The western region of Massachusetts is composed of Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties. The largest city in the region is Springfield, located in Hampden County, along the Interstate 91 corridor on the Connecticut River.
Christine Hatch, extension associate professor of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, comments on planning for the real potential for more powerful and frequent storms due to climate change. "There can be more than one '100-year flood' in a decade," she says. (Gazette 2/14/18)
CAFE’s enterprising interim farm manager, Bob Skalbite, is actively working on a much-needed project at several of the university farms. He is tackling a task that many of us put off, but would benefit from in our own homes: cleaning house and holding a tag sale.
According to state law, local health inspectors must inspect school cafeterias at least twice a year. Amanda Kinchla, a food safety expert in food science, says corrective actions are the most important item to note when reviewing inspection reports.(Western Mass News 2/5/18)
Christine Hatch, UMass extension associate professor of water resources and climate change, pens editorial about the devastating weather event of August 28, 2011.“Tropical Storm,” Irene’s official designation, doesn’t do justice to what occurred in watersheds along the mid-Atlantic coast, Connecticut River Valley and tributaries: a catastrophic flood. (Gazette 1/26/18)
Tracy Allen, chemist and supervisor, UMass Soil Laboratory, discusses soil samples the lab tests for and amendment recommendations made across the country. (Gazette 12/15/17)
Rich says the biggest health threat from mosquitoes is the spread of West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis, which is very rare but untreatable and often fatal. (Gazette 12/13/17)
Tracy Allen, supervisor, UMass Soil Laboratory, explains that soil properties are not going to change much in the winter because soil processes slow way down in the cold, so soil test results and recommendations that offered this fall will be accurate and useful for the whole growing season in your garden next year.
“Make-It Springfield,” the downtown Springfield collaborative design and makerspace co-founded by Michael DiPasquale in June 2016, was awarded $50,000 in funding to support its growth. The funding includes $25,000 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts “Collaborative Workspace Program” administered by MassDevelopment and a matching grant of $25,000 provided by the MassMutual Foundation.
BELCHERTOWN — The University of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard Research and Education Center — its full name — is a facility where researchers are hard at work addressing sustainability, pest management, and climate change, in the name of growing the best possible fruit. (Boston Globe 10/10/17)
An editorial praises two UMass Amherst agricultural initiatives in South Deerfield—a dual-use farm, combining solar panels and crops, and a student-run vegetable farm. “Both farms are providing an impressive demonstration of successful, practical education for an occupation as old as the earth but in a modern world,” the editorial states. Amanda Brown, Stockbridge School of Agriculture and director of the Student Farming Enterprise program, is quoted.
