Children came to Dartmouth from different states and even different countries over the summer to participate in the Lloyd Center for the Environment’s Young Naturalist and Coastal Studies programs.

From July to August, around 70 children aged five to seven hiked through trails, fished at the estuary, and encountered various animals during the eight-week Young Naturalist Program.

Lloyd Center educators also taught the kids about the many habitats, plants, and creatures living at the center.

The Coastal Studies Program taught 33 children between third and eighth grades about marine biology and wetlands and forest habitats, among other topics.

The children became field biologists and explored various habitats such as salt marshes, vernal and tidal pools, the Slocum River, a barrier beach, a maritime forest, and the rocky intertidal Cape Cod Canal.

Students learned about climate change and its impacts, food webs, identification and anatomy of plants and animals, and data collection. 

They heard frogs calling, banded osprey fledglings, fished in the estuary, and dissected owl pellets.

The Lloyd Center’s summer programs offered new ways to learn about the environment from teachers with different scientific backgrounds.

After a successful summer, the Center’s educators are already gearing up for next year’s programs.

Learn more at lloydcenter.org.