Events

Gooseberry Neck in Westport is a long peninsular barrier island that juts south like a pointing finger, bisecting Buzzards Bay along the east shore and Rhode Island Sound to the west, with great views of the Elizabeth Islands offered at the very tip. Gooseberry’s history features extensive human use with a vast footprint. In the…

by Adeline Bellesheim, Lloyd Center for the Environment Educator/Naturalist It’s time to take out those thermals, put on your wool socks, and lace up your boots. The snowy season is here, and it is here to stay! There has been a handful of snow events that have struck the South Coast already, and the staff…

by Jamie Bogart, Lloyd Center for the Environment Research Associate A year ago, the 2018 December waterfowl count was postponed a week to December 9th, enough time for temperatures to drop and cause an influx of birds seeking unfrozen waters. This December, Lloyd Center staff and volunteers surveyed the estuaries and coastal ponds from Sakonnet…

In conjunction with the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s 2019 Annual Fund, the Lloyd Center has joined the #GivingTuesday movement. #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide. For the Lloyd Center to continue to provide the full…

by Jamie Bogart, Lloyd Center for the Environment Research Associate On November 19th, during our second week of the new FeederWatch season, two Dark- eyed Juncos emerged from the forest understory and landed beneath our bird feeder station. Juncos are those unmistakable dark gray (northeast subpopulation aka “Slate colored” Junco) songbirds which are a familiar…

Looking for fresh air, exercise or to learn more about the natural world around you? If so, this is the perfect trip for you! Join Research Director Mark Mello for this Lloyd Center tradition and celebrate the New Year with a peaceful walk on Gooseberry Neck beach. Focusing on coastal ecology and bird identification, Mark…

On Friday evening, July 12th, South Coast residents and guests from all over New England joined together at the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s CLAMBAKE XXXIV, “Celebrating Science and Education!” to raise funds to meet the growing demand for the Center’s education and research programs. Supporters dined on a traditional New England boiled lobster dinner…

by Kate Robinson, Dartmouth Week Nearly 500 people came out for the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s 34th annual Clambake fundraiser on July 12, which started in the pouring rain and ended with a spectacular sunset rainbow on the beach. Guests ate clams and lobster and bid on more than 100 items at a silent…

by Douglas McCulloch, Dartmouth Week This past year was a busy one at the Lloyd Center with building projects, fundraising, and an ever-growing list of events and educational programs. And there’s even more to look forward to in 2020. That was the message from Lloyd Center officials at the center’s 2019 annual meeting, held on…

In our region, April is a time of transition. Weather is unpredictable, birds are in migration, amphibians are slowly awakening, buds on trees are few, and the salt marshes are a dull brown. One has to work to find life on a somewhat barren coastal landscape. From a dusk hike at the Lloyd Center, to…

“Thank you for helping us become ornithologists. We all learned a lot and it was very fun.” “Thank you so much for letting us learn a lot about birds and bringing us to the Lloyd Center. Everything you teached (should this be taught, not sure if we can correct it since it’s a quote) us…

It’s time to mark your calendar and secure your ticket to one of the summer’s most popular events, the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s Clambake XXXIV “Celebrating Science and Education!” Those who have attended this event in the past, know it to be the unofficial “kick-off” of the South Coast’s summer season – an event…

by Katie Houseman, Lloyd Center Educator/Naturalist Join us for our last Cuttyhunk Seal Cruise of the season on April 13th! Each year around March and April, the Lloyd Center hosts seal cruises to Cuttyhunk Island in Buzzards Bay in cooperation with Cuttyhunk Ferry Company. Harbor seals and gray seals are the two most common species…

by Jamie Bogart, Lloyd Center Research Associate On two separate March evenings, participants on Lloyd Center outings experienced firsthand the rigors of searching for night birds, and how beautiful the early spring landscape can be. The Spring Owl Prowl occurred during a unique confluence of celestial events. A full moon coincided with the vernal equinox…

In the early morning hours of February 3, while many were getting sleep in preparation for the Patriots Super Bowl matchup, a handful of folks were out on the prowl, in search of night owls that might be present, and are most active at this insane 3:30am hour. Between this time and sunrise, human activity…

The completion of the “late meteorological winter” portion of the Lloyd Center Winter Waterfowl Count on January 27, 2019, marks the completion of the 32nd annual survey of waterfowl in our region’s estuaries and coastal ponds from Dartmouth, Massachusetts to Tiverton, Rhode Island, designed to detect trends in migratory waterfowl abundance and habitat use at…

Are you fascinated by owls? Do you enjoy a good old-fashioned New England winter morning, especially before sunrise? If so, you can join Lloyd Center Research Associate Jamie Bogart on a Mid-Winter Owl Prowl on Feb. 3, scheduled during hours of peak owl activity. “Owls are mysterious and fascinating creatures that become more vocal as…

The Lloyd Center for the Environment thanks all those that contributed to the Center’s 2018 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…

by Chloe Shelford / Jan 12, 2019 On a chilly December Sunday, volunteers for the Lloyd Center counted 8,494 birds for the Center’s annual Winter Waterfowl Survey. “People often think in winter not a whole lot’s going on,” Lloyd Center Research Associate Jamie Bogart said. “Well, if you look at the coast, there’s all kinds…

Each winter the Lloyd Center provides an opportunity for nature enthusiasts to stretch their legs to kick start the New Year, while learning about the dynamic Buzzards Bay shoreline. While many great locations exist for this event, perhaps none is better than Gooseberry Neck Island in Westport. Gooseberry, a 73-acre island purchased by the state…

by Katie Houseman, Lloyd Center Educator/Naturalist The Lloyd Center’s Turn-the-Tide program seeks to educate fifth-grade students in Dartmouth about the water quality in Buzzards Bay. In particular, the health of the Slocum River estuary is examined, as well as factors that contribute to poor conditions in this ecosystem. This program addresses interactions between earth and…

by Jamie Bogart, Lloyd Center Research Associate For last season’s December waterfowl survey, we expected that high tides forecast during a “Supermoon” would cause a low count. To our surprise, survey conditions were perfect and the highest December numbers in a decade resulted for that 2017 survey. In this year’s first count, for the thirty-second…