Berkshire Green Drinks to Discuss Glyphosate and Soil Health

08:29AM / Wednesday, April 02, 2025Print Story | Email Story

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Green Drinks will host an event discussing the relationship between glyphosate and soil health on Wednesday, April 9.

The event will feature Rubén Parrilla, a soil scientist with the Massachusetts Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA/Mass).

The event will be a hybrid event, taking place online via Zoom and in person at Race Brook Lodge, located at 864 S Undermountain Rd, in Sheffield. The in-person social gathering will begin around 5:15 PM, with the presentation and Zoom meeting starting at 6:00 PM.

The presentation will explore the effects of glyphosate on soil health, microbial communities, water permeability, and ecological impacts, with a focus on the research of Dr. Don Huber. It will also discuss potential health implications for wildlife and humans, application method differences, and alternative land management approaches.

More information and RSVP details can be found at https://tinyurl.com/April2025-Berks-Green-Drinks.

Rubén Parilla is the Soil Technical Coordinator and Education Director for NOFA/Mass and is trained in microscopic soil microbial identification through the Soil Food Web School. He is a Certified Lab Tech and studied Environmental Design at the University of Puerto Rico. He has experience in the environmental laboratory industry and has been performing soil carbon proxy testing, soil health assessments, soil chemical analysis, and soil microbiological evaluations for NOFA/Mass. He leads monthly farmer learning calls, provides workshops, and networks with farmers and individuals in the agricultural industry. He is a fluent and native Spanish speaker and is fully English/Spanish bilingual.

The April Berkshire Green Drinks event is co-sponsored by Race Brook Lodge.

Berkshire Green Drinks is a monthly gathering that is free and open to the public. A guest speaker presents on an environmentally related topic for approximately 30 minutes beginning at 6:00 PM, followed by a discussion and Q&A. Berkshire Green Drinks is sponsored and organized by the Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). This month's Berkshire Green Drinks event is co-sponsored by Hot Plate Brewing Co.

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Great Barrington Public Theater Appoints Artistic Director

09:57AM / Monday, December 29, 2025

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Great Barrington Public Theater announced that Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha will now join Jim Frangione at the helm as Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater.

"We at Great Barrington Public Theater are thrilled that Judy Braha will assume the role of Artistic Director alongside myself. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to help advance the interests of the theater as we move into the next phase of growth as the region's premiere developmental theater," Founder & Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. "Judy brings a tremendous amount of experience and value to our company and has, in just a few short years, grown and greatly enhanced GB Public Theater's signature program, Berkshires Voices, where playwrights develop their work, leading to public readings and in some cases workshops and full productions. I look forward to working more closely with Judy to select the next generation of plays to be presented under the GB Public banner. It's a "Bear" of a job! But we feel great about the direction of our theater."

Judy Braha joined the GB Public artistic leadership team in 2023 as the Associate Artistic Director after 2 years directing for the company. She has since then been collaborating with Founder and Artistic Director Jim Frangione on the selection of new work for readings and full productions in the summer season. Her impressive portfolio of credits and accomplishments strengthened Great Barrington Public's creative programming and offered new perspectives to the body of works and events produced each year.

Judy Braha has been a career director, actor, teacher and artist for social justice for over four decades with directorial credits in theaters and universities throughout New England. She led the M.F.A. Directing Program at Boston University's School of Theater, retiring in 2022 after 29 years of service at BU.

"Judy has the strength of commitment, leadership and passion for theater and how it affects communities that fit hand-in-glove with our founding mission and core beliefs," Founder and Producing Director Deann Halper Simmons explains. "Her artistic integrity, sense of stage esthetic and ability to make important choices that craft life from the script continues to be a great asset to our company and growth."

"Judy's distinguished artistic voice has significantly contributed to the exceptional growth of GB Public in recent years," Managing Director Serena Johnson added. "We are truly excited to have her stepping into this leadership role in the 2026 season."

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