Berkshire Botanical Garden’s to hold fifth annual Rooted in Place symposium online
Stockbridge — Berkshire Botanical Garden will hold its fifth annual Rooted in Place Ecological Gardening Symposium online Sunday, Nov. 15, and Sunday, Nov. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Heather Holm, author of “Pollinators of Native Plants,” 2014, and “Bees,” 2017, which won six book awards, including the 2018 American Horticultural Society Book Award, will present “What’s the Buzz About Native Bees?”, exploring the nesting habitat, life cycle, pollen collection, brood rearing and general characteristics of common genera of native bees occurring in the Midwestern and Eastern United States, and southern Canada.
Ulrich “Uli” Lorimer, director of horticulture at Native Plant Trust, will speak on the topic “What I Have Learned from Observing Plants in Nature,” engaging gardeners and horticulturists to turn outdoor hikes into inspiring learning experiences; and exploring how observations made from nature can help expand plant choices, inform design decisions and result in gardens that support biodiversity, aesthetics and ecosystem function.
Desiree Narango, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at UMass Amherst and current David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow, will present “Native Plants in Gardening Practices” based on her research on how native plants and gardening practices influence birds, bees, butterflies and moths in residential yards. The talk will also address the specialized relationships between native plants and insects, why insects matter to birds, and steps individuals can take to improve habitat for wildlife at home.
The panel discussion “Incorporating Native Plantings into Traditional Landscape Design” will feature Bridghe McCracken, founder of Helia Land Design and chief landscape designer for Project Native; Drew Monthie, a garden designer, consultant and teacher of horticulture, botany, ethnobotany and ecology; and Rebekah Lamphere, founder of Hartland Designs Inc.
The cost of the symposium is $60 for the general public, $48 for BBG members and $35 for students. Advance registration is required and available until Friday, Nov. 15, at 9 a.m. For more information or to register, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact Berkshire Botanical Garden at (413) 298-3926 or info@berkshirebotanical.org.
–E.E.
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Berkshire Chamber Players concert to benefit Stockbridge Library
Stockbridge — The Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives will present an online concert by the Berkshire Chamber Players Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m.
The program will feature two pieces and be hosted by Stockbridge Library director Wendy Pearson and music coordinator John Perkel. First, violinist Natalie Kress and violist Charlotte Malin will perform Halvorsen’s Passacaglia for violin and viola. Kress and Malin then will be joined by Robyn Quinnett, violin, and Ronald Feldman, cello, for Haydn’s String Quartet in E Flat Major, Op. 33, No. 2 (“The Joke”). Following the concert, the musicians will be available for a question-and-answer period with members of the audience.
Tickets are $10 per household. After completion of the purchasing process, patrons will receive a Zoom link to the concert benefit. For tickets or more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives at (413) 298-5501.
–E.E.
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Housatonic Valley Art League to hold holiday art show
Great Barrington — The Housatonic Valley Art League will hold its members end-of-year art show online on its website beginning Sunday, Nov. 15.
The artist members of HVAL mostly reside in the Berkshires as well as nearby New York and Connecticut, but membership has spread across America and even as far away as France. Seventy-three recent original artworks by 26 artists will be included in the show representing oils, acrylics, watercolors, photography and mixed media.
The show is timed to capitalize on the holiday season and all artwork is for sale. The show will be on view through Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021.
–E.E.
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‘True Conversations’ series to welcome author Danielle Evans
Lenox — On Sunday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m., the Mount’s virtual “True Conversations” series will welcome author Danielle Evans, who will discuss her book “The Office of Historical Corrections” with host Heidi Pitlor.
Evans is the author of the story collection “Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self,” winner of the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, the Hurston/Wright award for fiction, and the Paterson Prize for Fiction as well as an honorable mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award. She is a 2011 National Book Foundation 5 under 35 honoree and a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts fellow. Her work has appeared in the Paris Review, A Public Space, American Short Fiction, Callaloo, the Sewanee Review and Phoebe, and has been anthologized in “The Best American Short Stories” 2008, 2010, 2017 and 2018 editions as well as in “New Stories From The South.”
The event is free and open to the public via Zoom. Registration is required. For more information or to register, see the Berkshire Edge calendar, or contact the Mount at (413) 551-5111 or info@edithwharton.org.
–E.E.
