Master gardeners share green thumbs

By Deborah RawsonPrint Story | Email Story
Local Master Gardeners tend several sites in Berkshire County, such as Pittsfield's Springside Park, shown here, and also lend their talents to others, whose thumbs may not be quite as green. (Photo By Anthony Fyden)
There’s an old proverb that says, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for life.” The Western Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association believes in that philosophy and applies it to horticulture, providing support, education and virtually unlimited access to any question about gardens anyone may have. The Berkshire County chapter of the association, consisting of 36 certified master gardeners, is reportedly one of the most active in the entire region. These master horticulturalists took part in extensive training and were required to complete a minimum of 60 volunteer hours before receiving their official certifications — although most logged well over the minimum amount of time. One of them Diane Wetzel of Pittsfield, logged in over 110 volunteer hours to receive her certification. With the busy growing season upon us, her work and those of the other local gardening educators has just begun. The home base for the group is the Berkshire Botanical gardens in Stockbridge, where, according to Wetzel, the master gardeners see all kinds of interesting things. “People will bring in a strange-looking bug they find in their garden, and they want to know what it is and what to do about it,” Wetzel said. “We’re there to help. We really want to teach people how to garden, not come out and do their gardening for them.” As well as bug identification, the association, an arm of the University of Massachusetts Extension Service, offers a variety of other educational forums in which people can gain knowledge about their crop of choice and perhaps discover and develop a talent they never knew they had. The masters participate in ongoing education, so they are always up on the latest information and share that information with the public at regularly held instructional gardening courses. The group offers soil testing at the botanical gardens, as well as at the Allendale shopping plaza’s Farmer’s Markets, held throughout the summer. It also operates a live question and answer “hotline” on Monday and Thursday mornings from 9 to noon. The hotline number is 298-5355. The other days of the week, puzzled gardeners can leave a voicemail question or message 24 hours a day, and one of the masters will return the calls. “If we don’t know the answer to a question, we’ll find out,” Wetzel said. “We have a wealth of information available to us through the extension and at UMass.” The hard-working gardeners’ work does not stop there. The committee assists Pittsfield Beautiful in keeping the city looking its best, maintaining several gardens and planters throughout the city. One of Wetzel’s gardens, on North Street next to Steven Valenti’s clothing store, is among only a few public perennial gardens maintained in the city. Wetzel also maintains the perennial hummingbird garden at Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Lenox. The group is also currently working with the West Side Initiative, a plan to restore the beauty to the western neighborhoods of Pittsfield. “We really are teaching people how to make their neighborhoods beautiful,” Wetzel said. At the demonstration garden at Springside Park in Pittsfield, gardeners will often get their hands dirty, literally, observing and learning techniques they can bring home and perform in their own gardens. The instructional courses take place every Thursday evening at Springside House at Springside Park from 6 to 8. The next two scheduled courses include “Preparing Your Garden for Spring,” tonight [April 29] and “Pruning In Your Backyard,” on May 6. Jack Sprano, master gardener and pruner for the botanical gardens, will perform the pruning demonstration and instruction. Sprano will instruct gardeners on the different cuts to use for various plants and how to properly perform the specified pruning. As if the above work, all done on a volunteer basis, were not enough, the group also helps to maintain several gardening plots accessible to the handicapped throughout the city. One of those garden locations, with wheelchair access to raised-bed gardens, is at Phelps Field at the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Community Garden at 350 Williams St. The newest one will be located on Providence Court, just off East Street at the former St. Luke’s location. People with Internet access can visit the association’s Web site, www.wmassmastergardeners.org, where timely topics are posted monthly, along with a myriad of information ranging from soil conditions to garden pests. They can also obtain a schedule of upcoming events.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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