Berkshire County Historical Society Forest Bathing

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Join certified guide Kathleen Schoenberg for forest bathing.
 
Start your Sunday with a one-hour guided, stroll on the nature trail at Arrowhead on Sunday, Oct. 29, beginning at 11 am. 
 
The walk will be less than a mile and includes several breaks for meditation and mindful activities. 
 
Tickets are available at berkshirehistory.org: $25 for Berkshire County Historical Society members, and $30 for non-members. 
 
This event is sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
 
According to a press release, A forest bathing session is a two-hour, guided program designed to encourage mindfulness and facilitate the participant's deep connection with nature.  Participants have a wide range of experiences – they might find themselves feeling the textures of the trees and rocks, breathing in the scents of the forest, or lying under a canopy while being guided to activate their senses.   
 
choenberg is a graduate of The Forest Therapy School with experience leading both one-on-one and group walks.
 
"Melville was inspired by the landscapes of the Berkshires," said Schoenberg.  "He once wrote, ‘Nature is not so much her ever-sweet interpreter, as the mere supplier of that cunning alphabet, whereby selecting and combining as he pleases, each man reads his own peculiar lesson according to his own peculiar mind and mood.'  In many ways this describes Forest Bathing - participants give to and receive from the forest, and each participant will take away something completely different."

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Dalton OKs $22M Budget; Tables Concrete Sidewalk Article

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — Voters approved all but one of the 22 articles on the warrant at the annual town meeting on Monday night at Wahconah Regional High School.
 
More than one hundred registered voters attended the meeting, which lasted more than three hours, to vote on the budget, school district regional agreement, a proposed bylaw change, and various spending items for town equipment, repairs, projects, and initiatives.
 
The town budget of $22,951,092 is an increase of $1,449,376, or approximately 6.74 percent, over this year. Of that, the Central Berkshire Regional School District assessment of $10,537,044 and the town operating budget of $10,147,991 are included. 
 
Article 1, which proposed amending the town bylaw to make concrete sidewalks the standard, was tabled after a 20-minute discussion that included questions and concerns about its language. More on sidewalks here.
 
This has recently been a hot topic, making its way through town government boards and committees will continue with a Planning Board public hearing.  
 
Planning Board member Zack McCain motioned to table the article until a public hearing, where the details could be discussed further. He said this is common practice for bylaw amendments. 
 
During the discussion, voters also urged the need for sidewalks on Orchard Road. The Department of Public Works budget only has $12,000 to cover the cost of maintaining town sidewalks. 
 
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