By Ted Watt
We sling on our packs and leave the cars in the parking lot, entering the northern forest on a narrow paint-blazed trail. Paper birch, mountain ash and red spruce make up the forest along with balsam fir scenting the air. No matter how many times I come here it surprises me how different the plants are here than at home, only a 3½-hour car ride away. Bunchberry is in bloom and painted trilliums are, too. Blue-headed vireos gossip from the treetops. Swainson’s thrush calls shimmer from the deeper woods.
Daily Hampshire Gazette
Building projects in Amherst and Hadley that garnered headlines this week will take vibrant educational ventures to the next level. Both the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst and the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley are poised for growth and change that will better serve thousands of families in the Valley.
Press Release
Hitchcock Center
The Hitchcock Center for the Environment is pleased to announce its first ever Leadership Training Camp for youth ages 11-‐ 16, from June 30 – July 3 in Amherst. Young aspiring leaders will gain strong mentoring and leadership skills such as assessing group dynamics, managing behavior, and facilitating activities for younger campers.
Daily Hampshire Gazette
Generations of area schoolchildren have learned about the natural world and environmental issues through classes, field trips and camps at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment. For U.S. Rep. James McGovern, who joined with former U.S. Rep. John Olver to tour the Hitchcock Center’s South Pleasant Street site Friday afternoon, such educational places could reduce the ignorance of elected officials who serve in Washington.
Press Release
Office of Senator Stan Rosenberg
State Senator Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst), Majority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate, announced today that the Massachusetts Cultural Council has awarded seven projects in his district more than $1.3 million in grants from the state’s Cultural Facilities Fund, a program Rosenberg has long championed to increase public investment in the state’s cultural treasures.
MassLive.com
The Hitchcock Center for the Environment, which is building a 8,500-square-foot environmental education center at Hampshire College, has received a $600,000 Cultural Facilities Fund grant from the state for that project. It is one of eight programs to receive $1.3 million in state grants announced in a press release from Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst.
By David Spector
During nesting season, I often see a male bird closely following his mate. He may fly where she flies, feed where she feeds, trail after her as she builds her nest, and keep her in view. I see such mate-following in many species: a male mourning dove flying a few inches behind his mate, a male robin staying close to a female hunting worms on a lawn, a male hawk perched next to his larger mate, a male house sparrow keeping airborne pace with a female carrying a bill-full of nesting material. Such classic greeting card images are the kinds of behavior often considered enchantingly sweet.
Green Teacher
We sat quietly in the forest, swatting mosquitoes and listening intently to the many species of birds singing in the trees around us. Sarah carefully pressed the button on the boom box, broadcasting the breeding call of the male black-throated blue warbler. Within seconds, Kevin focused his binoculars above us and whispered excitedly, “There he is!”
Share this page with friends!
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax