PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) presents an event on wildlife connectivity and road ecology, exploring how road infrastructure impacts wildlife habitat.

 

The event invites community members to learn more about protecting local ecosystems and supporting safer, more connected landscapes for wildlife. 

 

The event will be held on April 11 from 9:30 am to noon at Berkshire Community College

 

The event will feature presentations from two nationally recognized experts in the field: Dr. Patricia Cramer, Founder & Director of the Wildlife Connectivity Institute, and Ben Goldfarb, award-winning environmental journalist and author. 

 

In addition to these presentations, the event includes a hands-on stream table demonstration showing how ecosystems and infrastructure interact. There will also be opportunities to learn from partner organizations about how to get involved locally. 

 

Dr. Cramer will share an overview of how communities across the U.S. are working to reconnect wildlife habitat across roads. She will discuss emerging policies and programs and how protective plans can be implemented anywhere. In her role with the Wildlife Connectivity Institute, Cramer works with states to identify road segments where mitigation would most benefit wildlife and to design effective crossing structures. She has conducted studies for 15 departments of transportation, including MassDOT and has monitored over 100 wildlife crossing structures. She has received awards from the Federal Highway Administration, the Utah Department of Transportation, the Utah Wildlife Society, and the Denver Zoo.

 

Ben Goldfarb will join the event virtually to teach us how transportation infrastructure impacts animals and ecosystems, and what we can do to create a safer world for all living beings.

 

Goldfarb's work has appeared in National Geographic, The Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, The New Yorker, and many other publications, and has been anthologized in the Best American Science & Nature Writing. His most recent book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, was named among New York Times' “Best Books of 2023” and received the Rachel Carson Award for Excellence in Environmental Writing and the Banff Book Competition's Grand Prize.

 

This event is presented in partnership with Berkshire Community College, with support from The Nature Conservancy, Housatonic Valley Association, Housatonic Heritage, Greenagers, and The Conway School.