A summer to remember

by Michael J. DeCicco

Young people don’t need public school to learn a very important lesson over the summer: the value of the natural world that's all around them.

The Lloyd Center for the Environment, at 430 Potomska Road in South Dartmouth, offers two popular summer outdoor education programs for the youths every year, divided by age groups. The Young Naturalist Programs for ages 6-9 starts June 26 and covers outdoor exploration lessons in Under the Sea, In the Sky, Forest Frenzy, and Ponds and Streams programs. The Coastal Studies Programs for ages 9-12 start on July 10 and covers the themes of Animal Investigators, Forest and Wetlands, Coastal Ecology, and Marine Biology (and “STEAM Fridays” focusing on science, technology, art, and mathematics lessons).

Unfortunately, only limited space is available; they have waiting lists for each program. The larger point, however, is why parents should take note to book their youngsters early for next year. These programs have benefited many young people around the South Coast for over 30 years.

According to Elizabeth A. Moniz, Education and Outreach Director, the mission of the programs is "to encourage students to get excited about science and the natural world around them. We live in a very pristine part of Dartmouth. We use our site to educate kids about science. We make sure they are safe and learning and having fun."

She noted there’s solid proof these are inspiring programs. She recently heard from a former student who is now pursuing her PHD in Marine Science at UMD because she was once a student in the Lloyd Center summer programs.

“She credits her career to attending our program, as the thing that directed her to her current career path,” Moniz said. Then there’s Bruce Rastaban, 27, a former student at the summer program who is now a fellow instructor alongside Moniz. Rastaban said it all started with a field trip to the Center in the third grade, and his later attendance in one of their summer programs.

He eventually became a Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust (DNRT) staff member, taking care of trails and then leading walks as part of his Americas service year. He started as a Lloyd Center instructor in November 2022 as a result of those positions, and that's when he was able to conduct walks of the Trust trails and see how inspired the young people on those walks would get.

“Seeing their faces light up on those trails reminded me how I felt in my first educational outdoor experiences at the Lloyd center,” Traban explained. “I wanted to bring that to other young people across the area.”

He elaborated by describing the time he had brought a live crab to a local classroom as an example of what happens when young people first meet nature. “At first they'll be scared of it,” he said. “‘Don't let it out of its container!’ In the end, they'll go right up to it. It's nature and doesn't have to be scary at all. I want to keep that feeling going in other kids and inspire them.”

As described on the Lloyd Center's website, the center's 82-acres of estuary and maritime forest in South Dartmouth was donated to the DNRT in 1978 by Karen Lloyd as a living memorial to her mother, Katharine Nordell Lloyd. Originally a residence, its main building, now under renovation, is a four-story modern structure which overlooks Buzzards Bay and the Slocums River estuary. Because of its unparalleled beauty, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs has identified the Lloyd Center’s property as one of the state’s 15 Special Places.”

For more information on the Lloyd Center, go to its website, lloydcenter.org.

Great agrarians

Similarly, the Soule Homestead Educational Center, at 46 Soule Street in Middleboro, offers a variety of low-cost nature education programs to young students as well as adults over the summer.

Soule’s Summer Camps, like those of the Lloyd Center, are so popular that they are full or half-full this year. But the center’s Executive Director Jim Lough noted young registrants can go on waiting lists and get into a program when someone drops out, as often happens. The other encouraging factor, he added, is that he is looking to expand staff to allow in more registrants next year.

Lough is proud to note many campers return year after year and many parents ask the center to expand the programing to include teens. “Many families have sent all of their children through our Soule system,” he said.

“Itty-Ditty Buds” for ages for 3-6 will be from June 27-29, fitting 12 students per day. “Camp Soule” half-day sessions for ages 4-6 start July 17 and end August 18. “Camp Soule” full-day sessions are for ages 7-10 and are from July 10-August 11. Lough describes these camps as an opportunity for young students to play on an actual farm and learn all about farm life. “Free play and fun, farm and naturebased education,” he elaborates. But the Soule Center also serves its educational goals via school field trips booked every day of the week with three programs: Meet the Animals, Simple (farming) Machinery, and Get to the Root, focusing on gardening and farming techniques. It also hosts the Soule Kids 4-H Club once a month and other nature programs for adults.

It all ties to the goals the center has set out to achieve since it opened 31 years ago. “The purpose of our farm-based education program,” Lough said, “is to instill future generations with an appreciation and understanding of traditional agriculture and the natural world.”

To be added to the waitlist or for other information on its programs, visit Soule Homestead Educational Center at soulehomestead.org.

Coastal homes

Beyond Massachusetts, Audubon RI offers public workshops, walks, and activities for adults, families, and kids, from pre-schoolers to home-schoolers at the Audubon Society of Rhode Island Claire D. McIntosh Wildlife Refuge at 1401 Hope Street in Bristol.

The refuge offers a wide variety of natural habitats and trails for visitors of all ages to enjoy in easy walks that start in the upland meadow and winds its way to a quarter-mile boardwalk through fresh and saltwater marshes to Narragansett Bay.

“Kids really enjoy being outside and searching for birds and wildlife on our trails,” said Lauren Parmelee, Audubon Senior Director of Education. “In the summer months butterflies, dragonflies, painted turtles, frogs, osprey, red-tailed hawks, and other birds are frequently spotted. And we have engaging signage along the trails that explains the changing habitats and what visitors might look for.”

She noted the property is also home to the award-winning Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, offering interactive exhibits that explore local habitats and marine life found in the Ocean State. The Curiosity Corner offers natural specimens that may be examined under a microscope. And just outside the Center, visitors can enjoy the abundance of summer blooms in Audubon’s Palmieri Pollinator Garden.

“The pollinator garden has become a hub for the community,” said Parmelee. “It brings together our garden volunteers, hosts pollinator programs, and provides visitors the opportunity to sit, enjoy the abundance of flowers, and learn about our native pollinators.”

For information on Audobon Society of Rhode Island’s programs, contact Hope Foley at hfoley@asri.org.