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

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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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Pittsfield Schools See Better Building Utilization, Continued Choice Outs

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Students return to school in two weeks; Pittsfield will have one less elementary school and around 100 fewer students. 

The School Committee was updated on enrollment for the 2026-2027 academic year during last week's regular meeting. 

At this time, the Pittsfield Public Schools had 4,586 students, compared to 4,682 at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Superintendent Latifah Phillips said this has been the district's trend for years and is not surprising. 

"Across all of these grade levels, we have a decrease. I believe of about 80-90 students. I think it's at eighth grade that we're going to look into and make sure that our data is accurate," she said to the School Committee last week. 

"But otherwise, the enrollment is following the trends that we have expected in probably the last decade." 

With this school year comes the closure of Morningside Community School and the middle school restructuring that sends Grades 5-6 to Herberg Middle School and Grades 7-8 to Reid Middle School. 

Fifth grade enrollment was subtracted from last year's elementary enrollment, and these reflect the reassignment of Morningside students to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams. 

Phillips pointed out that this process has increased the use of school buildings, as underutilized buildings were one of the concerns that led to institutional changes. 

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