Arbor Day and Earth Day In Sheffield

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SHEFFIELD, Mass. — In celebration of Arbor Day and Earth Day, and in appreciation for the Sheffield community, the Sheffield Tree Project and Sheffield Land Trust are partnering with the Bushnell-Sage Library and Sheffield Recycling Coordinator to offer a series of free activities for the public. 
 
On Saturday, May 1, There will be a native tree and shrub give-away, a demonstration on how and why to mulch trees and an opportunity to learn more about composting.  
 
There will also be a battery and clothing/textile collection and information on the Sheffield Transfer station and the next Hazardous Waste collection. Events take place in the center of Sheffield, one starting in the Town Hall parking lot (21 Depot Sq) and two in the Bushnell-Sage Library parking lot (48 Main St).  
 
Pandemic precautions apply to all activities.  Wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing is required, and there is a 25-person limit on any gathering, and anyone who is feeling ill should not attend.
 
9-10am Come take part in the Arbor Day Proclamation & Tree Mulching Class.  Park and meet at the Town Hall, then the group will be  moving to the mulching location.  The tree pruning class has been postponed to a date still to be determined.
 
9-11am The Sheffield Recycling Coordinator will be offering the collection of batteries and textile for recycling, as well as information on other recycling and hazardous waste programs, how to get a discount on Geobin composters, and more. All these activities will be in the Bushnell-Sage Library parking lot.
 
10am -2pm There will be a Tree and Shrub Seedling Give-away in the Bushnell-Sage Library parking lot.  One native tree species, White Oak, and two native shrubs, Witch Hazel and Winterberry, will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis, until the supply is gone.  Each family can get up to 3 seedlings.
 
White Oaks are great shade trees and can reach between 50-80 feet tall and up to 100 feet wide.  They are flexible in tolerating moist to well-drained soils and like about 6 hours or so of sun a day.  They also have very high butterfly, bird and other wildlife value.
 
Witchhazel is an understory tree that can grow to about 20 feet tall and between 15-20 feet wide.  It likes moist, neutral to slightly acidic soils.  It is flexible in being able to grow in full shade to full sun, and also offers good wildlife value including ground birds and cottontail rabbits.
 
Winterberry is a shrub that will grow from 6-12 feet tall and becomes a wide upright shrub.   It is very versatile tolerating dry to wet sandy soil to clay soils, and it can grow in part shade to full sun.  It also has good wildlife value providing cover, nesting, nectar and fruit for birds.

Tags: ,   arbor day,   Earth Day,   

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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