|
Bald Eagle Population Soaring in MassachusettsBy MassWildlife,
12:58PM / Wednesday, May 27, 2020 | |
A bald eagle above the Eclipse dam on the Hoosic River last year. WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — The state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has documented more than 70 active bald eagle nests throughout Massachusetts this spring, indicators that the population continues to grow. MassWildlife has seen a dramatic uptick in newly documented eagle nests and has confirmed nine new nests in Fitchburg, Wenham, Concord, Rutland, Wareham, Medford, Northampton, Hudson, and Barnstable. The new Barnstable nest marks the first nest with eggs on Cape Cod in 115 years; the last was in Sandwich in 1905. Eagles have been sighted along the Hoosic River and nesting pairs 3 Comments
>> Read More |
Area's Garden Centers Ready for Bump in DemandBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
03:47AM / Friday, April 24, 2020 | |
Customers can't go into Whitney's farm store but can order and pick it up outside. CHESHIRE, Mass. — When the commonwealth shut down non-essential businesses last month, nurseries and garden centers were classified as essential. That could be an understatement. If anything, they're more important than ever. "I've taken, I'd say, 10 times the phone calls about people wanting to start vegetable gardens this year," said Martha Tanner, the greenhouse manager at Whitney's Farm Market and Garden Center. "People are really interested in growing their own food and starting their own gardens. "I totally encourage people to grow 1 Comment
>> Read More |
Internet Seen as Helping Save Planet, but Many in Mass Still Miss OutBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
11:33AM / Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — When the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires last week hosted a virtual town hall with Berkshire County's legislative delegation, the area's elected officials got a little face time with their constituents to talk about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. All but one. State Rep. Paul Mark, of Peru, was an audio-only participant in the hourlong webinar. "It's good to see my colleagues," Mark said at one point. "I haven't seen any of you for at least a month now." "And we still don't see you," quipped state Rep. John Barrett III of North Adams. That is because Mark is 1 Comment
>> Read More |
Earth Day 2020: 'Learning Experience' for ActivistsBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
03:43AM / Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — For activists committed to saving the planet, the climate change crisis is top of mind, every day. But there is one day each year when they can plan to rally together with like-minded citizens and engage the apathetic and unaware. In a normal year, that day would be Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. As it is with so many so many other things, normal is not part of the conversation. "It's definitely been a change," said Jane Winn, the executive director of the Pittsfield-based Berkshire Environmental Action Team. "One of the things that hurts the most is we had student interns, who were absolutely 1 Comment
>> Read More |
Mount Greylock Building Project Achieves LEED CertificationBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
04:02AM / Friday, March 13, 2020 | |
 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School this week learned that the $64 million adddition/renovation project at the middle-high school achieved LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The council's approval of the project's sustainable elements ensures the district 2 percentage points on its reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. That should translate to about $1 million of the total share the state authority will contribute to the project when all is said and done, said Hugh Daley, a Williamstown Select Board member and part of the finance working group of the district's School Building 0 Comments
>> Read More |
Becket Installs First of Its Kind EV-Charging StationsBy Jeff Snoonian, Special to iBerkshires
02:37AM / Thursday, February 13, 2020 | |
BECKET, Mass. — A crowd of about 25 people showed up to a grand opening Wednesday at Town Hall to celebrate Becket becoming the first community in Berkshire County to offer municipally-owned electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The town and its utility provider, Eversource Energy, have been working in lockstep for a year to achieve the goal of giving residents, especially the small yet loyal number of EV owners, an alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Selectman Michael Lavery was a driving force behind the project and is an EV owner himself. "When I brought the idea for the EV charging stations to the select board last year. We were 2 Comments
>> Read More |
Mohawk Trail Woodlands, Forest Service Team Up on ConservationBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
05:33PM / Thursday, November 21, 2019 | |
BRPC's Tom Matuszko asks advisory board members to raise their hands as FRCOG's Executive Director Linda Dunlavy waits to speak. CHARLEMONT, Mass. — A shared stewardship agreement signed Thursday will bring U.S. Forest Service expertise to the state while keeping hundreds of thousands of acres of forestland in state and private hands. The Mohawk Trail Woodland Partnership encompasses 361,941 acres of state and private land across 21 communities in the northwestern corner of the state. About 28 percent of that land is permanently protected. The partnership will enhance conservation and forest research and provide technical support for businesses that depend 1 Comment
>> Read More |
Windsor Receives $165k in Funding for Ecological Repairs| 05:50PM / Tuesday, August 27, 2019 | |
The secretary also met with local officials during her trip to Western Mass, including a roundtable on Friday in Pittsfield. WINDSOR, Mass. — The town of Windsor has been awarded $165,000 to replace a culvert on the East Branch of the Westfield River. Windsor's grant is largest of 16 awards targeting culvert replacement and river health and totaling $932,000. Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides announced the grants at an event last week at Windsor State Forest, then visited the sites of two culvert projects in Windsor and Cummington that received grants. Also receiving funds were Clarksburg and 0 Comments
>> Read More |
Microcosm Holds Surprising Pollinators' DiversityBy Tor Hansen, iBerkshires columnist
04:51PM / Sunday, August 25, 2019 | |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — During May and June at various sites in the Berkshires, close examination of the floral bloom reveals some welcome surprises regarding pollinating insects. Just pretend to drop down in scale until you are a tiny person, like in "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift, walking among the mushrooms and fleabanes in bold bloom towering above. What a dynamic environment is the microcosm surrounding you with its assorted insect fauna. Before long you may encounter one of our smallest butterflies, a spring azure (Celastrina ladon) imbibing at red clover, appearing gigantic in reduced scale. Pause for awhile as you may become mesmerized 1 Comment
>> Read More |
Environment Secretary Visits Pittsfield| 07:10PM / Friday, August 23, 2019 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides was in Pittsfield on Friday to review a state-funded culvert site and meet with local officials to discuss the state's climate readiness program. She joined Mayor Linda Tyer at the Churchill Street culvert, a site which recently received grant funding through the state's Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program. The city was awarded an $814,524 state grant in June for the Churchill Brook and West Street Culvert Replacement Project. Through the MVP program, which begun in 2017, municipalities identify key climate-related hazards, vulnerabilities and 0 Comments
>> Read More |
|
|
MEMBER SIGN IN
