Berkshire Green Drinks: 'Snakes Are More Interesting Than You Can Imagine'

12:00PM / Thursday, October 12, 2023Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Tom Tyning, an expert on amphibians and reptiles and an authority on New England's natural history, will present at the September Berkshire Green Drinks event on Monday, Oct. 16, in person and online via Zoom.

The in-person gathering begins at 5:00 PM at The Barn at Williams Inn, 103 Spring St, Williamstown. The presentation and Zoom meeting start at 6:00 PM. If the weather permits, the in-person gathering will take place outdoors.

According to a press release:

The life histories, annual behaviors, and evolutionary story of snakes are incredible, fascinating, and remarkable. Tom will focus on our Berkshire/New England snake species, highlighting their diversity, survival complexity, conservation status, and overall natural history. Coupled with that, the remarkable reality of just how little is known about even common species will be covered.

Here are some things to think about: How did little animals like Ringneck snakes make their way into New England after the last glaciation? How many of our local snakes are at the edge of their geographic distribution on Earth? Why are some more common in the Berkshires than in other parts of New England? Bring more questions and your curiosity!

Pre-registration is required to attend this event. Learn more and RSVP at: https://tinyurl.com/Oct2023-Berks-Green-Drinks

Tom Tyning has been a Professor of Environmental Science at Berkshire Community College since 1999. Previously, he was a Field Biologist and Master Naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society for 24 years. Tom also served for 15 years as an Adjunct Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at Antioch New England Graduate School, as well as Springfield College and MCLA. For 25 years, he wrote a weekly Nature column for the Springfield (MA) Union-News. As an authority on New England’s natural history, Tom’s main research interests are amphibians and reptiles. His book, A Guide To Amphibians and Reptiles, is published by Little, Brown and Co. As a member of several professional natural history societies, he served for fifteen years as Managing Editor of the scientific journal Herpetological Review.

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 p.m., and the presentation is followed by a discussion and Q&A. These nights are free and open to everyone with any environmental interest.

Berkshire Green Drinks is sponsored and organized by the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT).

Tags: BEAT,

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Discrimination Against Muslim Americans Persists 25 Years After 9/11

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
07:00AM / Saturday, September 12, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Dozens of Muslim Americans were among people killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Untold numbers of Muslim Americans have suffered countless acts of discrimination in their aftermath.

"Of course, you'll find several accounts of Muslims from all over the U.S. describing how they went from the unknown kids in the school to being stereotyped or ridiculed for their Muslim names," Sidra Mahmood recalled recently. "However, many Americans forget that the victims of 9/11 were also Muslim Americans.

"I can't forget the time when a classmate broke down in sobs when 9/11 came up in our classroom at the Islamic seminary I went to in Texas, because her father's best friend who was like an uncle to her, died on 9/11."

Today, Mahmood is a chaplain at Williams College. In 2001, she was growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, when terrorists forced two passenger jets into the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan and another plane into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. A third plane, which terrorists hoped to crash into a D.C. landmark, was brought down in western Pennsylvania after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers.

The attacks, which ultimately claimed 2,976 lives, horrified people around the world, including in Mahmood's native land.

"I remember being aghast like anyone who witnessed the fall of the Twin Towers in real time," she said. "However, even as a child, fear gripped me about the possibility of war, especially once we learned that Afghanistan, right adjacent to Pakistan, would be attacked by the U.S. My mother had told me about the 1971 war between India and Pakistan when she remembered hiding in the dark after bomb sirens would go off in Punjab after intentional blackouts.

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