Williamstown.com

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute hosts its final foraging walk of the season with naturalist and wild edibles enthusiast Arianna Alexsandra Collins on Sept. 26.

Collins will guide visitors across the Clark’s 140-acre campus in a one-hour talk, identifying wild edibles and medicinals found on the grounds. The walkabout begins at 5:30 p.m. on the Fernández Terrace by the Clark’s Reflecting Pool.

Collins, who serves as executive director of the Hoosic River Watershed Association, will discuss characteristics for proper identification of flora and fungi, as well as meal and medicinal preparation. Trailside nibbling throughout the walkabout is

0 Comments
>> Read More

Williamstown Farm Reimagined as Education, Rescue Center

By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
07:09AM / Sunday, August 07, 2022

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — As she shows off the potpourri produced from cuttings around her Henderson Road farm, Jane Swift can joke that she has the best smelling barn in the Berkshires. "We're so lucky to live here," she says. "This is all stuff I just picked. People probably think I'm crazy. I go around sniffing stuff on the farm." In the near future, Swift hopes to add some new smells to the mix. She is working to transform the century-old family farm into the Cobble Hill Farm Education and Rescue Center. And by the late fall, she hopes to start filling that barn with rehabilitating fauna to go along with the

0 Comments
>> Read More

Williamstown Planners Advise Conservation of Oblong Road Parcel

By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
04:30AM / Wednesday, August 03, 2022

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board last week advised the Select Board to assign to a local non-profit the town's option to buy a 10-acre parcel of farmland on Oblong Road. In a unanimous vote, the planners recommended the town assign its right of first refusal to the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation for a lot currently conserved under Chapter 61 of Massachusetts General Law. Under Chapter 61, land in agriculture is eligible for property tax relief. Part of the tradeoff for the landowner is that when the land is sold, the municipality has the right of first refusal. The parcel's current owner, Beth Phelps, has a purchase and sales agreement for

8 Comments
>> Read More

Williamstown Rural Lands Farm Visit

12:07PM / Monday, July 04, 2022

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown Rural Lands (WRL) will tour and learn about micro-scale farming at Bigfoot Farm on Sunday, July 10, at 10 a.m. Learn how farmer Brian Cole produces a diversity of veggies using sustainable farming techniques. Now in his fifth year on one acre of leased farmland, Cole has made strides in learning what it takes to achieve economic success farming at a micro-scale. While touring his farm, attendees can ask questions. Cole will discuss soil management, crop sequencing, and pest and weed control using organic methods. Cole will share his experience as a tenant farmer and discuss what can be done to promote working rural

0 Comments
>> Read More

Williamstown Seeking Volunteers, Property, Greenhouse Gas Lowering Ideas

By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
12:43PM / Wednesday, May 25, 2022

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town is looking for your time, your ideas and, if you can spare it, your land. Monday's Select Board meeting featured appeals to community members on several different fronts. The board asked residents to consider service on town boards and committees. A representative from the grassroots Carbon Dioxide Lowering (COOL) Committee invited community members to share thoughts on Wednesday about how the town can meet its net zero greenhouse gas emission goal. And the Select Board's representative on the Affordable Housing Trust publicized that body' effort to acquire a home or buildable lot in town. "The request for proposals

1 Comment
>> Read More

Bird Walk at Sheep Hill

08:18AM / Tuesday, May 24, 2022

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown Rural Lands is hosting an early morning bird walk on Sunday, May 29. Join birder Tommy Richey at 7:30 am to identify different birds. Former Audubon chapter president and local Tommy Richey will guide attendees by sound and sight to meet migratory birds taking up spring residency on the hill such as Indigo Buntings, Eastern Kingbirds, Yellow Warblers, Baltimore Orioles, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Bring water, snacks, and wear sturdy shoes. Bring binoculars if you have them. Loaner pairs will be available. Heavy rain cancels the event so check the website the evening before. The guided bird walk

0 Comments
>> Read More

Williamstown Rural Lands To Host Sheep to Shawl

07:59AM / Thursday, May 05, 2022

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown Rural Lands (WRL), a non-profit, member-supported land conservation trust, invites members of the community to the return of its Sheep to Shawl event on Saturday, May 7, from 11am to 3pm. Located at WRL's Sheep Hill headquarters, the festival will celebrate spring and New England heritage with time-honored crafts, local artisans, farm animals, and a focus on the region's historic fleece and fiber industry. Fred DePaul will spin stories and use traditional tools to shear sheep, while border collies from Tanstaafle Farm and Littlebrook Farm herd sheep in complex maneuvers around the hills. The Green Mountain

0 Comments
>> Read More

Williams College Receives STARS Gold Rating for Sustainability

08:00AM / Saturday, April 30, 2022

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College has earned a STARS Gold rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. Williams' STARS report is publicly available on the STARS website: https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/williams-college-ma/report "This is an exciting accomplishment," said Tanja Srebotnjak, director of the college's Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives that prepared the report.

0 Comments
>> Read More

Earth Day Celebration in Merchants Park

04:13PM / Monday, April 18, 2022

BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Earth Day celebration this spring will take place at Merchants Parks at 3:30 the afternoon of April 22, 2022. This will be the fifty-second commemoration of Earth Day which began in 1970. This Earth Day is sponsored by Climate Advocates Bennington, the MAUHS group Climate Change Initiative and Better Bennington Corporation. The celebration is open to the public and will have speakers, music, and skits with audience participation. According to a press release, Earth Day in the US, began after several major ecological disasters. In January of 1969 An oil rig leaked millions of gallons of oil on the coast of Santa

0 Comments
>> Read More

Williamstown Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Task Force Seeks Community Input

By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
05:06AM / Monday, April 04, 2022

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board last week heard about two initiatives looking to make change on a regional and global scale and one proposal that would shake up the way the town taxes at the local level. At last year's annual town meeting, members overwhelmingly voted to commit the town to a "net zero greenhouse gas emissions goal" by 2050. Part of the resolution included a more immediate goal of forming a "comprehensive action plan" by next year. Last Monday, one of the residents on a 27-person task force working on that plan updated the Select Board on the group's activities. "What is a net zero community?"

0 Comments
>> Read More

Page 1 of 5