Pittsfield Energy Saving Trees Program

10:55AM / Monday, April 06, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As part of the City of Pittsfield's annual Arbor Day celebration, the city has partnered with Eversource for a community tree planting program.

Eversource is donating over 1,000 three- and five-foot-tall trees to local communities through its Energy Saving Trees Program with the Arbor Day Foundation, a larger environmental initiative across its three-state service territory. Approximately 200 trees will be available for Pittsfield residents.

To participate, Pittsfield homeowners can visit https://get.arborday.org/eversource to select and reserve a free tree while supplies last. An interactive tool is available in the portal to determine the best location to plant the tree or shrub for energy savings.

While in the portal, residents will be provided an opportunity to review the trees available and select the tree that is best suited for the location to provide the maximum benefits. If you are a renter, Eversource asks that you contact your landlord for this request.

Trees will be provided during the distribution day on May 1, between noon and 7:00p.m., in the upper parking lot of the Springside House, located at 874 North Street. To receive a tree, an application must be completed online through the application portal prior to the event.

Pittsfield does not allow trees to be planted in the city's right of way without permission. If you are seeking permission to plant a tree in the right of way or have questions about where the right of way boundaries are, please email dpw@cityofpittsfield.org.

In addition, the City of Pittsfield will not be planting or maintaining any trees on a resident's property that are a part of this program.

The city's Arbor Day Ceremony will be held at 12:30p.m. on May 1 at Taconic High School in partnership with their CTE Environmental Science and Horticulture programs. A tree will be planted outside near the front of the school. Light refreshments will be provided by Taconic's Culinary Arts program after the ceremony.

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Pittsfield Schools Schedule Morningside, Budget Hearings This Week

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:23AM / Monday, April 06, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee will hold another public hearing for the potential closure of Morningside Community School.

On Thursday, April 9, at 6 p.m., community members will have the chance to give feedback in the Reid Middle School library. Last month, the Pittsfield Public Schools announced the possible closure of Morningside, which serves elementary grades, for the 2026-2027 school year and redistribution of its students to other city schools.

In the last couple of weeks, the district has solicited input from employees and community members through meetings at the school.

Morningside Community School was built in the mid-1970s with an open classroom concept. Morningside serves about 374 students and has a 7 percent accountability score, outperformed by 93 percent of the state.

For fiscal year 2027, the district has allocated about $5.2 million for the school. The committee has also requested a version of the proposed $87.2 million district budget with Morningside closed.

Pittsfield has another open concept school, Conte Community School, that is planned to consolidate with Crosby Elementary School, and possibly Stearns Elementary School, in a new building on the Crosby site by 2030. The status of the project's owner's project manager will be discussed on Tuesday, April 7, at 5 p.m. at Taconic High School during the School Building Needs Commission meeting.

That leaves the school officials wondering if Morningside students could have better educational outcomes if resources followed them to other nearby schools. Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips has stressed that a decision has not yet been made.

Considerations for the school’s closure include: The feasibility of the facility to provide a conducive teaching and learning environment with an open campus design, the funding allocation needed to ensure Morningside students can have equitable learning opportunities, and declining enrollment across Pittsfield elementary schools.