Berkshire Region to Celebrate Earth Day Throughout April
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Plainfield Agricultural Commission will screen "Dirt! The Movie" on Thursday, April 8, at 7 p.m., at Plainfield Town Hall, 304 Main St. Narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis, the documentary explores the makeup of soil and its essential role in supporting life. Call 413-634-5420 for more information.
On Friday, April 9, and Saturday, April 10, choreographer Stephen Petronio will present "I Drink the Air Before Me," at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. The show, which begins at 8 p.m., incorporates dance, sound, visual art and fashion, and is presented with Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Tickets are $38 for orchestra, $32 for mezzanine, and $20 for students; call 413-662-2111 or visit www.jacobspillow.org.
On Saturday, April 10, The Little Red Schoolhouse, Route 7, South Williamstown, will hold a recycling event from 9 to noon. The school will collect cans and bottles that can be redeemed for deposit to the school. The cans and bottles will be brought to the Northern Berkshire Container Redemption Center to benefit the preschool. The school also will be collecting gently used children's clothing and toys and household items (no appliances) for the school's tag sale on May 1.
The school also will be the drop-off site for the Center for Ecological Technology's 15th annual Textile Drive, in which people can bring adult clothing as well as blankets, gloves, socks, paired shoes and winter boots, sheets, towels and curtains. (Rugs, carpeting and pillows will not be accepted). Clothing collected will be resold when possible or recycled, and donations will support CET's environmental programs. In addition, Williamstown's COOL Committee, a group of volunteers working to implement the town's Climate Action Plan, will have an informational table and activity for children. For more information, call 413-458-8668.
Berkshire Living presents Amy Cotler, author of "The Locavore Way," on Sunday, April 11, at 11 a.m. at Triplex Cinema. The free public forum is part of the magazine's "Rest of the Story" series and an outgrowth of "Livin' La Vida Locavore" in the March-April special food and dining issue. Editor-in-Chief Seth Rogovoy will moderate. Cotler will discuss how to prepare, preserve and eat fresh, seasonal food year-round. A book signing will follow. For more information, call Berkshire Living at 413-443-8200.
On Monday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m., Images Cinema, 55 Spring St., Williamstown, will screen "No Impact Man," part of its "Garbage Docs" series. In the film, author Colin Beavan attempts to give up automated transportation, electricity, non-local food, and material consumption for a year. For more information, call 413-458-5612 or visit www.imagescinema.org.
The Williams College Pareksy Center will host the free lecture "Climate Change Avatars: Virtual Bodies in the Fight for the Future," on Thursday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. The lecture will be given by alumnus Eban Goodstein, director of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, and co-founder of the National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions. Visit www.williams.edu/go/atwilliams/ for more information.
On Friday, April 16, at noon, the Williams College Center for Environmental Studies will put on a presentation about local food at The Log, 78 Spring St., Williamstown. Lunch is $4; to make reservations, call 413-597-2346 or e-mail szepka@williams.edu. All are welcome.
Bartholomew's Cobble, Weatogue Road, Sheffield, will host the exploration of life in a vernal pool on Saturday, April 17, from 10 to noon. Trustees of Reservations naturalist Rene Wendell will lead the exploration of a shallow spring pond, including a hands-on search for the egg masses of wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and many other forms of life. Expect to get wet and muddy. Admission is $4 for individual members, $10 for family memberships; $6 for individual nonmembers, $15 for nonmember families. Reservations are required; call 413-229-8600.
On Monday, April 19, Images Cinema in Williamstown, continues its "Garbage Docs" film series with "Garbage Warrior," at 7:30 p.m. The film tells the story of people who have devoted their time to advancing the art of "Earthship Biotecture" by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony.
From April 19 to 29, Lenox Town Hall, 6 Walker St., will display an Earth Day art show, open from 9 to 4 daily. (On April 22, the show will be on display until 9 p.m.) The show will feature the work of high school students, who used recycled materials from their daily lives, and elementary school students, who created works based on the theme of environmental stewardship and responsibility.
On Tuesday, April 20, at 1 p.m., the Berkshire Museum, 39 South St., Pittsfield, will showcase six species of live birds of prey in "Falconry and the Medieval World." The presentation is free with museum admission and part of the ongoing exhibit "Art of the Arsenal"; visit www.berkshiremuseum.org or call 413-443-7171, Ext. 17, for more information.
Also on Tuesday, April 20, Williams College's Brooks Rogers Recital Hall will host Joshua Viertel, president of Slow Food USA, who will discuss "Feeding our Schoolchildren: Slow Food and the Food Revolution, " at 7 p.m. The event is free; click here for more information.
On Wednesday, April 21, Trustees of Reservations naturalist Rene Wendell will give a free guided spring walk and talk at Springside Park, Route 7, Pittsfield. The walk begins at 5 p.m., and talk begins at 7. Call 413-298-3239, Ext. 3003, for more information.
The following events will be held on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22:
Firefly Watch Citizen Science program at the Berkshire Museum. From 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., there will be a firefly craft activity in the Berkshire Backyard Gallery; from 1:30-2:30 there will be Firefly Watch Citizen Science Training in the theater. The training is intended to bring awareness to why fireflies are disappearing and is free with museum admission; call 413-443-7171, Ext. 17, for more information.
Bartholomew's Cobble, Sheffield, will host eco-volunteers from 9 to noon; they will be shown how to identify and pull out invasive garlic mustard plants; call 413-229-8600 for more information.
The state Forest Stewardship Program will put on a workshop for landowners and natural resource professionals from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the DCR Western Region Headquarters, 740 South St., Pittsfield (South Mountain meeting room). The workshop includes a presentation of invasive species management by Jess Toro and Sari Hoy of Native Habitat Restoration LLC. For more information, contact Michael Downey at 413-442-8928, Ext 135.
At 2 p.m., Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, will host a family-friendly event including a tour of its historic-to-modern green and environmentally-friendly features. Highlighted will be information on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, architectural design and construction, and smart-growth town planning. There will be a demonstration of the 1858 water-power turbine in the Laundry and Machine Shop and up-close investigation of the historic passive solar features of Shaker buildings, compared with Hancock Shaker Village's new solar photovoltaic array. The tour is free with admission; click here for more information.
At 7:30 p.m., Williams College will host David Moulton, director of the Climate Policy and Conservation Funding for the Wilderness Society, at Wege Auditiorium, Thompson Chemistry Room 123. Moulton will lecture on "The Politics of Climate: Building Trust in the New Energy Economy." For more information, visit www.williams.edu/go/atwilliams.
On Friday, April 23, Lenox Town Hall continues its Earth Day Celebration with screening of Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" at 7 p.m. and the documentary "Talking Root" at 8:15 p.m.
All day in downtown Lenox, the town will celebrate the launch of its first "Think Green, It's Friday" campaign, wherein local businesses and organizations who have taken the "unplugged" pledge will offer customers "green and unplugged" incentives that reward customers for thinking green, offers like discounts for using reusable bags, green-minded menus at restaurants, and dollar coffees with a reusable mug.
Lenox residents can take their pledge at www.townoflenox.com/lenoxunplugged and Berkshire County residents can go to www.cetonline.org/takecharge.php. Lenox Unplugged will be sponsoring events throughout the town during the week of Earth Day.
On Saturday, April 24, there will be a Housatonic River Walk and annual Earth Day Cleanup in Great Barrington, starting at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided, with tours beginning after 2 p.m. Click here for more information, or contact Rachel Fletcher at 413-528-3391 or river@gbriverwalk.org
Wild Oats Market, Route 2, Williamstown, will hold its third annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 24, from noon to 4. There will be food demonstrations, informational booths from local area organizations and businesses involved in environmental issues, workshops on composting, photovoltaics and spring planting (for kids and adults), kids' activities, music from staffer Mike Wood and his Rebel Alliance band, and music from world music DJ Mike Card, and more. Spring bedding plants, composting bins and other garden supplies will be available for sale. Chef Greg Roach will be grilling local foods on the grill, weather permitting. For more information, contact Robin Riley, marketing/member services, at 413-458-8060 or marketing@wildoats.coop
At 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 24, Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation will host "The Return of the Winged Ones," a morning bird watching excursion. Beginners are welcome; visit www.wrlf.org for more information.
The town of Egremont is hosting an "E RECYCLES" event from 10 to 8. on Saturday, April 24, in the town parking lot. It's the second annual roadside cleanup and recycling event organized by the Egremont Green Committee. Volunteers will be assigned a stretch of road and given trash bags and safety vests to scour their assigned road for trash. They will return their "booty" to the committee's recycling information center for any sorting and recycling. Eco-friendly giveaways, healthy refreshments and pats on the back and hearty cheers will be distributed to volunteers. Call 413-528-0182 for more information.
Saturday, April 24, from 9 to 4, Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, a home-improvement resale store at 70 Jefferson Place, will accept compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) for recycling. Habitat for Humanity also accepts "end of life vehicles" for recycling through its "Cars for Homes" program; call 877-277-4344 or visit www.carsforhomes.org for more information.
On Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25, the Center for Ecological Technology (CET), 112 Elm St., Pittsfield, will hold its 15th annual Textile Drive in partnership with Goodwill Industries to collect old clothing and household textiles for reuse and recycling. The collection is open to all Berkshire county residents as well as southern Vermont and eastern New York State residents. Materials will be accepted at CET on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In addition, residents may drop clothing in the storage bin at the back of the parking lot at the Berkshire South Regional Community Center, 15 Crissey Road in Great Barrington, from April 10 until April 25. Clothing also can be dropped off at the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation at Sheep Hill between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays from April 12 to April 16 and from April 20 to April 23.
All types of clothing are accepted, as well as blankets, sheets, towels and curtains. Clothing must be clean, dry and packed in strong plastic bags - no hangers. Rugs, carpeting and pillows will not be accepted. CET also will collect donations of non-perishable food items in support of Goodwill’s Food Pantry program. These donations will only be accepted at the Elm Street collection on April 24 and 25.
For more information contact CET at 413-445-4556 or 888-577-8448, ext. 10 or 30, or visit www.cetonline.org.
On Sunday, April 25, the Triplex Cinema, Great Barrington, will screen "No Impact Man," for free at 11 a.m. (See film description at top of page).
Also on Sunday, April 25, there will be a "Secrets of Spring Wildflowers" guided walk from 10 to noon at Bartholomew's Cobble, Sheffield. The walk is $5 for members, $7 for nonmembers; call 413-229-8600 for more information and to register (required).
On Monday, April 26, Images Cinema, Williamstown, continues its "Garbage Docs" series at 7:30 p.m. with "Marina of the Zabbaleen," a documentary about a little girl in the Muqqattam garbage recycling village in Cairo, Egypt.
On Thursday, April 29, at 8 p.m., Williams College's '62 Center MainStage will host the lecture "Simple Solutions, Packaged Deals and a 50-Year Farm Bill," by poet, essayist, farmer and novelist Wendell Berry. Admission is $3, click here for more information.
