Children and adults who are fascinated by wildlife will get a rare opportunity to see and hear about mammals living in the forests and streams near our homes. Susan Morse, a nationally recognized naturalist and wildlife expert, will be at Berkshire Community College’s Robert Boland Theater on Friday, October 26 from 7-9 PM.
The entertaining and educational evening will kick off with a slide show of Morse’s spectacular wildlife photos and an interactive talk on the biology and ecology of mammals in New England. Morse uses humor and personal anecdotes to impress on wildlife enthusiasts of all ages the importance of landscape-level planning to protect habitat and wildlife corridors. She has captured photos of mammals in the wild during her 30 years of tracking and exploring how wildlife uses habitat. Morse’s research has focused on cougar, bobcat, black bear, and Canada lynx.
The program is hosted by Berkshire Keeping Track and Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT).
Keeping Track® was founded by Susan Morse in 1994 to teach adults and children how to observe, interpret, record, and monitor evidence of wildlife in their local communities. Almost 100 teams have completed Morse’s “University of Nature†and many are currently monitoring and recording wildlife data in their home areas throughout the northeast and Quebec. These teams attract all kinds of people, Morse reports. “What we’re finding is, they all care passionately about wildlife habitat. And they’re putting their differences aside to go out together and learn these skills for the purposes of intelligent planning in their communities.â€
The first Berkshire Keeping Track group completed its training in May 2007 and the 16 graduates are currently working in three teams to identify key habitat areas they will monitor. This first group includes volunteers from 20 to 60+ years old who reside in 14 of our region’s towns. 18 more volunteers from the Berkshire region will start the next Keeping Track training in January 2008. Anyone interested in joining can get information at the slide show or online or by calling Joan Cousins at (413) 329-7382.
Sue Morse has been featured in: National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition†and in magazines such as Smithsonian, Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation’s Ranger Rick, Adirondack Life, Vermont Life, Orion, and Wild Earth. Her photography and life work are featured in The Woods Scientist, part of the Houghton Mifflin Company’s “Scientist in the Field†series.
Berkshire Community College is located at 1350 West Street in Pittsfield. Tickets may be purchased with cash at the door: Children $5, Adults $7, Families $20. For more information call Berkshire Keeping Track’s Coordinator, Joan Cousins, at (413) 329-7382 or visit www.thebeatnews.org/kt/kt.html and www.keepingtrack.org
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Pittsfield Council Passes $232.7M Budget
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council unanimously approved a $232.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
It is a modest, almost 2.9 percent increase from FY26.
"I do want to give the community kind of a heads up as we move forward on budgets. What we see coming out of the federal government that's trickling down to the states, it's going to be harder and harder for us as a community to meet our needs under the Proposition 2 1/2," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said.
"We're going to have challenges, as we've seen communities across the state trying to override the Proposition 2 1/2, because we have dwindling amounts of money coming from the state and federal government."
She pointed out that, at the same time, utility bills are going up for both residents and the city, as are the costs of pavement and other items.
The amended budget of $232,777,720, down from the $232,782,090 originally proposed, includes cuts to the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the restoration of funds for councilors to attend the annual Massachusetts Municipal Association conference.
The Pittsfield Public Schools' $86,855,061 budget includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding and $18 million from the city. With $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues, it totals $87,200,061 and is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million.
The district's budget will fund 13 schools, as Morningside Community School will retire in the fall, and includes the middle school restructuring.
Councilors also approved the use of $2 million in certified free cash to reduce the tax rate, and appropriated $450,551 for parking-related expenditures.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
