NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Childcare of the Berkshires opened their new StoryWalk, located on the Born Learning Trail, on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

 

Toddlers and parents in the local toddler play group at the center were in attendance to help cut the ribbon.

 

The StoryWalk is part of the center's Born Learning Trail, which was installed in 2018 with the help of Berkshire United Way. Situated along the path, this new StoryWalk features the book from MountainOne, "How to Climb a Mountain."

 

MountainOne partnered with Childcare of the Berkshires to help install the StoryWalk.

 

"The storywalks are a way to get children outside and to have parents and children interact in a positive way, in a fun way around early literacy or around reading. So it gets kids excited. It gets parents excited about reading a book, because it's almost like a treasure hunt. We get to run to the next sign, run to the next sign, so it gets them interested in reading in a different way, but also gets fresh air, really important," said Childcare of the Berkshires President and CEO Amy Hall.

 

This is not the first time a StoryWalk has been implemented. Hall said the center has been using StoryWalks for almost 15 years but had previously used different methods. The new signage is an improvement that helps protect the story pages.

 

"We used to hang the signs on the Born Learning Trail signs with duct tape. And it didn't work well, right? They blew away. That got rained on. They got stolen, etc. This really works so much better," Hall said.

 

Hall applied for the MountainOne Community Dividend grant last year, and the path was worked on this summer. Berkshire United Way also came back out to touch up the paint on the walk that they did seven years ago to help refresh it.

 

Childcare of the Berkshires partnered with the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition (nBCC) to help get the word out about the StoryWalks, and nBCC also helped donate books.

 

"We didn't have the funds to do free book giveaways anymore, so I reached out to her [Nancy Kennedy, nBCC Program Manager] to pull her into the collaboration, because we wanted there to be an incentive for parents to sign in. So we know that families are using the Born Learning Trail, StoryWalk. We walk by all the time, CCB building, and we see people engaging, which is great, but we don't have any tangible ways to track the data, so being able to do the book giveaways, we get families that sign in, and we know that families are utilizing it with their children," said Childcare of the Berkshires Program Manager Bethany Prince-Malloy.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey was also in attendance and read to the kids beforehand. After the ribbon-cutting, she guided the kids through the walk, reading the book.

 

"Literacy, reading, and engaging with students, especially young ones like these wonderful kids here today, is so important, and what this reflects is a community commitment to promoting literacy at any age in any way, and it also gets kids outside and having fun in this beautiful complex that we have. But the best part is the collaboration between all the entities here, nBCC, MountainOne, United Way, Childcare of the Berkshires, and the city. It comes together so naturally, because we have good people doing good work in this community, and for me, that's all I want to do, is good work for the kids," said Mayor Macksey.

 

You can visit the StoryWalk on the path behind the center, next to the Noel Field Complex. At the end of the walk, you can scan the QR code on the back of the sign to enter for a chance to win a free book courtesy of nBCC.