Massachusetts
Getting kids up close with nature is the goal of this environmental center in southeastern Massachusetts
DARTMOUTH – The Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth, Massachusetts has been teaching children about nature for more than 40 years.
Executive director Rachel Stronach said they’ve been around so long they’ve been written into the curriculum at local schools.
“Respect and affection for nature”
“Our goal is to instill a respect and affection for nature,” she told WBZ-TV. “We have 82 acres here. And we are waterfront, on the Slocum River estuary.”
With five miles of hiking trails open sunrise to sunset all year long, it’s not just kids who enjoy the scenery.
“We do walks, we do talks, we do hikes. One of our most popular programs is a canoe trip,” said Stronach.
Students from both southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island are brought in for a coastal field study that takes them to four unique stations about the environment.
“It’s so nice to see them be able to see what we’ve been learning about in the classroom in a real world setting,” said fourth grade teacher Chelsea Mauricio.
Mauricio teaches science and math and has brought her students to the Lloyd Center for several years. Her student Landon Dean told WBZ the best part of his day was meeting Norbert the turtle.
“We learned about a box turtle. So it can go in its shell and then close its shell,” Landon said.
15,000 students a year
Up to 15,000 students visit the center each year. It’s the only organization in the area whose sole mission is to educate the public about coastal and watershed issues.
“Today the fourth graders were really looking at all the connections in the ecosystem here,” Stronach told WBZ. “So looking at the maritime forest, the salt marsh and the estuary and how all of the things there interact.”
They’re also opening a new welcome center later this summer that they hope will have the Living Building Challenge certification. It’s the strictest of environmental building standards.
“The building will actually generate more energy than it uses,” said Stronach, adding that the welcome center would be one of 29 in the world that meets the certification.
The Lloyd Center’s mission is to have an overall impact on the students who visit.
“They’re the generation that has to grow up and take care of it,” said Mauricio.
Visiting the Lloyd Center is completely free. For more information, go to their website.
Massachusetts
Body part found in Shirley, Massachusetts pond, police suspect foul play
A body part was found in a pond in Shirley, Massachusetts and investigators said foul play is suspected.
It was discovered around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday as a group of people were walking along Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.
Police said the group noticed something suspicious in the water of Phoenix Pond. The Middlesex District Attorney confirmed that the item was a body part, but would not elaborate.
Police shut down the road and divers could be seen exploring the pond late Wednesday. Authorities were back at the scene Thursday morning.
No other information is available at this point in the investigation.
Phoenix Pond connects to the Catacoonamug Brook, which flows into the Nashua River. It’s also connected to Lake Shirley.
Shirley, Massachusetts is about 44 miles northwest of Boston and around 13 miles from the New Hampshire border.
Massachusetts
Foul play suspected after human remains found in water in Shirley
Human remains were discovered Wednesday in the water in Shirley, Massachusetts, and authorities suspect foul play.
Police in Shirley said in a social media post at 7:15 p.m. that they responded to “a suspicious object in the water near the Maritime Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.” Massachusetts State Police later said the object was believed to be human remains.
The bridge crosses Catacoonamug Brook near Phoenix Pond.
The office of Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said a group of young people was walking in the area around 5:30 p.m. and “reported seeing what appeared to be something consistent with a body part in the water.”
Foul play is suspected, Ryan’s office said.
Authorities will continue investigating overnight into Thursday, and an increased police presence is expected in the area.
No further information was immediately available.
Massachusetts
Ice covered highways, streets and sidewalks in Boston area rattled nerves during morning commute: “I’m ready for the thaw”
It was a treacherous commute for drivers across Massachusetts Wednesday morning. Ice on roads and highways caused several crashes during rush hour.
In Danvers, 22 miles north of Boston, the ramp from Interstate 95 to Route 1 north was covered in ice, leading to three separate crashes involving twelve cars. Three people were taken to local hospitals.
In Revere, just seven miles north of the city, two tractor-trailers collided on North Shore Road. Police said it will be shut down for most of the day. It’s unclear if this crash was caused by icy conditions.
Forty-four miles west of Boston, a tractor-trailer ran off the westbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westboro. One person was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with what were described by the fire department as “non-life threatening injuries.”
The ice wasn’t just a problem for drivers. People walking around Boston were also slipping and sliding Wednesday morning.
“I almost fell at least five times but I didn’t. I don’t know how. I screamed and caught edges,” Swapna Vantzelfde told CBS News Boston about her walk to work in the South End. It took longer than usual.
“The internal streets they just don’t get plowed, the little ones that people live on and then these arteries, the big streets, they’re cleaned a lot better,” she said.
Those on two legs and four were all stepping gingerly across slick spots.
“A little treacherous. Very slick and icy out here,” said a father pushing a stroller. “Sometimes you have something to hold on to, which helps.”
With plenty of snow piled along sidewalks and between parking spots, most people are done with winter.
“I’m over it. I’m ready for the thaw,” said one man.
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Wisconsin4 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Maryland5 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Florida5 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon6 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling