BEAT to Host Sixth Annual Berkshire Biodiversity Day

08:00AM / Thursday, September 11, 2025Print Story | Email Story

ADAMS, Mass. — The 16th annual Berkshire Biodiversity Day, also known as Berkshire BioBlitz, invites nature lovers of all ages to join scientists, naturalists, and environmental educators in identifying as many species as possible—plants, animals, fungi, and more—over the course of 24 hours.

The Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) hosted event will take place from noon on Saturday, Sept. 13 to noon on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center in Adams. Participation is free and open to everyone, regardless of age or experience.

Attendees are invited to drop in at any point during the event to join scheduled guided walks, attend hands-on demonstrations, and learn from expert-led presentations.

This year's lineup includes two nature walks led by well-known naturalist Tom Tyning, one focusing on amphibians and reptiles and the other on butterflies. Rene Wendell from the Hoffmann Bird Club and The Nature Conservancy will lead a nighttime owl prowl, as well as an early morning bird walk with Jonathan Pierce, also from the Hoffmann Bird Club.

Matthew Rymkiewicz will demonstrate how to attract and observe moths using lightsheeting techniques, and Ben Nickley of Berkshire Bird Observatory will conduct a live bird banding session. Laura Hancock from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will give a presentation on bats and surveying techniques, as well as lead a demonstration in plant preservation and specimen mounting. Nicaela Haig of Mass Audubon will lead a hawk watch, and Sonia Szala-Krotkov will lead a bee walk.

Visit thebeatnews.org to find a detailed schedule of the 24-hour program.

All activities and presentations will be based at the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center at 135 Gould Road, Adams, where attendees must register upon arrival. Participants may stop by anytime to take part in the scheduled guided walks, live demonstrations of surveying techniques, and educational presentations, or contribute their own observations to the species survey across the Glen's diverse landscape.

Berkshire Biodiversity Day is organized by Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). This year's program is co-sponsored by Greylock Glen Outdoor Center, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Mass Audubon, and BEAT.

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Adams Prudential Committee Evaluating Truck Replacement

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:21AM / Thursday, September 03, 2026

ADAMS, Mass. — The Fire Department's Engine 2 is suffering from rust and the Prudential Committee needs to decide if it should be fixed or run until it can be replaced.

Fire Chief David Lennon told the Prudential Committee on Monday about the condition of the 20-year-old truck and acknowledged it's going to be an costly endeavor.

"If we choose to do this, it's going to be so expensive that it would have to be put out for multiple people to look at and possibly bid on, but moreover, we have to look at what the long-term plans are to decide if we want to spend that money on that truck," he said. "If we're going to replace it on its usual schedule, which would be in under 10 years now, so we have to decide."

Lennon said his thought was that it was similar to getting a medical diagnosis: since they've got one opinion, "it'd behoove us to get a second opinion to see.

"We see that it's rusting, but is that rust going to be completely detrimental to running that for the period that we want to run it for, and have somebody else look at it now," he said. "As far as who that would be, I don't know, but I think that's what we should discuss and see moving forward."

The committee set a workshop for Friday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m.

Superintendent John C. Barrett said he plans to install a new system and water main for the Adams Housing Authority's 64 one-bedroom units in the Columbia Valley facility, which will mean a new suppression system for all of the buildings.

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