The BEAT News May 8, 2014

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Berkshire Museum presents Butterflies

Live Butterfly Pavilion will be centerpiece of exhibition set to open May 31

[PITTSFIELD, MA] – Experience the live Butterfly Pavilion, filled with vibrant native and exotic species of butterflies, during the new exhibition Butterflies, on view at the Berkshire Museum from May 31 through September 1, 2014. Discover the fascinating and complex life cycle of butterflies including their remarkable metamorphosis, and learn what we can do to protect their place in the natural environment. The inter-disciplinary exhibition will include works by contemporary artists, as well as historic and cultural artifacts from around the world. Lead sponsorship for Butterflies is proudly provided by Greylock Federal Credit Union with additional support from Berkshire Magazine.

A Butterflies Preview Party will be held Friday, May 30, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Guests will be the first to experience the live Butterfly Pavilion as well as enjoying the entire exhibition, interactive stations, and light refreshments. Admission to the Preview Party is $5, Museum members are free. Reservations are requested; please call 413-443-7171 ext. 37.

The Butterfly Pavilion, the heart of the Butterflies exhibition, will be aflutter with a variety of vivid butterflies, representing species from around the world as well as those found in New England meadows. Wonderfully diverse in shape, size, and color, the exotic varieties include the Paper Kite from Southeast Asia; the Green Birdwing, boasting a wingspan of up to 8 inches; the aptly named Glasswing Butterfly; and the shimmering Blue Morpho. Butterflies from the eastern United States include the familiar orange and black Monarch; the cleverly camouflaged Question Mark, the hardy Mourning Cloak, and the Tiger Swallowtail. The spacious Pavilion will mimic a lush summer garden, filled with blooms and foliage to provide a suitable habitat for the butterflies. Admission to the Butterfly Pavilion is an additional $2 per person.

Butterflies will showcase the miraculous transformation that makes the butterfly’s life cycle uniquely compelling. While the beauty of the adult butterfly is acknowledged, what may surprise visitors to Butterflies is the magnificence of the caterpillar, which also boasts vivid colors and unusual body structure. The stunning photographs of biologist and educator Samuel Jaffe bring to light the hidden, and captivating, world of the caterpillar. Visitors will be able to experience live caterpillars and watch butterflies emerge in a chrysalis chamber.

“We are captivated by the transformative journey the butterfly takes from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis and final adult,” says Maria Mingalone, the curator of the exhibition and Berkshire Museum’s director of interpretation. “Of all insects, we are most familiar with butterflies and moths, and yet there is still so much to unearth about a creature we see visiting flowers in our gardens or fluttering around our porch lights. Utilizing the Museum’s resources in natural science as well as the butterfly’s powerful symbolism and how that influences art and culture, this exhibition will enable visitors to understand the biology of this complex insect as well as coming to fully appreciate the magnificent beauty of the butterfly.”

Because healthy habitats are crucial to butterflies and moths, visitors will learn how to create the best butterfly environments around their own homes to encourage native species, and also to understand threats to habitat that are endangering some parts of the butterfly population. They will watch rare footage about the extraordinary 2,000-mile migration of the Monarch butterfly and the unique biology of the “Methuselah generation” that makes the journey possible.

Beautiful, graceful, and visually captivating, butterflies have inspired artists for centuries; the exhibition will include butterfly-inspired works of art, from sculpture and mixed-media to video. Objects from around the world, such as an embroidered kimono and a six-foot African mask, demonstrate how butterflies have been portrayed in other cultures.

Youngest visitors to the exhibition will mimic caterpillars in caterpillar wiggle bags, and manipulate morphing a caterpillar into a butterfly with plush toys while older visitors can play a tessellation garden puzzle or try a popular African board game called Gulugufe (which means butterfly in the Chitonga language of Mozambique). Using USB microscopes, visitors are invited to observe in minute details the structure of a butterfly’s wings or the tube-like mouth structure called a proboscis. They also can learn what can be done to support local butterfly populations ranging from suggestions on how to create your own butterfly garden and to minimize use of popular garden pesticides.

 

About the Berkshire Museum

Located in downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at 39 South St., the Berkshire Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $13 adult, $6 child; Museum members and children age 3 and under enjoy free admission. Admission to the Butterfly Pavilion is an additional $2 per person. For more information, visit www.berkshiremuseum.org or call 413.443.7171.

In association with the Smithsonian since 2013, Berkshire Museum is part of a select group of museums, cultural, educational, and arts organizations that share the Smithsonian’s resources with the nation.

Established by Zenas Crane in 1903, Berkshire Museum integrates art, history, and natural science in a wide range of programs and exhibitions that inspire educational connections between the disciplines. Objectify: A Look into the Permanent Collection is currently on view. Little Cinema is open year-round. Feigenbaum Hall of Innovation, Worlds in Miniature, Aquarium, and other exhibits are ongoing.

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PROJECT NATIVE needs Your Help!

For the next six months hundreds of young people will be visiting PROJECT NATIVE to take part in our terrific environmental education. Many will participate in experiential education programs learning while:

clearing woodland trails
plantings native plants to restore habitat
removing invasives
taking part in Bug and Butterfly safaris

As the number of young participants at PROJECT NATIVE are increasing and our number of gardening tools is shrinking due to wear n’ tear and age.

We are in urgent need of the following tools and equipment:

Fan/Leaf rakes
Iron/Hard rakes
Pitchforks
Pointed Shovels
Shears
Loppers
Hand Pruners
Edgers
Gloves
Plastic Tarps
Gift Certificates to Garden or Hardware stores

Check out your shed or garage for used tools that will be put to great use!
Tag sale season is here. If in lieu of selling used tools you would prefer to donate them, contact us.
(Please make sure they are in good working order)

New tools would be terrific too!

Project Native is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

You can drop the tools off at PROJECT NATIVE or call us and we will make arrangements to pick up larger quantities.

Please call Karen LeBlanc, Education and Outreach Coordinator at 413-274-3433 or email her at kleblanc@projectnative.org
www.projectnative.org

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Mass Audubon’s Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary welcomes all to Family Fun Day on Saturday

Mass Audubon’s Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary welcomes all to Family Fun Day on Saturday, June 7 at 472 W. Mountain Rd., Lenox, from 10 am to 4 pm, rain or shine. Underwritten by Greylock Federal Credit Union, all events are free of charge.

Caravan Puppets will present “Four Season Bear!” at 11. At noon George Wilson will entertain young and old with funny songs and traditional tunes. Brian Bradley’s Skyhunters in Flight, a live raptor program, will soar at 1 pm, followed by Tom Tyning’s Stupendous Snakes at 3. All events will be indoors if it rains.

Children can create a kite, nature print, or plaster animal tracks to take home. They can play a game following the journey of a drop of water, a fun way to learn about clouds, rain, rivers, and glaciers. Learn about local wildlife–including live creatures–with the Berkshire Environmental Action Team. The Northern Berkshire Beekeepers Association will teach why honeybees are so important and answer questions about beekeeping. Guided nature walks are offered all day.

Lunches and snacks are for sale, as well as Project Native plants. Mass Audubon family memberships will also be available at half-price.

Throughout the day, families are invited to explore the sanctuary’s seven miles of pond, forest, and stream trails. Its birds, wildlife, plants, and natural environment have attracted visitors from around the world. Attendees will also be able to register for the sanctuary’s summer nature camp program, which has offered outdoor education and fun for children for sixty-seven years.

For further information: 413-637-0320 or www.massaudubon.org.

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MEMA and Mass DCR Announce Hazard Mitigation Grant Cycle Now Open

Mass Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) & Mass Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) are pleased to announce the opening of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) 2014 Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Programs.

These nationally competitive programs have a state application deadline of 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 9, 2014. Applications must be submitted via FEMA’s eGrants System.

FEMA’s PDM and FMA grant programs provide funds to states, territories, Indian tribal governments, and communities for hazard mitigation planning and the implementation of hazard mitigation projects prior to a disaster event.

To assist applicants considering applying for FEMA mitigation funding, MEMA/DCR will be hosting three grant program briefings and a state-wide conference call. The briefings and conference call will provide an overview of the programs, available funding, relevant application process and deadlines.
For additional information, click HERE.

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 CET Rebuilds Together

On April 26 Rebuilding Together hosted GreenNFit – an event that empowered 1,000 volunteers to work on one of Springfield’s neighborhoods. Center for EcoTechnology (CET) sponsored a “house build” project, which provided a makeover for one house. We removed a pile of trash from the property, planted shrubs and flowers, mulched the garden, and helped build a deck.

Over twenty people participated on the CET team. We are so proud of the work ethic of our volunteers, and of Megan Hoyo who was an outstanding Team Captain. Read more

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Successes for Conservation in Hadley and Amherst

On May 1, Hadley Town Meeting overwhelmingly voted in favor of contributing $100,000 in CPA funds towards the repair of the historic dam that creates North Hadley Pond (Lake Warner) at the base of Mount Warner. With critical support from the Friends of Lake Warner, a record number of residents filled the Hopkins Academy and erupted with cheers when the “yes” vote of 260 to 3 was clear. And, a special appearance by Representative John Scibak punctuated the meeting as he announced additional state funding for dam repair was approved by the House that same day and is on its way to the Senate for approval. As the dam owner, Kestrel will continue to collaborate with Friends of Lake Warner to raise all the funding needed to complete this project.

Hadley residents also overwhelmingly supported CPA funds to help permanently protect a total of 135 acres of active farmland off of Mill Valley Road and another nearly 18 acres among five parcels in the Great Meadow. The CPA funds will support Agricultural Preservation Restrictions on these farmlands, which contain some of the best soils in the country. Kestrel was gratified to have such a strong showing of support for critical farmlands and for Lake Warner, both of which help define the culture and history of the town of Hadley.

In Amherst, another success for conservation at this Monday’s Town Meeting: Residents approved CPA funding to help protect nearly 20 acres of prime farmland and wildlife habitat, including 1,300 feet along the Fort River, that will become the new Fort River Farm Conservation Area. The town plans to create community gardens, agricultural education opportunities, and interpretive trails, among other community benefits.

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