BEAT Receives Grant to Renovate Environmental Leadership and Education Center

04:02PM / Friday, May 20, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Massachusetts Cultural Council has awarded a Cultural Facilities Fund grant of $200,000 to Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) in support of buying and renovating BEAT's new Environmental Leadership & Education Center.

On November 8, 2021, BEAT was able to buy their property at 20 Chapel Street in Pittsfield — right on the banks of the southwest branch of the Housatonic River.

Next, BEAT will be restoring the riverbank by removing invasive species and replanting with native, wildlife-supporting plants. Funding from the Cultural Facilities Fund will allow them to begin renovations to make their building fully accessible by adding an accessible bathroom, a lift to get between floors, and an accessible balcony from which to observe wildlife and the river.

BEAT will also be conducting a deep energy retrofit as an energy efficiency demonstration project to show how an old building (originally built in 1868) can install solar and batteries to go fossil-fuel free. BEAT has been working with local architect Wendy Brown and construction consultant East Branch Studio who estimate the total cost of the building renovations to be $726,505 — so BEAT still has to raise money.

"It is so impressive to see how far BEAT has come since I first got involved with the organization," said Logan Malik, the Clean Energy Director at the Massachusetts Climate Action Network and a member of BEAT's Board of Directors.

Malik first started with BEAT as a Program Associate back in 2018. After graduate school, he returned as a full-time Advocacy Coordinator.

"This grant will bring us so much closer to realizing the organization's vision for an Environmental Leadership & Education Center in Pittsfield by enabling us to demonstrate how to renovate a building — first built in 1868 — into a fully accessible, net-zero energy, fossil-fuel-free environmental hub for the Berkshire community," he said.

BEAT will be holding an Open House Saturday, May 21, from 1 to 3 pm.

"We are excited to show everyone our property as it is now and explain our vision for the future. Everyone is invited, but please note that while we have a ramp into our building, we do not yet have an accessible bathroom," Jane Winn, Executive Director said.

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Pittsfield Human Service Funding Applications Open Soon

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:16AM / Thursday, November 05, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Applications for human services funding open next week, and membership space is available for anyone who wants to be involved in the process.

Last week, the Human Services Advisory Council laid out a timeline for the next year's grant awards. It provides funding recommendations to the mayor on how Pittsfield should allocate its human services funding, a mix of Community Development Block Grants and general fund money.

Request for proposal applications will be available at the Department of Community Development on Nov. 9; there will be three bidders conferences in November and December, and public comment on human service needs will begin in the new year.

Proposals are due to the Department of Community Development on Jan. 8, 2027. The public comment period closes at the end of January, and in the spring, the Human Services Advisory Council will recommend funding.

"We typically get about 20 to 30 applications each year," reported Nate Joyner, Pittsfield's community development and housing program manager.

He explained that the schedule of activities proposed for the upcoming cycle is similar to last year. Though, any references to American Rescue Plan Act funding were removed, as the nearly $41 million funding infusion during the COVID-19 pandemic has been exhausted.

The council will also need a new chair, as Rosalind Kopfstein has retired. In January, it will vote on nominations. Jenny Bell was welcomed as a new member at the Oct. 29 virtual meeting, and there are additional openings.

Last year's human service funding benefitted more than 4,000 community members. A total of $154,500 in CDBG funds was allocated to 13 different agencies, and $51,750 from the city general fund was granted to ten agencies.

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