MCLA Environmental Studies Department 2025 Green Living Seminar

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — MCLA's annual Green Living Seminar Series returns with a series of lectures on the theme of "Rewilding Our World." 
 
Presentations occur every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation (FCSI) Room 121.  
 
Every semester the Green Living Seminars center around a different topic, timely and relevant in current sustainability issues. The series, which runs through April, will kick off on Jan. 29 with Chief Scientist of Conservation Science, Inc. Dr. Reed Noss and his talk "What is Rewilding?"  
 
Future Green Living Presentations include: 
 
January 29: What is Rewilding?; Dr. Reed Noss, Conservation Science, Inc., Chief Scientist (via Zoom) 
 
February 5: Urban Rewilding; Sarah Greenleaf, Massachusetts DCR Greening the Gateway Cities Program, Urban Forester 
 
February 12: Restoring Forests to Reduce the Spread of Disease; Dr. Paula Prist, Forest and Grasslands Unit, IUCN, Senior Programme Coordinator (via Zoom) 
 
February 19: Rewilding in an Unlikely Landscape: The Recovery of the Northern Forest of the Northeastern United States; Jon Leibowitz, Northeast Wilderness Trust, President and CEO 
 
February 26: The Future of Wolves in the Northeast Renee Seacor, Project Coyote, Carnivore Conservation Director 
 
March 5: Restoring Old-Growth Characteristics to the Forest in New England, Paul Catanzaro, University of Massachusetts, Professor and State Extension Forester 
 
March 12: Land Conservation for Wildlife in Massachusetts; Andrew Madden, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Western District Supervisor 
 
March 26: Land Protection from the Indigenous Perspective; Paula Peters, Native Land Conservancy, Communications and Programs Coordinator (via Zoom) 
 
April 2: Restoring Rivers and Rewilding Wetlands in Massachusetts; Beth Lambert, Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, Director 
 
April 9: Green Roofs: Rewilding our cities; Mark Winterer, Recover Green Roofs, Co-Founder and Owner 
 
April 16: Rewilding for Pollinators; Amy Meltzer, MA Pollinator Network Steering Committee, Co-Chair 
 
April 23: Rewilding to Combat Climate Change; Dr. Os Schmitz, Yale School of the Environment, Oastler Professor of Population and Community Ecology 
 
Each presentation is free and open to the public. Podcasts will be posted online following each presentation.  
 
All lectures will be recorded and can be replayed on the MCLA ENVI Youtube Channel and broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television Channel (NBCTC) 1302 at the following times: 
  • Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 
  • Fridays at 4 p.m. 
  • Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. 
  • Sundays at 11:30 p.m. 
  • Mondays at 5:30 p.m.  
Community members can find up-to-date information about the schedule at mcla.edu/greenliving

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Berkshire Health Group Sets 16% Health Insurance Hike for FY26

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Health insurance costs for employees in 25 towns and six regional school districts will rise by 16 percent in fiscal year 2026.
 
The board of the Berkshire Health Group on Monday morning voted to increase the rate for the year that begins on July 1 by that amount, a move that is sure to color budget conversations in all of the municipal entities that participate in the joint purchase group.
 
The 7-3 vote followed a lengthy discussion about the factors driving up the cost of health care, the impact those costs are having on similar municipal and private health insurance providers and the need to maintain a healthy reserve for Berkshire Health Group.
 
As recently as three years ago, at the end of fiscal year 2021, the BHG surplus stood at just more than $22 million. For the current fiscal year, it is projected to be a little less than $12 million, according to one of the documents presented at Monday's board meeting.
 
And higher costs continue to eat away at that number.
 
"The health fund lost over a million dollars in the month of November," BHG Treasurer Jim Kelley told the group assembled in the conference room at McCann Tech.
 
Kelley told the board that 15 or 20 years ago, the group had $5 million in investments, but after two consecutive years of seeing costs outrun premiums by around 20 percent, the group needed to send a special assessment to its membership during a fiscal year.
 
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