Sophomore Felipe Aedo clears out brush to make space for the community garden.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A handful of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts community members took advantage of a lovely Friday afternoon by working on the community garden.
Sophomore Felipe Aedo, an environmental studies major, said the garden is in its fifth year of operation. The garden is managed by a group unofficially dubbed MCLA Garden.
The group plants a variety of fruits and vegetables, including yellow cherry tomatoes, garlic, radishes and kale, in the garden outside Smith House. The late-harvest plants are used for the annual sustainability themed Thanksgiving dinner, which Aedo said was highly attended last year.
"This year, we want to do this bigger and more local," Aedo said.
The MCLA Garden also works with eight other local community gardens by sharing its stockpile of seedlings that students manage in the greenhouse, Aedo said.
On Friday, they started work by raking out the leaves and clearing out debris. Richard Doucette, a junior and environmental studies major, said the new location of the admissions office will give the garden more exposure than before.
"It's definitely a priority to keep the garden tidy," Doucette said.
Caroline Scully, a part-time researcher with the environmental studies program, said having an established community garden is important for any college's sustainability program.
"Every college with a solid sustainability program has a community garden," Scully said.
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What ever became of the small farm the college once had on Daniels Road ?
Congratulations to the students and staff at MCLA for the good work they are doing preparing the community gardens. The majority of the residents and students really care about their community and it shows in the progress that is being made. Volunteerism abounds in North Adams.
That college farm was 40 years ahead of its time. There is no comparison to was being done there to what is being done in this "sustainable" garden.
Nothing against the program, but I would like to know what, exactly, is sustainable with this garden? The phrase "going green" and the word "organic" have become so watered down, people have moved on to sustainable. But do they really know what sustainable means?
BAAMS' Monthly Studio 9 Series Features Mino Cinelu
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On April 20, Berkshires' Academy of Advanced Musical Studies (BAAMS) will host its fourth in a series of live music concerts at Studio 9.
Saturday's performance will feature drummer, guitarist, keyboardist and singer Mino Cinelu.
Cinelu has worked with Miles Davis, Sting, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Lou Reed, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Vicente Amigo, Dizzy Gillespie, Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Pino Daniele, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Salif Keita.
Cinelu will be joined by Richard Boulger on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dario Boente on piano and keyboards, and Tony Lewis on drums and percussion.
Doors open: 6:30pm. Tickets can be purchased here.
All proceeds will help support music education at BAAMS, which provides after-school and Saturday music study, as well as a summer jazz-band day camp for students ages 10-18, of all experience levels.
Also Saturday, the BAAMS faculty presents master-class workshops for all ages, featuring Cinelu, Boulger, Boente, Lewis and bassist Nathan Peck.
More than 300 students from area high schools entered their work in 12th annual Teen Invitational at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. click for more
Backed by a $750,000 federal grant for a planning study, North Adams and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art are looking to undo some of that damage.
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"It wasn't 100 percent consistent but I was afforded the opportunity to get to know other people with different religion, beliefs, backgrounds and culture and to be able to embrace that." click for more
With the area warming up, events are blooming in the Berkshires this weekend, including an egg hunt, live music, fitness events, and more.
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