again have been selected, by such a prestigious and talented group of artists, and to be the beneficiary of this extraordinary event. In addition to drawing an untold number of new visitors to so many unusual and dramatic studio settings this year, the Art Drive raised badly needed funds to support The Lloyd Center’s ongoing efforts to give children back their connection to nature which, for so many, had been lost.”

Surprising Stripers, a new Art Drive program last year, enlisted participating artists to apply their own unique creativity and styles to create large, colorful depictions of striped bass, a species well known to the area. Stationed outdoors along the Art Drive routes—in public spaces and in front of stores, shops, businesses and other sites in Dartmouth and Westport—were 40 four-foot-long Striped Bass. The general public had the opportunity to bid for them on e-bay. A percentage of the income added substantially to the collective Art Drive contribution to The Lloyd Center.

As part of Art Drive’s own outreach program, Dartmouth and Westport high school art departments presented Rising Stars, an exhibit of outstanding student work at Cape Yachts’ South Wharf in Padanaram during the Art Drive weekend.

Consisting of some of the area’s premiere painters, ceramic artists, wood-workers, photographers, jewelers and others, the Art drive uniquely puts emphasis on a consistent and high level of professionalism and quality. With only 15 miles separating the most distant studios, visitors were able to enjoy seeing the artists’ works with ample time to dine at area restaurants and shop at local stores, twenty-five of which helped sponsor the event.

Organized by Dartmouth residents Beverly Carter, Sandra Hall and Deborah Quinn-Munson, The Art Drive attracts visitors from Boston to Providence to the area for the two-day August event. “We are most grateful to The Lloyd Center and staff for assisting us in promoting the event to its members and others,” said Beverly Carter. “Their help made all the difference, and even with a struggling economy, the number of visitors to all our studios was as robust as last year’s event. We would also like to thank the many Dartmouth and Westport businesses that contributed both funds and services to make this community event a great success.” she said

Go to www.the-art-drive.com for evolving details of the fifth annual Art Drive, scheduled for August 11 and 12, 2012.