The Wildlands Trust recently opened a climate laboratory on protected land in Bourne, Massachusetts, to help high school students gain a direct understanding of climate change impacts.

 

The laboratory will bring students in throughout their high school careers to monitor climate change impacts.

 

The Trust, a non-profit land conservation organization, developed the laboratory in partnership with Manomet and is looking to expand the concept to other land trust properties.

 

“We have the land, we have the ability to carry out on-the-ground programs,” said Karen Grey, executive director of the Wildlands Trust. “Manomet’s work on climate change indicators is essential because Manomet knows what we should be looking at to show kids how climate change actually plays out.”

 

The project launched this spring as a pilot and is being funded by a grant from the Dorr Foundation. The first students to visit were from the Rising Tide Charter School in Plymouth. Manomet’s involvement is being led by Banding Director Trevor Lloyd-Evans.

 

“We are teaching the students techniques of measuring biological indicators,” Lloyd-Evans said. “We also have the ability to measure the parameters of climate change and looking forward we expect to have years of records of climate change indicators that will be even more valuable to our education efforts.”