Two-Day Wildlife Tracking Certification Course Offered
Do you want to hone your wildlife tracking skills? Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), Project Native, and Berkshire Natural Resources Council are pleased to announce that George Leoniak of CyberTracker will be offering a two-day wildlife tracking certification course on the weekend of October 26th and 27th. George is a recognized Track and Sign Evaluator for Cybertracker Conservation in North America. The course costs $170 and will be located in Berkshire County. Class size is limited.
The CyberTracker two-day wildlife tracking certification course is a practical field test that emphasizes open, honest dialogue and real learning. Common questions include: What species made this track? Which foot made this track (left, right; front, hind)? The CyberTracker system is a rigorous standard for evaluating and certifying wildlife trackers. Tracker certification improves the credibility of field observations while strengthening participants’ tracking skills
More information on the CyberTracker Certification can be found here:
More information on George Leoniak can be found here: http://www.leoniaktracking.com/about_george_leoniak Call or email Elia Del Molino at elia@thebeatnews.org or 413-429-6416 to enroll. Space is limited!
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Energy Facilities Siting Board Approves Salem Gas Plant, but the Fight is Not Overfrom 350Massachusetts
Disappointing news came on Thursday as the Energy Facilities Siting Board approved the proposed Salem Harbor Gas Plant. However, passionate testimonials from local residents and 350MA members caused Board members to admit serious reservations about the decision. Now, it is up to the local Salem permitting process to decide whether or not the plant will move forward. They are currently accepting public comments until November 1st on their Air Quality Plan.
Since everyone’s air and atmosphere is as much at stake as local residents, this is our opportunity for everyone to voice our concern over this project. Please email comments to Cosmo Buttaro (cosmo.buttaro@state.ma.us) at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). BEAT Note: Please take a minute to send in brief comments. Fracking is not the answer to our energy problems – go fossil fuel free! Weatherize, solar, geothermal – we have lots of currently available technologies to reduce energy use and provide truly clean energy.
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Exciting New Book on Reconnecting Kids and Naturefrom Orion If children are not given opportunities to connect with the natural world, who will be the stewards of the future? Nearly every environmental change-maker in history was shaped by a strong connection to the particular place or landscape he or she called home. But many children today are glued to screens or stuck prepping for yet another standardized exam, while nature education and unstructured time outdoors have fallen by the wayside. The authors featured in a new book due out this week, Leave No Child Inside, are part of an education movement that proposes the reconnection of children and nature through education. By doing so, they argue, we build a society of better citizens empowered to fight for the places and communities they have come to love. The book is the latest in a new series from Orion, and features essays from authors like John Elder, Elise Rymer, Richard Louv, Belle Boggs, and David Sobel. Order your copy today, here! Keep in touch, — Erik Hoffner
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Free App Now Available: Think DirtyFrom The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics The wait is over! The free safe cosmetics app of the decade is here, and it’s called Think Dirty. This sweet new app for the iPhone is like a personal shopper for safer products. Simply scan your favorite personal care products from store shelves —or your bathroom shelf—to find out how clean (or dirty) they are. You can also find recommendations for safer options. Think Dirty is in its beta phase and is constantly updating products and refining the data sources to provide clear information about product safety. The app already has over 11,000 products. We need your help to add more and help create a robust and powerful tool for savvy shoppers. If the product you scan is not in the database, simply take clear photos of the product (front) and ingredient label (back), add the product and brand information, and submit it directly from your iPhone. It takes less than 30 seconds, and you’ll be helping to build a robust database of products! Need more incentive to get the app? During the month of October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, for every product you scan, Think Dirty will donate $1 to the Breast Cancer Fund, the parent organization of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. That’s right: You can help support breast cancer prevention simply by scanning as many products as you can! So download the free app and start scanning! Forward this email to your friends and family to help spread the word! Sincerely, P.S.—Android users, don’t fret! Think Dirty for the Android is coming soon.
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Soles4Souls Shoe DriveFrom Karen – I am organizing a shoe drive for Soles4Souls. I will gladly take any of you unwanted shoes (any style, any season, any size, even single shoes!) and bring them to a warehouse in November to donate to people in need. Shoes are sorted by Soles4Souls, those in new or used condition will be given to individuals in need (either domestically or internationally). Shoes in poor condition will be recycled for materials. I have set up 3 drop off locations and will be collecting shoes until November 8th at Project Native, the Berkshire Coop and the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School. So…when you bust out your winter clothes or pack up your summer stuff for the year, consider your shoe collection. Is there a pair you did not wear this season? A pair you child out grew practically before they were out of the box? That ridiculous pair you bought super cheap on clearance that has been in your closet for 2 years collecting dust? Give your shoes a new life and know that you are helping someone in the process. Thanks. For more information email Karen at vesba@hotmail.com or call 413-822-6895. For info on Soles4Souls visit: soles4souls.org
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Last Repair Cafe of 2013 on October 19thDue to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the Pittsfield Resilience Circle will NOT hold Repair Cafes in November and December. Therefore, if you have items needing repair, please bring them to the October 19th Repair Cafe. ALSO, due to a scheduling conflict at St. Stephen’s, we will have shortened hours at this event: 1:00 to 4:00 pm rather than the usual 1:00 to 5:00. Location remains the same: the basement of St. Stephen’s Church, 67 East Street, Pittsfield. Enter at the side door, which is on Allen Street. At this FREE event, many types of items are repaired, including lamps and small electrical appliances, all types of clothing and fabric items, chairs and other wooden items, and more. Everyone is welcome. See photos and information on Facebook at The Pittsfield Repair Cafe. AND, if you like, go to the Pittsfield Repair Cafe, October 19 event page and click “join” and invite your friends. For more information, call 413-212-8589 or email jmh227@hotmail.com.
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Houses on the Move in Williamstown
“Houses on the Move in Williamstown” is the subject of a free public lecture on Saturday, October 19, at 11:00 a.am. at the David and Joyce Milne Public Library in Williamstown. The move of Walden House from Spring Street to the current 311 Main address was taped as the home moved along Main Street in 1987 toward its new home. The original video of the event will be shown as part of the lecture. Paul Harsch, the local real estate broker who bought Walden House for $1.00 and commissioned the move in 1987, also will recount the moving of other houses in Williamstown, providing a history of why, when and where they moved. The lecture is the second in a series of three scheduled this fall by the Williamstown Historical Museum, which sponsors the free public events. A 1969 graduate of Williams College, Harsch has owned and operated Harsch Associates Real Estate Agency since 1979. He is a licensed real estate instructor and broker who holds several specialized professional designations. The WHM has more than 200 contributing members. It is free and open to the public Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or by appointment arranged by calling (413) 458-2160.
Additional information is available at sarah@williamstownhistoricalmuseum.org.
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Hoosic River Watershed Association’s State of the River ConferenceThis year’s State of the River Conference will take place in Fellowship Hall of the Williamstown Congregational Church on Saturday, November 2, from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon. The main focus will be PCBs in the Hoosic. Local and regional news are filled with stories of polychlorinated bi-phenols (PCBs) present in the sediments and within the aquatic food chain of the Housatonic and Hudson Rivers and the clean ups planned or underway to remove them. PCBs are also present in the Hoosic River. Williams College chemistry professors David Richardson and Jay Thoman, along with students Amanda Schott and Austin Paul, have analyzed crawfish taken from the Hoosic River and most recently from the Green River and North Branch in Massachusetts. Professors Richardson and Thoman and Mr. Paul will report on their research findings and on other PCB studies going back to 1991. The church is located at 906 Main Street, at the intersection of Main Street (Route 2) and Chapin Hall Drive in Williamstown, MA.
Shelly Stiles, Program Director
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Job Posting: General Manager (GM) for the Old Creamery Co-op in Cummington, Massachusetts – October 5, 2013General Manager (GM) for the Old Creamery Co-op in Cummington, Massachusetts. After a three year start-up period, we are off and running! We took ownership of the Old Creamery business and building on November 6, 2012 and are now operating as a member-owned community supported cooperative. We are seeking a GM to ensure that the Old Creamery thrives as a vibrant center of the surrounding communities. A full-service grocery store, deli, and café, the Old Creamery currently has annual sales of nearly $1.7 million, 26 full- and part-time employees, and 640 member-owners. Our business plan projects increase of sales to $2 million by 2016. Candidates must have senior management experience in a retail food business and strong skills in financial management, marketing, problem solving, communication, and community building. We seek an inspired leader who embraces challenge and who has vision, compassion, and a sense of humor. Our ideal candidate will help create the conditions and culture necessary for long-term success while managing the many and diverse activities of a recent start-up, including: final touches on a near complete building renovation and parking expansion, creation and innovation of operational systems, and ongoing management development of staff. Immediate opening. Compensation and benefits dependent on experience, competitive with similar-type co-ops. Applications will be reviewed upon receipt and we strongly encourage applications before November 30, 2013. Refer to our website (http://oldcreamery.coop/) for more information about the Old Creamery Co-op vision and values, and to find the detailed General Manager job description. To apply, please send an email to board@oldcreamery.coop with the following attachments in MS Office Word or PDF format.
While the Co-op strongly prefers applications via email, if access to the Internet is an issue for any reason, please apply via postal mail to Board President, Old Creamery Co-op, 445 Berkshire Trail, Cummington, MA 01026. The Old Creamery Co-op values excellence and diversity in hiring and is an equal opportunity employer (EOE).
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Careers: Non-Profit Public AdvocacyLooking for a job in environmental policy? U.S.PIRG is hiring college seniors to work as Campus Organizers on college campuses across the country. On issue after issue, we see powerful interests corrupting the democratic process, twisting public policy to serve their own ends. U.S. PIRG takes action by documenting the problems, finding practical solutions, informing the public and making the case for change directly to decision-makers. We work on issues like climate change, democracy, and public health. A recruiter will be coming to the Williams College campus on Oct. 23rd and 24th. Find out more and apply online at www.uspirg.org/jobs or emailsamantha@masspirgstudents.org for more details. |