The BEAT News August 22, 2012

News Headlines

Third Annual BioBlitz in Berkshire County to be held September 22-23, 2012

Event puts scientists and residents together to survey local species

 

Pittsfield, Mass.: In celebration of local biodiversity, Berkshire County’s third annual BioBlitz will be held at Burbank Park in Pittsfield Saturday starting at 9 a.m.  September 22 to 11 a.m. on Sunday September 23. It is co-sponsored by, Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Dr. Augie’s Science Education Programs, Berkshire Community College, Berkshire Museum, Greylock Inc., and the city of Pittsfield’s Park and Recreation Department. The weekend event will allow scientists and local residents to document the extensive variety of life in their immediate area and see first-hand the diversity and importance of the clean and active ecosystems in their own community.

The BioBlitz is an opportunity for biologists, naturalists, and environmentalists to gather in a given area and in a 24-hour period complete a formal survey of all living species. Approximately 25 scientists will be on hand to explore, identify and educate, including specialists such as Kelly Nolan, aquatic taxonomist, Cornell’s botanist Dr. Scott LaGreca (lichens) and Dr. Louise Lewis, green algae specialist from University of Connecticut. The public is encouraged to attend to watch the scientists work, and even participate in collecting and sorting specimens. Each year Berkshire BioBlitz attracts a group of 200 community members, families, and school children to participate with the scientists.

The biological survey is the “core” of the Berkshire BioBlitz, with a variety of family-friendly, interactive, nature-oriented programs taking place during the 24 hour event. Family programs will start Saturday at 9 a.m. nature exhibits where visitors can get up close and personal with some live specimens at the Frank Controy Pavilion. There will be fish, turtles, birds, insects, plants, and mushrooms to view and touch. BioBlitz will officially start at 11 a.m. At 5 p.m. a community dinner will be served by Pittsfield Unico immediately followed by “Meet the Scientists” an informal gathering of the natural minds. As darkness falls, folks will be invited to participate in the “BioBlitz Drum Jam” and the natural lantern parade. Later, there will be a “Moth-Light” demonstration and an “Owl Prowl” hike.

Sunday morning will start early with a 7:30 a.m. bird walk led by the Hoffman Bird Club followed by a mushroom walk offered by Berkshire Wild Mushrooms’ John Wheeler. At 11 a.m., the event will end with announcement of the total species tally.

The first 24-hour biological survey took place in 1998 in Walden Woods, Concord, MA. Through the success of that event, many states and countries have joined the movement and held similar surveys.

“This is a great opportunity for people from all walks of life to get back to nature and to learn about the amazing lives of plants and animals in their own backyards.” said Lisa Provencher, entomology curator assistant at the NY State Museum, and founder of Dr. Augie’s Science Education Programs.

“It’s a powerful tool we can use to get people away from their television sets and computer monitors, and spend time outside—providing an antidote to what some educators have dubbed ‘nature-deficit disorder’.” Further, LaGreca added, “It provides valuable information about Burbank park’s flora and fauna that can be used by parks department to better manage the park resources.”

All events are free. For a full schedule visit http://www.berkshirebioblitz.org/

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5th Annual Northeast Wildlife Trackers Conference

Registration is now open for the 2012 Northeast Wildlife Trackers Conference which will be held Saturday, October 20th, at the Doyle Center, Leominster, MA.

This year’s Keynote Speaker will be Roland Kays speaking about using “Camera Traps as Binoculars for Mammal Watchers”

We also have a fantastic lineup of other presenters:

  • Paula Coughlin – “Staying on Track”
  • David Brown – “Look-Alikes: Figuring Out Confusing Tracks”
  • Rose Graves – “Identifying and Monitoring Wildlife Connectivity Areas in the Split Rock Wildway”
  • David Scarpitti – “New England Cottontail Conservation and Management”
  • Ken Miller – “Are Cougars Recolonizing Their Former Territory Near You?”
  • Dan Gardoqui – “Baseline, Birds, & Beasts: Using Bird Language to Enhance Tracking & Trailing Skills”
  • Kent Hicks – “How Old is that Sign”

The conference runs from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm, but please arrive at 9am to sign in – the conference will start promptly at 9:30am. We will have coffee, tea, juice and bagels at sign in, and snacks later in the day. Please bring a reusable cup for your beverage and a bag lunch.

For more information and to register please visit the Northeast Wildlife Trackers website.

The cost is $30. You may register on-line or by mail.

Bring a photo of a track or interesting natural object to mystify others. There will be a table and a board for your “tracking stumpers”

This was a great success last year! Please bring some weird wildlife related object (or two or three) that you think others might not recognize. We will have a table for people to explore. (Questions about the stumper table? Contact Lydia Rogers.)

See you in October!

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Proper Handling of Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW)

Did you know, according to the EPA, the average U.S. household generates more than 20 pounds of household hazardous waste per year? Disposing certain common materials such as button batteries into the trash, and flushing toxic chemicals down the drain is against federal law because of disastrous health and environmental effects. At the Center for EcoTechnology (CET), we’ll help inform you of proper disposal of household hazardous wastes, and offer alternative solutions to certain products. It’s that time of year when we are cleaning out our garages and basements and we find rusty cans of mysterious materials. If you are thinking of getting rid of these materials do it the right way.

Here’s how:

Reducing the amount of harmful chemicals is the first step. Reducing will result in fewer wastes in the landfills and accidental exposure. Unfortunately, there is no way to substitute all the products, but for common cleaners such as ammonia, try the white vinegar and water solution. If you do not like the strong vinegar smell, try adding lemon or orange oil. Vinegar is also a great disinfectant and breaks down mold and mildew. For scrubbing and scouring, try using baking soda or a mix of sodas to cut through grease and stains.  If you are shopping around for cleaners, consider biodegradable and non-toxic products like CitraSolve. The best way to dispose of HHW materials is to contact your local municipality or solid waste district office.  Some materials require a special collection, and other materials can be collected on an on-going basis at your transfer station.

  • For residents of northern Berkshire County, please call: 413-743-8208. They currently have a collection schedule on their website: http://www.nbswmd.com/.
  • For Pittsfield residents please visit http://www.cityofpittsfield.org/newsdetail_T1_R221.htm for more information about the October 27th collection.
  • For residents of southern Berkshire County, please contact Aric Brown at CET at 413-445-4556 ext. 30. We currently have a collection schedule on our website: http://www.cetonline.org/Events/events.php?id=85.

Common cleaners and small rechargeable batteries may not seem like much but these materials do contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients. According to the EPA, “products, such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides that contain potentially hazardous ingredients require special care when you dispose of them.” Proper disposal will limit negative human and animal health issues, reduce the amount of toxins into the environment, and will “conserve resources and energy that would be expended in the production of more products.”

Remember to read the label, and wear gloves and proper personal protective equipment when you are handling certain materials. Keep the area ventilated and contain spills or leaky containers. If you have useable materials such as latex paints, consider donating items to Habitat for Humanity, or FreeCycle.org, or if you feel comfortable, post the item on Craigslist.

In addition, you must properly dispose of sharps or needles and medical wastes. In the Berkshires, for Sharps, contact the Neighborhood Health Clinic at 510 North Street.  For more information, call 413-447-2654. There are twice yearly prescription drug collections and many towns have permanent collections set up.  Contact your local police or health department.

If you have questions on what is considered HHW or information on collecting, please visit the Mass DEP website: http://www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/reduce/househol.htm or call Aric Brown at Center for EcoTechnology at 413-445-4556 ext. 30.

The Center for EcoTechnology is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. This publication is made possible with the support of the USDA RDA grant. The Center for EcoTechnology. We make green make sense.

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Enactment of Biomass Regulations

Officials from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) today adopted the final Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Class I regulations, implementing changes to biomass energy eligibility.

“Massachusetts is a leader in addressing the issues of biomass energy and greenhouse gas emissions, and the implementation of these regulations is on the forefront of national and international renewable energy and climate policy,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan.

The adoption of the final regulations comes after more than two years of evaluation, public input, and careful consideration of how best to utilize woody biomass resources for energy in a manner consistent with the Commonwealth’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect forests.

The enactment of the regulation now ends the moratorium on the qualification of woody biomass for the RPS Class I that DOER imposed in December 2009.

A draft of the regulation was filed in May 2011 and was the subject of two public hearings, a written public comment period and comments from the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy.

Based on those comments, DOER officials had incorporated a number of changes to the draft regulations in April. Officials then offered the regulation again for a 30-day public comment period between May 19 and June 18, 2012, after which the final regulation was prepared and filed for promulgation.

“The adoption of this revised regulation and guidelines demonstrates the Patrick-Murray Administration’s commitment to advancing the Commonwealth’s clean energy goals and greenhouse gas reduction commitments based on sound science and prudent policy,” said DOER Commissioner Mark Sylvia.  “Through this regulation and other initiatives, DOER believes there is a role for biomass energy in the Commonwealth focused on high efficiency use of the limited sustainable wood resource.”

The RPS program requires all retail electricity suppliers in the Commonwealth to obtain a minimum percentage of their supply from eligible renewable energy generation sources. After passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) in 2008, which requires the Commonwealth to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions across the economy 80 percent by 2050, DOER hired Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences to study the long-term greenhouse gas implications of utilizing biomass for electrical energy generation.

“I am pleased that once again Massachusetts has taken the lead in the nation by developing powerful, science-based standards in accordance with the requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act,” said Senator Marc R. Pacheco, Chair of the Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change.

DOER began this regulatory process with the goal of incorporating greenhouse gas emissions requirements consistent with the GWSA as part of eligibility for the RPS. The final regulations establish the following:

  • Define eligible woody biomass fuels, including classifications as either residues or thinned trees, while ensuring sustainable forest resources, and protecting habitats and ecological functions. The determination of volume of harvest residues that must be retained on a harvest site is based on soil productivity.
  • Require all woody biomass units to achieve a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over 20 years as compared to a combined cycle natural gas unit.
  • Establish an electronic certificate registry to track and verify eligible biomass fuel supplies and differentiate between wood derived from residues and forest thinnings.
  • Mandate a minimum operating efficiency, inclusive of electric and thermal outputs, of 50 percent to receive one half of a renewable energy credit (REC) with the ability to receive a full REC at an efficiency of 60 percent.
  • Create a special category of biomass units deemed to be advancing the technology that will be eligible for half-RECs at an efficiency of 40 percent.
  • Require a Forest Impact Assessment every five years to review program implementation and any impacts on forests and markets as well as an Advisory Panel to review tracking and enforcement mechanisms.

The final regulation, guidelines, and other documentation and information are available on the RPS Biomass Policy Regulatory Process web page.

On Monday, August 20, 2012, DOER officials will announce the process to be followed for the treatment of biomass under the RPS Class II program, which supports pre-1998 renewable energy generation.

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Reaction to New State Biomass Regulations

Leading local, regional and national environmental organizations and activists applauded the Patrick administration for the final biomass regulations which take effect today, calling the new Massachusetts rules a model for the nation and a win for science-based policy.

Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), the Biomass Accountability Project, the Partnership for Policy Integrity, Massachusetts Sierra Club, Mass Audubon, and the Natural Resources Defense Council today applauded the Patrick Administration for developing a nation-leading policy that sets a high bar for biomass-burning facilities to qualify for incentives under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Under the new rules, facilities that are particularly inefficient – such as traditional large biomass power plants that waste most of the heat generated by wood burning – no longer will qualify for ratepayer-funded incentives.

The groups called the new rules consistent with the state’s mandate to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and applauded the incorporation of science-based carbon accounting principles in determining eligibility for the incentives. The new rules require that biomass plants rely predominantly on “residues” rather than whole trees to demonstrate emissions reductions of at least 50 percent over 20 years as compared to natural gas. The groups said the rules were consistent with the findings of a 2010 state-commissioned study by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, which cautioned that different biomass fuels have different impacts and need to be accounted for accordingly.

The groups also applauded the regulations’ requirement that fuels be sustainably harvested in order to protect forests’ critical role in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, as well as to protect important ecosystems. One key element of the new requirements is that a portion of tops and limbs from harvested trees must be retained in the forests to replenish soil nutrients, provide habitat, and promote forest resilience.

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Draft Restoration Plan for Third Round of Housatonic River Watershed Restoration Program

Public Invited to Comment on Plan and Attend Meeting August 23 in Lenox Town Hall

State and federal environmental authorities today released the draft restoration plan and supplemental environmental assessment for the third round of funding from the General Electric/Housatonic River Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration case settled in 2000.

The Massachusetts SubCouncil of the Housatonic River Natural Resource Trustees, comprising the Executive Office of Energy and Environment Affairs (EEA), represented by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) invites the public to comment on the draft documents and to attend a public meeting on Thursday, August 23, 2012, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Lenox Town Hall, 6 Walker Street.

“Over the past four years, the Patrick-Murray Administration has conserved 100,000 acres of land across the state,” said EEA Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. “This next round of funding for land protection and habitat conservation will provide key funding to a watershed that supports some of the rarest plants, animals, and natural communities in the state.”

“We look forward to receiving an array of innovative project proposals that will protect habitats that contribute to the Housatonic River’s full health and potential,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell.

“The third round of funding will allow us to focus on protecting land and habitat in Massachusetts, both of which are important to the future of a healthy Housatonic River,” said USFWS New England Field Office Supervisor Tom Chapman. “From its headwaters in the Berkshires to where it flows into Connecticut, the Housatonic provides a special place for wildlife and people in the Commonwealth, and this settlement funds the work of residents and officials to make sure it continues to be that way.”

The draft plan outlines the Massachusetts SubCouncil’s proposed approach for the third round of the restoration program to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of injured natural resources or the services provided by those resources. The projects could include compensatory restoration through land acquisition or land protection measures.

Unlike the first two rounds, the third round plan will be finalized before the SubCouncil requests site-specific restoration project proposals. At the August public meeting, the SubCouncil will present the draft plan and the proposed approach for soliciting, evaluating and selecting round three projects. Round three of the Housatonic River Watershed Restoration Program will distribute about $2 million for land acquisition and habitat conservation projects from $7.75 million received as part of the settlement.

In round one, the SubCouncil awarded $4 million in 2008 for restoration projects ranging from invasive species control and restoring river flow to implementing an environmental literacy program. In round two, the SubCouncil awarded $1.3 million to five projects addressing habitat continuity restoration, wildlife resources protection, riparian buffer and floodplain forest restoration, invasive species control, and educational programming.

The SubCouncil representatives that administer settlement funds for Massachusetts are MassDEP Natural Resource Damages (NRD) Coordinator Karen Pelto and USFWS NRD/Environmental Contaminants Biologist Kenneth Munney.

The plan, entitled Draft Round 3 Restoration Plan and Supplemental Environmental Assessment (RP/SEA) for Land Protection and Habitat Conservation, is subject to a 47-day public comment period. Comments will be accepted now until Monday, September 17 at 5 p.m.  Written public comments can be sent to: Housatonic Draft Round 3 RP/SEA, Stantec Consulting Inc., 30 Park Drive, Topsham, ME 04086.

The SubCouncil will also accept public comments during the August 23 public meeting in Lenox.

The draft plan is available online at: www.ma-housatonicrestoration.org, and hard copies are available at the Lenox Library and other public libraries in the Housatonic River watershed.

Information about the Housatonic River Watershed Restoration Program in Massachusetts is available online at: www.ma-housatonicrestoration.org.  Additional information can be obtained by contacting Robin MacEwan of Stantec Consulting Inc., at robin.macewan@stantec.com  or by calling 413-584-4776.

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Housatonic River Walk Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Riverside Celebration: Greenagers to Become Official Stewards of the Trail

GREAT BARRINGTON — The Great Barrington Housatonic River Walk—Berkshire County’s National Recreation Trail—will celebrate its 25th anniversary on September 8, and formalize its partnership with Greenagers, the local organization that actively fosters the ethics of service and stewardship in area youth.

 

The riverside festival begins at 10 AM, at the Du Bois River Garden park at Church and River Streets. Hundreds of volunteers and well-wishers are expected to line the half-mile trail and pass the baton to River Walk’s next generation of stewards. New kiosk panels by the Main Street entrance will fully reflect River Walk’s past 25 years of trailmaking, cleanup and ecological activities. New interpretive stations in the Du Bois River Garden park will tell the story of W.E.B. Du Bois’s environmental advocacy and his special regard for the Housatonic River. The new signage is funded by a generous grant from Housatonic Heritage.

 

River Walk, which has been a model of community involvement, will take that commitment to a whole new level through its partnership with Greenagers while ensuring that the trail receives the care and stewardship that will sustain it for many years to come. With River Walk as their laboratory, the teens will learn landscaping and trail building skills in a direct and real-world way.  They will gain experience in managing trail improvements, riverbank reclamation and educational outreach.

 

River Walk’s founding director Rachel Fletcher says, “Placing this treasured community resource in the hands of our local young people is what River Walk is all about. This is an empowering gift to give teens at this moment in our nation’s history.”

 

Greenagers director Will Conklin says, “As River Walk and Greenagers grow together, our young people learn about our cultural heritage and best practices in horticulture, water quality and trail development.  At the same time, River Walk benefits from the Greenagers’ energy, creativity, and vision.”

 

To help train this next generation of trail stewards, manage the trail, and lead River Walk into the future, project directors hope to raise $100,000. Each donation of $250 or more will be matched by an anonymous donor. To reach this goal, Main Street, Railroad Street, Stockbridge Road and Berkshire businesses have contributed more than 50 goods and services to a commemorative “Our Town” raffle. Tickets are $5. Four prizes valuing $1200+ each and a bonus prize will be drawn on September 8.

 

River Walk’s 25th anniversary year is supported by grants from Housatonic Heritage, The Roy Foundation, Town of Great Barrington, Katherine L. W. and Winthrop M. Crane III Charitable Trust, the Berkshire Environmental Endowment of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, The Turkeybush Foundation and The Berkshire Garden Club. Major business sponsors include Triplex+ Cinema, The Snap Shop, Wheeler & Taylor Insurance, and Doherty Enterprises, with additional support from Berkshire Corporation, Berkshire Bank, Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, Cain Hibbard & Myers, Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center, and Windy Hill Farm.

 

River Walk is a greenway trail along the Housatonic River in the downtown center of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where citizen volunteers are working to reclaim the beauty of a “working river” abused by years of industrial waste and neglect. The National Recreation Trail enters between Rite Aid and Pink Cloud on Main Street.  An additional section follows the river adjacent to the former Searles Middle School and the Berkshire Corporation parking lot.  River Walk easements are granted in appreciation of volunteer clean-up activities, including the removal of 400 tons of rubble and debris from various sites. To date, 2400 volunteers have worked to restore the riverbank to its native ecology and to produce ½ mile of public trail.  River Walk easements are managed by the Great Barrington Land Conservancy.

 

The event is free. Refreshments will be served. For more information, visit www.gbriverwalk.org or contact Rachel Fletcher at 528-3391, or e-mail river@gbriverwalk.org.  For information about Greenagers visit www.greenagers.org or call Will Conklin 413-644-9090.

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What Are Mushrooms? History, Identification, Cultivation, Edible and Medicinal Uses

David Fischer & Ken Mudge

September 28 – September 30 Rowe Conference Center, Rowe, MA rowecenter.org  413-339-4954

Paul Stamets, among others, has done a great deal to generate public interest about mycology. His colleagues David Fischer and Ken Mudge are experts on mushroom identification and cultivation, respectively. They will involve you in a fascinating, down-to-earth experience about these most publically accessible aspects of mycology and leave you hungry for more.

The workshop will have two complementary themes. After an evening together, on Saturday morning David, a master of identification, will take half the group exploring in the woods. While many mushrooms can be cultivated, some of the very finest—chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, boletes and many more—cannot, while other, such as morels, don’t behave well as cultivators. David will show us how to conclusively identify and safely enjoy the truly worthwhile ones. He’ll also reveal some of the remarkable ecological aspects of the Fungi Kingdom’s most conspicuous citizens.

Ken, a master of cultivation, will share the hands-on art of log cultivation of shiitake and oyster mushrooms. In Asia, shiitake, enoke, nameko, the ear fungus, the white jelly fungus, lion’s mane, and other species are widely cultivated and the world-wide demand for edible mushrooms far exceeds what can be collected from the wild. Small scale cultivation of edible mushroom species in your home, garden, or woodlot is becoming popular. Ken is also one of our nation’s foremost forest farming experts, so he’ll share how permaculture principles apply to sustainable forest management and how to raise forest crops likes ginseng, ramps, and paw paws. You’ll leave this workshop not only with knowledge of how to do it, but with an inoculated log to take home so you can grow your own.

Saturday afternoon we’ll switch groups. Both of these gentlemen could fill a month, so our time together on Saturday evening and Sunday morning will be rich in what they have to share, but responsive to what you want to know.

As we descend into the Sixth Major Extinction on Earth, our biosphere is eroding the life-support systems that have allowed mammals to prosper. What can we do? Fungi, particularly the inherently adaptable mushrooms, offer powerful, practical solutions that can be practiced now. Like people, habitats have immune systems, and our close evolutionary relationship to fungi can lead to greater sustainability and better health. Join us for a fun-packed, educationally intense retreat that requires no previous knowledge, though experienced mycologists may benefit more than anyone.

David W. Fischer maintains the popular web site, AmericanMushrooms.com, and is an internationally known expert on the identification, biology, and ecology of wild fungi. He literally wrote ‘the’ book on Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America, now in its eighth printing after 20 years. He’s also coauthor of the encyclopedic Mushrooms of Northeastern North America and he has been featured on NPR’s popular Science Friday program. An increasingly outspoken advocate of environmental sustainability and climate-change mitigation, he’s also the founder of GlobalEcologist.org.

Ken Mudge is an associate professor of horticulture at Cornell, where he teaches plant propagation, grafting, and the agroforestry practice called forest farming. The only course of its kind in the  US , it led to his receiving Cornell’s Innovative Teaching award. His specialties are American ginseng, forest cultivation of shiitake and other mushrooms, and he’s currently writing a book on Forest Farming with permaculturist Steve Gabriel.

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Forum Set to Help People Understand Open Meeting Law’s Guidelines –

By Brian Mastroianni, Berkshire Eagle Staff

Monday August 20, 2012 LENOX — Starting next month, the Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will hold four educational…
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Request for Proposals: 2013-2014 AmeriCorps State Grants

The Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) is pleased to release the 2013-2014 AmeriCorps State Request for Proposals (RFP). The application is now available on MSA’s website: www.mass-service.org. To go directly to the funding page, click here.

Intent to Apply Due: September 6, 2012 

Application Due: September 19, 2012 

 

For questions regarding the RFP or AmeriCorps, please contact  

Beth McGuinness, MSA’s Director of Programs, at 617-542-2544, x217 or bmcguinness@mass-service.org

Technical Assistance Sessions:

MSA will host optional Technical Assistance (TA) sessions to support interested organizations with the application process.

If you plan to attend one of the below sessions, please click here to register, or contact Shana Lothrop at 617-542-2544 x 214 at least 3 days prior to the desired session.

__________________________________________________

DATE                      TIME                                                     LOCATION

 

August 29            10:30am – 12:00pm                          Massachusetts Service Alliance

or 2:00pm – 3:30 pm                        100 N. Washington Street, Boston MA

August 30            10:00am – 11:30am                          Worcester Public Library

Salem Street, Worcester MA

September 5       11:00am – 12:30pm                          Webinar
This is a virtual training event which you can access from your own desk. To connect to the webinar, you will need a computer with Internet browser and a phone.

All TA Sessions are wheelchair accessible.

Please help us spread the word about this funding opportunity and upcoming technical assistance sessions by forwarding this email and sharing on your Facebook and Twitter pages.

Thank you,

Lindsay Snyder

Director of External Relations & Development

Massachusetts Service Alliance

100 N. Washington Street, 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02114
www.mass-service.org

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Two Grant Opportunities with Fast Approaching Deadlines

The New York City-based, family-run Heineman Foundation provides seed money to start-up projects and new projects within existing organizations for a maximum of three to five years. The Foundation’s areas of interest include “environmental research that will help prevent, reduce and/or eliminate water degradation”.  Preference will be given to organizations that the Foundation has not previously funded that are located in nine states in close proximity to the trustees (including Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire). The average range of the Foundation’s grants is $20,000-$50,000/year. An organization must have 501(c)(3) status and upload copies of corresponding IRS documents to the online application form in order for the application to be considered.  Applications/Proposals must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM September 1st to be considered for funding for that year.  Click here for more info and here if/when you are ready to begin the online application process.

 

The Clark Fund, founded in 1946 by Mary Chichester duPont Clark and one of two funds administered by the Chichester duPont Foundation, invites grant applicants from anywhere within the boundaries of the United States. It devotes particular emphasis to programs concerned with the environment, education, health care and social services and to which the Foundation’s giving will play a pivotal role. Grant amounts typically range from $10,000-$50,000. The annual application deadline is September 1 – click here for more info.

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Job Opening Conservation Agent, City of Pittsfield

The city of Pittsfield is currently looking for a Conservation Agent to work in the Department of Community Development. Candidate will work under the general direction of the Director of Community Development and the policy direction of the Conservation Commission, perform administrative and technical work related to the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, city wetlands bylaws, and any rules and regulations adopted by the city under the authority of the Conservation Commission. Conduct on-site inspections related to the filings submitted to the Commission; process forms, evaluate findings and submit recommendations to the Commission within statutory timeframes; monitor construction to ensure compliance with Orders of Conditions. Identify non-compliance or violations and investigate complaints; in coordination with the Commission, issue Notices of Non-Compliance and Enforcement Orders relative to violations of civil and criminal statutes; provide detailed recommendations for compliance. Provide technical assistance to the public relative to various environmental regulations and resource maps; prepare inspection reports and other written materials. Required knowledge, skills and abilities: Working knowledge of Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Action M.G.L. Ch 131, Sec 40. Ability to interpret topographical maps, storm water management and construction site plans. Must also be familiar with proper erosion control methods and construction sequences. Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. Salary $34,909.68–$45,409.26 Send resume, cover letter with three references and application to the Personnel Department, 70 Allen St., Room 107, Pittsfield 01201. (posted 8/17 exp. 9/17)
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