Deep in the woods in the town of Florida sits an 83-acre outdoor classroom, a wilderness learning facility that helps students from New York City public schools learn about the environment and develop leadership skills.
    On one recent day, boys from the city spent a minute or so between structured activities joyfully rolling on their sides down a gently sloping hill.
    The Manice Education Center is located on Savoy Road in this small Northern Berkshire town set atop the Hoosac mountain range. Christodora Inc., a nonprofit organization based in New York City that has been providing urban youth with opportunities for camping and education since 1908, founded the center about 20 years ago, said Dawn Chávez, the center's director.
    "We try to target students who wouldn't otherwise have this opportunity ... low-income students from the inner-city of New York," Chávez said. "We work with specific schools, both for our school groups and when we do our recruiting for the summer."
    In the spring, and again in the fall, the Manice Center hosts school groups that come up with their teacher for three-day, two-night class field trips. The summer includes four longer and more intensive sessions of environmental science, wilderness, and leadership training courses for students aged 11 to 18.
    Learning and teamwork
    On May 25, center staff kept busy hosting 22 seventh graders, 12 and 13 years old, from The Academy of Environmental Science in New York for a three-day visit.
    While they're at the center, the students take part in such activities as canoeing, orienteering, forest ecology and wetland ecology. They "really get out and use the environment," Chávez said.
    "The groups rotate through three different activities, and they each do the same thing but at different times," she added.
    That morning, one group of students worked on wetlands investigation, a second group examined forest ecology, and another group canoed on the small pond on center grounds.
    The students also work on their leadership and teamwork skills.
    "And that hopefully carries over to all the activities, like canoeing, so they work together," Chávez said. "We do a specific teams course when they arrive."
    A renovated farmhouse anchors the property and includes classrooms, offices, library, infirmary, and dining room. The center also has an organic vegetable garden, and the staff and students do composting.
    Students and instructional staff live in large army-style tents elevated on wooden platforms; boys and girls stay in separate groups of tents. Each tent has space for up to six students and one staff member. A wash house is nearby.
    In the spring and fall, six instructors work at the center, three female and three male, in addition to the director and assistant director. Instructors receive three training sessions of at least a week long in the spring, summer, and fall, she said.
    "All of our instructors have first-aid and CPR certification. And we have a very small student-to-teacher ratio," Chávez said. "It's only about five or six students to each teacher, and they work in activity groups of about 10 to 12 students.
    "All of our meals are served family style in the dining hall. [The students] take turns doing chores and setting the table and that sort of thing," she said.
    In the afternoons on these school visits are "optionals" - where the students get to choose what activity they do.
    "And sometimes they'll go to one of the state forest ponds like Bog Pond or North Pond and they'll go for an extended canoe trip building on the skills that they learned here," Chávez said. "It's all very safe. The instructors always have a lifeguard with them, so one of us will be [a] certified lifeguard in their group."
    For the summer programs, Christodora screens interested candidates from hundreds of highly motivated applicants presently attending schools in New York City. Students are selected based on the recommendation of their teacher, their application, and a personal interview, according to program literature.
    For the spring and fall class visits, some schools will have an application process to draw students from several different classes and take them on a special trip. Others will take the whole class, Chávez said.
    "But I think most of them do ... pick and choose, and the kids have to apply or show interest in it," she added.
    Evaluations are part of the Manice experience at the end of the summer programs.
    "We give each student an evaluation. For the high school students, we both give them an evaluation of their performance and then they give us feedback as well," she said. "So, we've gotten good results. It shows by the fact that students keep coming back year after year. And it's not a free ride; each time they have to apply and interview before they're accepted - they're not just rubber-stamped in."
    She noted that three members of the current teaching staff had been students at The Manice Center. Chávez is in her first year as director, and succeeds longtime director Brian Robinson, who is now executive director of Christodora.
    Outdoor fun and exploration
    During a break between activities, some of the boys began playfully rolling together down a gently sloping grassy hill.
    "They love rolling down the hill," Chávez said with a laugh. "Like when else would they get to do it?
    "There's a lot of things that, being from the country, people might take for granted that they get to do, [such as] having trees around and grass to roll on that's not going to have glass in it and bottle tops," she said. "Here it's great."
    Jeff Dotts, assistant director, said three-quarters of the students present that day had been to the Manice Education Center before, but this was their only experience in the country.
    "It's fun; it's a lot of energy," he said. "It's a lot of energy."
    Asked about the challenges of working with the children the center serves, Dotts spoke of the students' unfamiliarity with the rural surroundings and society. Getting students acclimated to the practice of working as a team rather than just as individuals is another challenge for staff.
    Dotts noted that city children come to the center with a sort of emotional armor, and it is rewarding to see this fall away and the students respond with the normal curiosity of a child.
    "You recognize when the light goes on," he said of the students' learning experience. "The ultimate goal is for them to want to learn how to teach themselves and become self-inspired."
    Natasha Jones and Mustafa Sullivan led several students into a field to study the ecosystem of the forest, including plant life and tree cycles.
    "We're trying to get the students involved by having them take an active role in it," Jones said. "So they have a clipboard, and they have questions that we want them to answer."
    The group stopped in an open field, and Sullivan asked the students to look around the area.
    "Just look at this area, take some notes on this area," he said. "Then we're going to discuss it."
    "Think about how many plants are here, think about the size of them, think about what it looks like, everything," he said.
    Meanwhile, on the pond, instructors Carrie Elvey and Ralph George were in canoes with students teaching basic techniques and safety, including how to safely switch people from one canoe to another.
    Little-known around here
    Tuition for Christodora programs is set according to the family's income. The organization receives funding for the Manice Education Center from individual and corporate donations, foundation grants, and visitation fees.
    "It's little-known in the town of Florida and North Adams, so I'd like for people to find out about us, and come on by and see what we do," Chávez said of the center.
    More information about Christodora Inc. and the Manice Education Center can be found on the Internet at www.geocities.com/christodora.
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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