Berkshire Green Drinks presents Northeastern Cliff Swallows

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Linda Merry, a conservation biologist and operational meteorologist, will present at the May Berkshire Green Drinks on Wednesday, May 8. 
 
This free hybrid event will take place online via Zoom and in person at The Barn of the Williams Inn, 103 Spring Street in Williamstown. The in-person social gathering will begin around 5:15 PM; the presentation and Zoom meeting will start at 6:00 PM. If the weather permits, the in-person gathering will take place outdoors.
 
Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) welcomes back Linda Merry—who initially presented at Green Drinks in August 2022—for an update on her ongoing research on cliff swallows. Some may remember when Linda discussed her first conservation adventure: artificial nesting and habitat remediation. 
 
For the May Berkshire Green Drinks presentation, Linda will discuss the natural history of northeastern cliff swallows, their current conservation status, efforts to conserve populations, and her current conservation adventure: the investigation of correlation in the abundance of local insect prey and nesting density, as well as Ferren's hypothesis (applied to the BCC main campus) which simply states that "the amount of available source mud is correlated to the potential nesting density of the colony."
 
 
Linda Merry is a conservation biologist and operational meteorologist who thoroughly enjoys photography and ornithology. Her work exists at that junction where the sciences and the arts collide. She is currently employed as an Assistant and Adjunct Instructor in the Environmental and Life Sciences Department at Berkshire Community College.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Letter: Trial Shows Trump's Character

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

The trial of Donald Trump in Manhattan might seem like a matter of legal technicalities, but I think it's really important in another way. It has shown us clearly the character of Trump and the Republican party he now dominates.

He denies that he had sex with Stormy Daniels, even when this obvious lie hurts his case and has little to do with the charges against him. He demands that others show their loyalty by repeating his lies, as Michael Cohen did for years. His ego is so brittle that he has an aide who prints out favorable stories about him to keep him occupied and calm while in court.

Meanwhile, a parade of Republican elected officials, keen to fluff their leader, have left their jobs in Washington to drop in and pronounce their disdain for the trial and the court.

In 2015, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, "If the Republicans nominate Trump for President he will destroy the Republican Party and we will have deserved it!" Although Graham has since joined the Trump sycophants, nine years ago he was prophetic.

The party has become a shameless cult engaged in undermining our constitutional principles. It will only begin to heal if it loses in November.

Jim Mahon
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 

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