Clark Art Presents Herblore

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Saturday, April 27 at 6 pm, the Clark Art Institute presents Herblore, an ancestral plant storytelling event. 
 
Practicing herbalists Brooke Bridges, Twink Williams Burns, and Rebecca Guanzon share intimate stories about their relationships with the land and their ancestors. The event takes place at the Lunder Center at Stone Hill.
 
Although Bridges, Burns, and Guanzon come from different backgrounds and grew up across the country, the ancestral homelands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans and the plants that grow in the Berkshires are key to their herbal journeys and healing pathways. Attendees are invited to gather around a bonfire and sip on tea blends created by the herbalists. Stay after the readings for an intimate conversation with the panelists to hear more about their experiences as practicing herbalists.
 
Brooke Bridges is the owner, head herbalist, and formulator of Brooke's Botanicals, her all-natural skin, hair, and self-care business. Twink Williams Burns is the founder of Ancestor Seeds, an heirloom seed company located on the ancestral homelands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans, specializing in vegetable and herb seed varieties that are culturally significant across the Black diaspora. Herbalist Rebecca Guanzon promotes mutual aid by distributing free goods and cultivating an intimate circle of accountability partners that convenes at Wild Soul River, an abolitionist herbal gathering space that she co-owns with her partner justin adkins.
 
Free. For accessibility concerns, call 413 458 0524. 
 

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Mount Greylock Super Asks for Cell Phone Ban

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional Schools' superintendent last week asked the School Committee to adopt a policy banning student cell-phone use in the district's three schools.
 
Jason McCandless last Thursday told the committee that his thinking about personal electronic devices in schools has evolved over the last year.
 
As recently as last spring, McCandless told the committee that he did not feel a ban was warranted. 
 
Now, he believes that no good comes from students using cell phones in school and, in fact, significant harm comes from the social media accessed on the devices.
 
In explaining the evolution of his position, McCandless said there is a connection to the district's efforts to create a more inclusive environment, efforts that were a major topic of discussion during the three-hour meeting.
 
"There is certainly a decent amount of racist, misogynistic, hateful in many of its forms material available online through various social media platforms," McCandless said. "I think we have kids saying things that they don't have any idea what it means because they have seen them in a video.
 
"From a civil rights perspective, from an anti-racist perspective, parents can't shield their kids from everything. … There's so much that we can't control, as educators, as leaders. This piece strikes me as something we can control. We don't allow students to bring knives into school. That's because they could hurt themselves, they could hurt others.
 
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