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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Agricultural Commission is making plans to take a more active role in the coming town discussions about the fate of the so-called Lowry property.

In its first meeting since last week's special town meeting chose to delay action on the status of town-owned land currently in conservation, the commission decided it is time to educate residents about that land's agricultural significance.

"The one thing we can do is put together a fact sheet," suggested Leslie Reed-Evans, an alternate on the commission, on Thursday. "There are lots of questions and misinformation and people asking why we can't find more hayfields. I think we should

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few dozen residents ringed Park Square throughout Monday afternoon to voice dissent about the increasing prevalence of GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, in food.

"For us, this rally is just to increase the awareness of genetically modified foods," said organizer Jan Bradley, who said the Pittsfield gathering was one of a number of rallies going on throughout Massachusetts and in other states for Earth Day, spearheaded by GMO Free USA. A subsequent series of actions is being planned for May 25 by March Against Monsanto.

These rallies represent a second wave of political action as foes of genetically modified foods reorganize

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Backyard composting is economical, environmentally friendly and, perhaps best of all, easy.

"I have never taken the temperature of my compost pile," Cynthia Grippaldi of Pittsfield's Center for EcoTechnology said Monday. "I'm a lazy composter.

"But things are breaking down."

Grippaldi broke down the basics of composting for a crowd of about 20 behind Wild Oats Market on Monday afternoon for an Earth Day workshop.

Backyard composters put the natural process of decomposition to work for them — disposing their kitchen and backyard waste without paying the transfer station

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Environmental Action Teams wants to find some roadkill.

The organization is embarking on a project to identify where in Western Massachusetts wildlife are crossing roadways in hopes to improve those crossings for the safety of both drivers and the animals.

On Monday, the group will host a public meeting at Berkshire Community College to solicit information from those with on-the-ground knowledge of where wild animals are getting hit the most.

"The first meeting is introducing it to the public. We're trying to get people to talk to us about where they see roadkill hot spots," Elia Del Molino, program manager for Connecting

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Who could pass up a chance to take pictures of some cute little chicks? Not us!

The little peepers were hatched Sunday and arrived at Carr Hardware this week. Since we couldn't decide which photo to use, we thought why not use them all?

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LENOX, Mass. — Berkshire Grown hosts its annual March Maple Dinner this Monday with dishes by six acclaimed chefs featuring the region's sticky, sweet seasonal syrup.

The dinner at Cranwell Resort is a fundraiser for the non-profit as well as for Share the Bounty, another local organization that supports food pantries with farm shares. Berkshire Grown promotes local agriculture through workshops, promotions, advocacy, education and events like the dinner highlighting locally grown and produced food.  
 
The six chefs with ties to the area and Lenox resorts Blantyre and Wheatleigh will present a five-course dinner with dishes that integrate the

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The debate over the use of the so-called Lowry property for affordable housing took another turn on Monday night with the submission of a citizens' petition calling for a special election to determine the land's fate.

Sarah Thurston of Stratton Road and Robert Scerbo of Longview Terrace, representing a larger group, presented the petition to the Selectmen with 312 signatures, 100 more than needed, to allow voters to decide whether to put Lowry and the Burbank farm into restrictive conservation by balloting.

Both lands are owned by the town and were placed under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission by town meeting in 1987.

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CONWAY, Mass. — In what has become an annual tradition, Gov. Deval Patrick aided in the black bear count on Monday morning.

The governor joined with Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rick Sullivan, Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Mary Griffin and state wildlife officials on an expedition around South Deerfield and Conway to document the newest members of the state's black bear population.

The team discovered two cubs born approximately four to six weeks ago. The cubs, both male, weighed in at approximately 6 pounds. Based on last year's breeding status, the Conway bear is one of 16 radio-collared sows believed to have given birth this winter.

While

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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Selectmen have given their OK to an energy committee to craft a proposal for a solar array and bring it to the voters.

The town's energy futures committee presented the Board of Selectmen with a conceptual idea of using a Prospect Street property for a 1.5 megawatt solar array which could provide about $58,000 in revenue per year.

However, the land was purchased in 2007 as a site for senior housing but federal funds dried up and that project has been on hold since.

"A lot of that funding has dried up," said Robert Ericson, who presented the proposal on Monday. "Our suggestion is that we move ahead and use the land for

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