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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Robert Presutti is considered the "go-to" guy when it comes to anything tree-related.

The Lanesborough resident has been volunteering his expertise since 1998. He's served on his hometown's Tree Committee, for which he was named an Outstanding Citizen Forester by the state in 2005, and on the board of the Vincent J. Hebert Arboreteum at Springside Park.

Presutti is often seen taking care of trees at Springside and running free pruning workshops, and has worked with the Department of Public Works. He goes to conferences across the state on his own time and now is establishing a seed orchard at Springside Park.

"We're trying to

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few dozen residents ringed Park Square throughout Monday afternoon to voice dissent about the increasing prevalence of GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, in food.

"For us, this rally is just to increase the awareness of genetically modified foods," said organizer Jan Bradley, who said the Pittsfield gathering was one of a number of rallies going on throughout Massachusetts and in other states for Earth Day, spearheaded by GMO Free USA. A subsequent series of actions is being planned for May 25 by March Against Monsanto.

These rallies represent a second wave of political action as foes of genetically modified foods reorganize

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Backyard composting is economical, environmentally friendly and, perhaps best of all, easy.

"I have never taken the temperature of my compost pile," Cynthia Grippaldi of Pittsfield's Center for EcoTechnology said Monday. "I'm a lazy composter.

"But things are breaking down."

Grippaldi broke down the basics of composting for a crowd of about 20 behind Wild Oats Market on Monday afternoon for an Earth Day workshop.

Backyard composters put the natural process of decomposition to work for them — disposing their kitchen and backyard waste without paying the transfer station

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's Parks Commission has looked favorably on a plan by Berkshire United Way to create a trail of educational signage at Springside Park.

The trail, which is designed to offer outdoor learning games that promote engagement and build pre-literacy skills for young children, will consist of a series of signs posted in a route around the Rotary Playground in the southeastern most corner of the park. A similar trail of signs was installed by United Way in September 2011 at Muddy Brook Elementary School in Great Barrington.

The trail will consist of 10 colorful signs, which will be attached to posts being provided by Berkshire

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — William Enser Jr., the president of Berkshire Enviro-Labs, was back in Superior Court on Tuesday facing new charges.

Enser previously pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of knowingly falsifying reports submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection and 15 counts of willfully making false reports to MassDEP. He allegedly backdated drinking-water sample analysis to cover up misconduct and feign compliance with environmental laws.

He now faces an additional 14 counts of willfully making false reports to the MassDEP and another 14 counts of knowingly falsifying submitted reports, all of which he pleaded not guilty to in Berkshire Superior Court on Monday.

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Environmental Action Teams wants to find some roadkill.

The organization is embarking on a project to identify where in Western Massachusetts wildlife are crossing roadways in hopes to improve those crossings for the safety of both drivers and the animals.

On Monday, the group will host a public meeting at Berkshire Community College to solicit information from those with on-the-ground knowledge of where wild animals are getting hit the most.

"The first meeting is introducing it to the public. We're trying to get people to talk to us about where they see roadkill hot spots," Elia Del Molino, program manager for Connecting

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Who could pass up a chance to take pictures of some cute little chicks? Not us!

The little peepers were hatched Sunday and arrived at Carr Hardware this week. Since we couldn't decide which photo to use, we thought why not use them all?

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Commissioner of Agriculture Greg Watson will be the speaker for the 2013 annual meeting of the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires on Friday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m.

The public is invited to attend the talk at First Congregational Church at 251 Main St.

Tickets are $5 or five BerkShares, available at the door. Admission is free to members of the Community Land Trust; those attending are welcome to become members or renew their membership at the event.

The Community Land Trust brings together citizens concerned about affordable housing, preservation of farmland, and open space conservation into a non-profit corporation with the goal of balancing

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LENOX, Mass. — Berkshire Grown hosts its annual March Maple Dinner this Monday with dishes by six acclaimed chefs featuring the region's sticky, sweet seasonal syrup.

The dinner at Cranwell Resort is a fundraiser for the non-profit as well as for Share the Bounty, another local organization that supports food pantries with farm shares. Berkshire Grown promotes local agriculture through workshops, promotions, advocacy, education and events like the dinner highlighting locally grown and produced food.  
 
The six chefs with ties to the area and Lenox resorts Blantyre and Wheatleigh will present a five-course dinner with dishes that integrate the

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