NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Lever and North Adams were awarded $85,000 in state grant funding to support Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership
Lever and the City of North Adams have been awarded $65,000 and $20,000, respectively, through a state grant program to support forest stewardship and conservation, trail improvements, and nature-based tourism in the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership (MTWP) region.
"Outdoor recreation is an attraction for North Adams residents and visitors alike," North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard said. "You don't have to step too far away from the center of the city to connect to nature or enjoy our spectacular views. I'm thrilled to work with the MWTP, and I'm grateful to the Baker-Polito administration for supporting our efforts to promote outdoor recreation in North Adams. I'm also so pleased to have a great partner in Lever. I know that the Mohawk Trail Entrepreneur Challenge will build on Lever's incredible record of promoting entrepreneurship and strengthening our region's economy."
The City of North Adams will use its funding to inventory the City's network of trails—city-owned, state, NGO, and private—and, with input from residents and owners of tourist-focused businesses, create and market a comprehensive trail map to draw more tourists to the City for hiking and walking.
Lever, the only economic development organization in Massachusetts to receive funding, will use its grant award to create the Mohawk Trail Entrepreneur Challenge (MTEC), a business acceleration program for entrepreneurs within the MTWP region looking to launch or expand innovative forest-based businesses. Designed to help accelerate four to eight new enterprises, each company in the Challenge will incorporate sustainable forestry and natural-resource-based tourism in their business models.
Lever's Executive Director Jeffrey Thomas explained that the Challenge will draw entrepreneurs from all sixteen Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership towns, including North Adams, Adams, and Clarksburg.
"We're delighted to support entrepreneurs from Berkshire and Franklin Counties from our North Adams headquarters," he said.
The MTEC will be launched from the City of North Adams, where Lever headquarters are located, and aims to maximize regional economic impact through businesses that can attract revenue from areas outside the Mohawk Trail region, create new jobs, and attract financing from multiple sources.
Finalists will be selected in September 2020, and in 2021, the winning project will receive $25,000 to support its goals.
Lever has organized 15 previous challenges, working with a wide range of business models, and has supported more than 80 entrepreneurs whose companies have created dozens of jobs in the region.
Announced by the Baker-Polito Administration to mark Climate Week in the Commonwealth, $225,000 in total grant funding was awarded to Lever and eight municipalities in the MTWP region. The MTWP, a grassroots-led program based on conserving forests and supporting their sustainable management in order to advance economic development in rural MA communities along the Vermont and New York border, provides funding to assist 16 member towns in the Commonwealth's most rural and forested region to plan for the care of forests in the face of climate change, prepare forest offset projects, and improve nature-based tourism.
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Colegrove Park Recognized as Top 10 School Statewide in Attendance
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Superintendent Barbara Malkas, left, Colegrove Principal Amy Meehan, Mayor Jennifer Macksey and Dean of Students Jonathan Slocum pose with the Celtics basketball award on Friday.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Boston Celtics gave gold to Colegrove Park Elementary School on Friday for scoring in the top 10 schools for attendance statewide. The school saw its chronic absenteeism numbers drop by 11 percent last year.
Tim Connor, assistant director for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's west and central district, arrived with a gold basketball signed by the champion team to reward the students for their achievement.
"An award like this doesn't come easy. It takes a lot of work from all of you, the students, the parents, and especially Ms. Meehan and her wonderful staff, so a big round of applause," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey, after leading the assembly in the gym to chants of "Colegrove rocks!" "I am so proud of this school and the community that all of you have built. So everyone should be really excited about today, and this is an excellent way to start your school."
Superintendent Barbara Malkas asked last year's fifth-graders at Colegrove to join her at the front of the gym for a special applause.
"When we track attendance of all the students in the whole district, these students have the highest attendance rate, the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the entire district," Malkas said. "While all Colegrove students have been recognized as attendance all-stars, these students led the way in being attendance all-stars, so let's give them one more round of applause."
Colegrove switched this year to house Grades 3 to 6, so some of the younger students who helped earn the award are now at Brayton Elementary. However, all three elementary schools open last year saw improvement in attendance.
Schools statewide have been working to reduce chronic absenteeism — the percentage of students missing 10 percent of the school year, or 18 days — which peaked during the pandemic.
Last week, the nonprofit held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a 900-square-foot wooden structure with a full foundation and a composting toilet. The excavation process began this week, and completion is expected in 2026.
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The Boston Celtics gave gold to Colegrove Park Elementary School on Friday for scoring in the top 10 schools for attendance statewide. The school saw its chronic absenteeism numbers drop by 11 percent last year. click for more