MCLA Kicks off 2024 Green Living Seminar

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass.—MCLA's annual Green Living Seminar Series returned in January and continues through April presenting a series of lectures on the theme of "Greening in New England." 
 
Presentations occur every Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation (FCSI) Room 121.
 
The series kicked off on Jan. 25 with the presentation "Advancing Sustainability in Urban Residential Neighborhoods of Massachusetts" led by Urban Foresters Samantha Eanes and Sarah Greenleaf from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Urban and Community Forestry Greening the Gateway Cities Program. The program is designed to reduce household heating and cooling energy use by increasing tree canopy cover in urban residential areas. 
 
Future Green Living Presentations include:
 
February 8: Nature Based Solutions for River Restoration and Flood Resilience in New England, Erin Rogers, Western New England Project Manager, Trout Unlimited
 
February 15: WD Cowls- Sustainability is Our Purpose: Perspectives From Massachusetts' Largest Private Land Owner, Arthur Haskins, Vice President, Real Estate & Community Development, WD Cowls, INC. Land Company
 
February 22: Land As Climate Solution for the Berkshires, Jenny Hansel, President, Berkshire Natural Resources Council
 
February 29: National Forest in New England: Management for Climate Resilience That Incorporates Sociopolitical and Economic Pressures, District Ranger Martina C. Barnes, US Forest Service, Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests, Manchester Ranger District
 
March 7: Regenerating Bioregional Food Systems, Hannah McDonald, Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Education Events Manager
 
March 21: TBA
 
March 28: Making Energy More Sustainable in Massachusetts, Christopher Mason, Western Massachusetts Regional Coordinator, Green Communities Division, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
 
April 4: Regulatory Framework for Wetlands Protection in Massachusetts, Sarah LaValley, AICP, Assistant Director, Northampton Office of Planning and Sustainability
 
April 11: Ensuring Everyone Can Enjoy the Outdoors in New England's Sustainable Future, Rachel Hailey, Founder and Transformationalist, DEI Outdoors
 
Each presentation is free and open to the public. All lectures will be recorded and can be replayed on the MCLA ENVI Youtube Channel and broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television Channel (NBCTC) 1302 at the following times:
  • Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
  • Fridays at 4 p.m.
  • Saturdays at 3:30 p.m.
  • Sundays at 11:30 a.m.
  • Mondays at 5:30 p.m.

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North Adams Native Wins Sports Emmy for 'Toy Story' Production

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff

Allison Cellana, a Drury High graduate, says the Emmy was heavier than she expected. Cellana is an animator at ESPN. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— North Adams native Alison Cellana was part of an ESPN team that produced "Toy Story Funday Football," a production that clinched three Emmys at the 2024 Sports Emmys Awards. 
 
"Honestly, it was a bit of a dream come true for me," Cellana said about the award ceremony that took place on May 21. "I've always sort of wanted to walk the red carpet and go to a big event like this. So finding out that my team was nominated for some awards was awesome."
 
Cellana, a 2014 graduate of Drury High School, is an animator at ESPN where she works on various shows such as "SportsCenter," "Daily Wager" and NFL Live.
 
She was part of a team of 150 or so who created "Toy Story Funday Football" that streamed on ESPN-plus and Disney-plus. The production was recognized with three awards: 
  1. Outstanding Studio or Production Design/Art Direction,  
  2. The George Wensel Technical Achievement Award 
  3. Outstanding Graphic Design – Event/Show 
Cellana was called up for the Outstanding Graphic Design award.
 
She explained that the production was essentially a live broadcast of a football game between Jacksonville and Atlanta played out live through Toy Story-themed animations.
 
"It was live one for one. So you could either go on ESPN and watch the live game with the humans or you could go on Disney-plus and watch these little animated characters doing the exact same thing," she said.
 
She said the ESPN team worked alongside Epic Games and Pixar for a few months to develop the one-of-a-kind project that utilized cutting-edge technology. She said they started working on "Toy Story Funday Football" in July 2023 and the game aired in October.
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