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.
Some 20 people tried their hands at pruning grapes at a workshop at the University of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard Research & Education Center on Saturday morning. Participants carefully snipped and shaped vines that will produce the orchard’s wine grapes, led by Sonia Schloemann, fruit specialist at UMass Extension. (Gazette 2/25/17)
GREENFIELD — It’s taken a bit longer than originally projected, but the town has succeeded in its goal of reducing energy use by 20 percent. In fact, according to preliminary estimates, it has cut municipal energy consumption by 22 percent. Ben Weil, assistant professor of environmental conservation at UMass Amherst, worked with town officials to assess how buildings performed and made recommendations. (1/3/17 Recorder)
Although the emerald ash borer is killing ash trees around the state, it has done the most damage so far in Berkshire County, according to Tawny Simisky, entomology specialist with the UMass Extension program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. (12/19/16 Berkshire Eagle )
On a quiet Friday afternoon in early December, two UMass Amherst professors, authors of the just-released booklet Supporting Communities to Become River-Smart, discussed their policy recommendations with a gathering of planners, state officials from Massachusetts and Vermont, community members and others. Celebrating the new publication at a location alongside the Deerfield River in Shelburne Falls, site of significant flood damage during Hurricane Irene in 2011, seemed particularly appropriate.
Rivers and streams in New England will inevitably flood, and there are some low-cost steps that federal and state governments can take to help communities be better prepared. That’s the message from a recent UMass Amherst report.
Responding to the increased need for education on the science behind soil phosphorus, how phosphorus works with organic residuals applied to soils, and the protection of precious water resources, UMass Amherst Extension Agriculture and Commercial Horticulture Program organized and presented a full-day symposium in Marlborough on November 2. Over 140 regulatory officials, scientists, agricultural producers, turf and grounds management professionals, industry experts, and organic residuals distributors participated.
Make-It Springfield was only supposed to be a temporary summer pop-up shop, but its success will keep this space open for the "foreseeable future." With 25 different workshops, Make-It Springfield allows visitors to indulge in a variety of subjects like arts and crafts, bicycle repair, make-up techniques, healthy eating habits and computer help. (11/2/16 MassLive)
The Student Farm at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has achieved Commonwealth Quality certification from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). (UMass News Office, 9/7/2016)
If you talk with Lindiwe—Lindi—Sibeko for more than a minute, you will find yourself immersed in a wide-ranging conversation about her work, both here in Massachusetts and around the globe. Her career in nutrition has taken her from South Africa to Canada (including indigenous communities in Northern Quebec) to Tanzania and, now, to UMass Amherst.
AMHERST – Students and farmers at the University of Massachusetts' Food for All Garden will give a tour and talk about the Agricultural Learning Center at a program for the community Wednesday, August 17, 2016. (masslive.com 8/15/16)