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.
Fire broke out at an apartment building in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon, sending a column of smoke high into the air.
NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reports the smoke was visible from miles away from the building on Juniper Road.
More details were not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Life Care Center of Raynham has received a deficiency‑free inspection result from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, a distinction awarded to a small share of the state’s licensed nursing homes, according to a community announcement.
The inspection was conducted as part of the state’s routine, unannounced nursing home survey process overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. These comprehensive, multi‑day inspections evaluate multiple aspects of facility operations, including staffing levels, quality of care, medication management, cleanliness, food service and resident rights.
State survey records show that Life Care Center of Raynham met required standards during its most recent standard survey, with no deficiencies cited, based on publicly available state data.
The announcement states that fewer than 8% of Massachusetts nursing homes achieve deficiency‑free survey results. That figure could not be independently verified through state or federal data and is attributed to the announcement.
In addition to the state survey outcome, the facility is listed as a five‑star provider for quality measures on the federal Medicare Care Compare website. The five‑star quality measure rating reflects above‑average performance compared with other nursing homes nationwide, according to federal rating methodology.
Officials said the inspection results reflect ongoing compliance with state and federal standards designed to protect resident health and safety. According to the announcement, the outcome is attributed to staff performance and internal quality practices.
This story was created by Dave DeMille, ddemille@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
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