April Berkshire Green Drinks: Follow the Forest

08:28AM / Wednesday, April 05, 2023Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Julia Rogers, the Senior Land Protection Manager at the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), will present at the April Berkshire Green Drinks gathering on Wednesday, April 12, at 6:00 PM in person at Barrington Brewery, 420 Stockbridge Rd, Great Barrington, and online via Zoom.

Julia will talk about Follow the Forest, a nationally significant conservation initiative led by HVA.

The Housatonic Valley Association and partners across New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont are working together to connect and protect a forested, climate-resilient wildlife corridor stretching from the Bear Mountain Bridge through the Hudson Highlands, the Taconics, Litchfield and Berkshire Hills, the Rensselaer Plateau, Green Mountains and Adirondacks to Canada.

The in-person gathering begins at 5:00 PM at Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington. The presentation will start at 6:00 PM. If you plan to attend in person, please RSVP at this link: https://April2023-Berks-Green-Drinks.eventbrite.com.

Pre-registration is required to attend the virtual presentation. Register at tinyurl.com/April2023-Berks-Green-Drinks

According to a press release:

Two aspects of Follow the Forest have created a "catch-fire" momentum: resonance across diverse audiences—from high-level academia to people of all ages—and scalability to a hyper-localized level while demonstrating impact at a monumental scale. Follow the Forest makes GIS models relatable and easily understandable by land use decision-makers and the public. Julia's presentation will describe the Follow the Forest Initiative, how individuals and organizations can be involved, and how their work integrates with that of others, such as the Staying Connected Initiative and Berkshire Wildlife Linkage. To learn more, visit followtheforest.org.

Berkshire Green Drinks (formerly Pittsfield Green Drinks) is an informal gathering on the second Wednesday of the month. A guest speaker talks for about 30 minutes beginning at 6 PM, and the presentation is followed by a discussion and Q&A. These nights are free and open to everyone with any environmental interest.

Berkshire Green Drinks is sponsored and organized by the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). For more information regarding Berkshire Green Drinks, contact Chelsey Simmons, chelsey@thebeatnews.org, (413) 464-9402

Tags: BEAT,

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Greenagers Founder Will Conklin Honored as Business Person of the Year

By Breanna Steele12:17PM / Saturday, October 03, 2026

Casey Pease of state Sen. Paul Mark's office presents William Conklin, right, with a state Senate proclamation.

EGREMONT, Mass. — The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce honored a local businessman and nonprofit leader on Sept. 24 at Catamount Mountain Resort.

William Conklin was this year's Business Person of the Year, recognizing his work as founder and executive director of Greenagers, a nonprofit that helps youth and children engage in work in environmental conservation, sustainable farming, natural resource management, and vocational skills building.

Conklin and his family also run Sky View Farm and he is a managing partner of Konkapot Tree and Timber, a small-scale forest products business.

"If you spent any amount of time in Southern Berkshire, chances are you've heard his name, whether you realize the connection at the time or not," said board member Sierra King Watson, who emceed the event. "You might be having a conversation about farming, a new barn or structure that was built, students learning hands-on skills in sustainable agriculture, or a family that receives donated firewood to help keep their home warm through a cold Berkshire winter, or maybe you're simply talking about one of those community leaders who somehow manages to show up, support everyone, and seemingly be everywhere all at once.

"Well, one name has a way of continuously popping up, and that is Will Conklin."

Board President Mark Rulison said the region has more than 1,200 nonprofits. One in four jobs in the county is in the nonprofit sector, which ranks 27th nationally for nonprofit employment. He said the economic impact on the community is huge, thanking those who help.

For the event on Thursday, Conklin requested that as much of the food as possible was sourced locally. Most of it came from Greenagers, Sky View Farm, Indian Line Farm and Fancy Feast Supper Club, creative dinner series.

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