Bidwell House Online Springtime Wild Edibles in the Southern Berkshires

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MONTEREY, Mass. — The Bidwell House Museum will present the final talk in the 3rd annual winter Zoom lecture series. 
 
Members: Free. Non-members: $15. Only one registration required per household. Lecture will be held via Zoom. 7 p.m.
 
For the March 15 talk the museum will be joined by wild edibles enthusiast Russ Cohen, who will present Springtime Wild Edibles in the Southern Berkshires.
 
Cohen will share a slideshow covering at least two dozen wild edibles available in the springtime. These include plant species, like Daisies and Dandelions, to species like Calamus and Carrion Flower. 
 
While the main season for mushrooming in the Berkshires doesn't begin until the summer, Cohen's talk will also cover a few edible mushroom species available in the springtime. Keys to the identification of each species will be provided, along with info on edible portion(s), season(s) of availability and preparation methods, as well as guidelines for safe and environmentally-responsible foraging.
 
According to a press release: 
 
Until his retirement in June of 2015, Cohen Cohen's "day job" was serving as the Rivers Advocate for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game's Division of Ecological Restoration. Now Cohen has more time to pursue his passionate avocation, which is connecting to nature via his taste buds, and assisting others in doing the same. In addition to leading over three dozen foraging, he has set up a small nursery in Weston where he grows/keeps plants that he propagates from seed (some of which he collected himself). He is then partnering with land trusts, cities and towns, schools and colleges, state and federal agencies, tribal groups, organic farms and others to plant plants from his nursery in appropriate places on their properties.
 
Cohen will follow up this talk with a guided foraging walk later in the spring. More information about that will go up on the Museum website in March.
 
The lecture will be held via Zoom. Registration via the Museum event page is required, https://www.bidwellhousemuseum.org/event/springtime-wild-edibles-in-the-southern-berkshires/
 
Details for how to access the event will be sent via email a few days in advance.

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Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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