Two student volunteers from the New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School who have helped out Dartmouth’s Lloyd Center for the Environment over the past few months will now be diving into a research project to examine the health of the salt marsh ecosystem.

The center announced last week that for the next few months, Hannah Oliver and Samantha Medeiros will be performing a baseline study on the ecosystem’s overall health. Tasks include data collection of vegetation cover across a defined transect, and observations on the presence of species such as birds, arachnids, and mollusks living in the microhabitats throughout the salt marsh.

This research will be used to help staff understand the condition of the marsh.

Oliver and Medeiros have been volunteering with the Lloyd Center for the Environment over the last few months as part of their Environmental Science Program.

According to Lloyd Center Educator and Naturalist Adeline Bellesheim, they helped Lloyd Center educators with in-school programs such as Feathery Focus, Coastal Exploration Programs, and Estuary and Whales, among others.

They also helped take care of the Center’s animals, maintain the animals’ tanks, and keep the Center’s trails functional.

Bellesheim said that the girls have been “a huge blessing” to the Center.  

“Our resident turtles, amphibians, and fish are forever grateful for the work they have put into keeping their tanks comfortable and warm through these winter months,” Bellesheim wrote in a press release. “These two young students have proven to be a major asset to our staff, and we want to make sure they have the best experience at the Lloyd Center.”

She added, “We are looking forward to having them around for the upcoming spring season!”

The Lloyd Center for the Environment is a non-profit organization founded in 1978. Its headquarters and nature preserve is located in South Dartmouth overlooking the Slocum River estuary.

Through the Center’s outreach programs in environmental research and education, it works to raise awareness of the area’s fragile coastal resources and the importance of protecting them.

For more information on the Lloyd Center and its programs, visit www.lloydcenter.org or call (508) 990-0505.