Buds, Twigs, and Bark: How to Identify Trees and Shrubs in Winter

08:01AM / Friday, February 09, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Join Chelsey Simmons of Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) for the February Berkshire Green Drinks virtual event to explore the buds, twigs, and bark of common trees seen in the New England landscape.

It may be surprising, but winter is actually an excellent time to learn how to identify woody plant species. The absence of leaves allows for the opportunity to take a closer look at the characteristics that are often overlooked, like the subtle features of a twig, the arrangement of buds, and the overall form and structure of a tree. Chelsey will go over the steps to tree identification, break down twig morphology, and give helpful hints on remembering one species from another — all of which will aid in tree and shrub identification year-round.

The presentation will be live-streamed via Zoom at 6 PM on Wednesday, February 14. Registration is required to receive the meeting link. Register at: http://tinyurl.com/Feb2024-Berks-Green-Drinks

Chelsey Simmons is the programs director for Berkshire Environmental Action Team, a nonprofit based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. As part of her work for BEAT, she leads numerous naturalist walks throughout Berkshire County year-round. For the past few years, she's been working on an identification book of trees and shrubs found in western Massachusetts, meticulously drawing and painting each page by hand and sharing those pages with the public through BEAT's "Tree of the Month" series with the hope of getting people excited about trees and interested in the native species found in our region.

Berkshire Green Drinks (formerly Pittsfield Green Drinks) is an informal gathering that takes place once a month. A guest speaker talks for about 30 minutes beginning at 6 PM, and the presentation is followed by a discussion and Q&A. These nights are free and open to everyone with any environmental interest.

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Healey Administration Visits Pittsfield to Talk Green Energy Siting

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:07PM / Monday, October 05, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Massachusetts energy officials visited Pittsfield to talk about clean energy infrastructure siting as the state works to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the Healey-Driscoll Administration hosted a listening session at the Berkshire Innovation Center. Representatives from Berkshire communities and organizations heard about solar arrays, battery storage, and more.

The 2024 clean energy bill aims for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As part of it, municipalities must begin accepting single consolidated local permit applications for small clean energy projects this month.

"We have new regulations coming into place, and just want to make sure we are hearing from people because we know it's not always easy. We have a lot of commitments on clean energy and climate that are really important, and they help us on our energy affordability, but we know there's also often tension with our land preservation values," Deputy Climate Chief Aladdine Joroff said.

"We want to preserve rural character. We have to protect critical forests and ecosystems for habitat and water supply. We're thinking about how we balance those different goals."

She explained that large clean energy systems, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, have public health benefits and are more affordable.

Since 2008, more than 200,000 solar arrays have been installed statewide, surpassing a 4,500 megawatt milestone. Roughly 98 percent of those installations are residential scale, sized between five and ten kilowatts, and solar is the second largest source of generation capacity in the state, as well as in New England.

Undersecretary of Energy Michael Judge explained that solar has shifted peaks into the evening by reducing demand in the middle of the day, largely contributing to the retirement of some fossil fuel generation facilities and lowering wholesale energy prices.

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