Cultivating an appreciation of nature at an early age ensures the legacy of an environmentally-minded community in the future. Consequently, the NLC has been expanding its education and outreach program with the local schools, specifically in the areas of groundwater and wetlands science.

Field trips and follow-up in-school visits were made with two of Nantucket High School's Earth Science classes to discuss the quality and quantity of Nantucket's groundwater.

A Vernal Pools unit consisting of several field trips to study the creatures and features of two different Vernal Pools was conducted with the Nantucket Lighthouse School's lower and middle primary students. The NLC has also taken the Nantucket New School and some of Nantucket's home-school students into the field on similar trips.

With the help of Llyod Center for the Environment’s Research Director, Mark Mello, our Resource Conservationist, Emily Molden has helped students and teachers participate in a national effort to monitor Monarch Butterflies.  Expanding upon this project, Ms. Molden has taken students out to collect monarch-attracting wildflower seeds, which will then be planted at local schools.

The NLC has also worked with High School students on dune restoration by planting beach grass in eroding areas, encouraging a greater awareness of the fragile beaches where students spend much of their time during summers.

Click here to see a video of Ms. Molden and Dr. Sarah Oktay working with students on beach profiling.