MCLA Green Living Seminar: Sustainable Zoning and Municipal Building Decarbonization Strategies

12:29PM / Friday, January 28, 2022Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Kai Palmer-Dunning, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) Buildings and Communities Associate, will give a talk titled "Sustainable Zoning and Municipal Building Decarbonization Strategies" at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at the MCLA Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, Room 121.

Part of MCLA's Green Living Seminar series, this event is free and open to the public. Please note that masks are required in all buildings on MCLA's campus.

About Kai Palmer-Dunning

Kai Palmer-Dunning works on the Building Team at NEEP providing support and technical assistance to community stakeholders and municipalities in Massachusetts in order to achieve zero energy/carbon for buildings. He also supports the HELIX project to better integrate and consolidate residential solar data in Multiple Listing Services (MLS) platforms in the region for the real estate market.

Prior to NEEP, Palmer-Dunning worked at United States Green Building Council- MA Chapter (USGBC-MA) on a workforce training program grant to help local building firms become trained in LEED, GPRO, and energy modeling. He also worked and currently serves on the board at Mass Climate Action Network (MCAN).

Kai has experience in grassroots community organizing, local zoning regulation, residential energy efficiency, and green building. He is completing his B.S. in Liberal Studies at Northeastern University and pursuing a master of architecture in Urban Design. Kai also holds credentials as a LEED GA from USGBC.

MCLA's annual Green Living Seminar Series continues through April, presenting a series of lectures on the theme of "Greening the City." Every semester, the Green Living Seminar Series centers around a different topic, timely and relevant in current sustainability issues. Seminars take place on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. until April 20.

The series is a presentation of the MCLA Environmental Studies Department and MCLA's Berkshire Environmental Resource Center.

Presentations will also be broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television Channel (NBCTC) 1302 at the following times:

Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Fridays at 4 p.m.
Saturdays at 3:30 p.m.
Sundays at 11:30 a.m.
Mondays at 5:30 p.m.

Recordings will also be available on the College's YouTube channel.

For more information, visit www.mcla.edu/greenliving or contact Professor of Environmental Studies Elena Traister at (413) 662-5303.

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Companion Corner: Ellie at No Paws Left Behind

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
02:58PM / Wednesday, September 23, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There is a spicy orange tabby looking for her new home.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Ellie is a 5-year-old domestic shorthair who has been at the shelter for about a month. Kennel assistant Claire Morin introduced us to her.

"The family's living situation was changing, and so they surrendered her on that day," she said.

Like a typical orange, Ellie can have a "spicy" side to her and may hiss or growl. But she is also in a shelter setting which can cause more stress.

"Ellie is a very sassy girl. She's been a little bit challenging to handle here because she hates all cats, so ideally she would want to be in a single-cat home," Morin said. "When we get her out, she enjoys being out, but she starts to smell the other cats that are here, and she becomes very antagonistic. The cats are antagonistic toward her as well, but overall she's a very sweet girl."

While Ellie is not a fan of other cats, and since she is in a room with other cats, it can be hard to show off how great she can be without the stress.

Ellie is big on food and likes her wet treats. She also likes being brushed with a toothbrush.

"Ellie loves wet food, which she is devouring right now because it's lunchtime. She loves catnip. She loves being brushed with this giant toothbrush-like brush, and she loves treats," she said.

She can be in a home with older children who can understand her boundaries.

"Ellie would do beautifully if she was the only cat in the house. It would take her a few minutes to warm up with whoever adopts her."

She would also do best as the only one getting attention on her terms and to be respectful of her boundaries. But once out of the shelter setting she may find herself more comfortable and more loving with one-on-one attention.

"We think she would do fantastic in a home where she was the only one getting the attention. She'd be much more comfortable on her own terms."

If you think Ellie could be your companion, be sure to fill out the form on the shelter's website and email or drop it off to No Paws Left Behind on Hodges Cross Road.

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