Berkshire Green Drinks presents Northeastern Cliff Swallows

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Linda Merry, a conservation biologist and operational meteorologist, will present at the May Berkshire Green Drinks on Wednesday, May 8. 
 
This free hybrid event will take place online via Zoom and in person at The Barn of the Williams Inn, 103 Spring Street in Williamstown. The in-person social gathering will begin around 5:15 PM; the presentation and Zoom meeting will start at 6:00 PM. If the weather permits, the in-person gathering will take place outdoors.
 
Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) welcomes back Linda Merry—who initially presented at Green Drinks in August 2022—for an update on her ongoing research on cliff swallows. Some may remember when Linda discussed her first conservation adventure: artificial nesting and habitat remediation. 
 
For the May Berkshire Green Drinks presentation, Linda will discuss the natural history of northeastern cliff swallows, their current conservation status, efforts to conserve populations, and her current conservation adventure: the investigation of correlation in the abundance of local insect prey and nesting density, as well as Ferren's hypothesis (applied to the BCC main campus) which simply states that "the amount of available source mud is correlated to the potential nesting density of the colony."
 
 
Linda Merry is a conservation biologist and operational meteorologist who thoroughly enjoys photography and ornithology. Her work exists at that junction where the sciences and the arts collide. She is currently employed as an Assistant and Adjunct Instructor in the Environmental and Life Sciences Department at Berkshire Community College.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Incumbents Returned to Williamstown Prudential Committee

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — As expected, incumbents Lindsay Neathawk and David Moresi won re-election to three-year seats on the Prudential Committee on Tuesday.
 
Williamstown Fire District Clerk Sarah Currie reported Tuesday morning that 27 residents turned out at the polls at Williamstown Elementary School for the district election; there were no contested races on the ballot.
 
A small crowd of residents convened for the district annual meeting that followed the election.
 
All articles on the meeting warrant passed unanimously.
 
The only question from the floor came regarding Article 11, a $60,000 appropriation for design work for the new fire station.
 
A resident asked whether that expenditure is covered in the $22.5 million bonding authority district voters approved in February 2023.
 
District building consultant Bruce Decoteau explained to the meeting that the $60,000 in question is a new expense related, in part, to value engineering work needed to keep the Main Street station on budget.
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