Presentation of nine projects seeking CPA funds
Great Barrington — The Town of Great Barrington’s Community Preservation Committee, town representatives and the nine prospective Community Preservation Act Project grantees will be at St. James Place at 352 Main Street next Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m. to answer questions and discuss their project proposals for which they are seeking funding from this coming May 4 Town Meeting. The event is open to the public, and all are welcome to learn more about the projects recommended by the Committee for CPA funding in this year’s cycle.
The CPA is a cooperative town and state funding program by which communities may fund projects for open space preservation, creation of affordable housing, preservation of historic buildings and landscapes, and the creation of recreational resources.
At the May 4 Town Meeting, Great Barrington voters will be asked to approve funding for the first ever local CPA projects. The Great Barrington Community Preservation Committee recommends a total expenditure of $866,640 for the nine projects. These projects were considered to be the most worthy of funding this year, after a lengthy public review process. The recommended projects are:
COMMUNITY HOUSING (1 project)
100 Bridge Street – creation of affordable housing, $200,000
HISTORIC PRESERVATION (6 projects)
St. James Place – roof repair/replacement, $150,000
Mahaiwe PAC – foundation/basement drainage remediation, $30,000
Wheeler Farmstead – restoration/repairs, $50,000
Newsboy Statue & Fountain – restoration, $31,640
Town Hall – design plans for eaves repairs, $20,000
Mason Library – restoration/repairs of cupola, roof, $65,000
OPEN SPACE & RECREATION (2 projects)
100 Bridge Street – creation of river front open space, $300,000
The Trustees of Reservations – rehab/creation of trails, $20,000
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For more information, please contact Town Planner, Christopher Rembold at (413) 528-1619, x. 7 www.townofgb.org.
— H.B.
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Flying Deer Nature Center sponsors two events in Lenox
“Deep Nature Connection”
Lenox — Wilderness Awareness School founder Jon Young will give a talk called “Deep Nature Connection” on Friday, April 24 at the Lenox Community Center, 65 Walker St., beginning with a reception at 6 p.m, that includes refreshments, music and educational tables. The talk will begin at 7 p.m.
Young has served as a wilderness mentor for 26 years and is an expert storyteller, known for captivating audiences of all ages. Jon focuses on blending native mentoring techniques from around the world with the tools of modern field ecology. Suggested donation: $25. Nature-education organizations that wish to have a table at the event may contact Flying Deer Nature Center 518-794-6687.
“Song of the Forest, a one-day workshop on bird language”
Lenox —“Song of the Forest” explores the world of bird language through storytelling, lecture, slideshows, outdoor activities, field exercises, and more on Sunday, April 26, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mass Audubon’s Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, 472 West Mountain Rd., and is co-hosted with Mass Audubon.
Learn to identify the “five voices of the birds,” including bird alarms; basic and advanced approaches to bird identification; and “routines of invisibility.” This program is for adults and interested teens; a separate program for children ages 6 to 12 will be offered at the same time. Tuition: $40 for adults and teens; $30 for children.
For more information on both events and to register, call 518-794-6687 or visit https://www.flyingdeernaturecenter.org
–D.S.
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Bidwell House Museum Offers High School Internships
Monterey — The Bidwell House Museum, a colonial historic house museum in Monterey, is offering high school students with an interest in history, particularly local Berkshire colonial history, the opportunity to become a Young History Scholar Intern this summer. The Bidwell House Museum is a 1750s New England heritage site providing through its land, house and collection a personal encounter with frontier life in early America. The museum includes the fully furnished colonial homestead, several outbuildings, and 192 acres of grounds with gardens, stone walls, foundations and hiking trails.
High school interns spend two weeks at the museum: in week one the intern learns about colonial Berkshire history, the Bidwell family, the house, the property and the collection, and how docents give tours; in week two, each intern chooses a research topic and begins to give tours of the museum as a junior docent.
Recent summer interns have come from the following towns and school districts: Lanesborough, Lenox, New Marlborough, Monterey, Sandisfield, South Lee, Tyringham, Fort Mill, S.C., Albany Academy, Convent of the Sacred Heart, N.Y., Dana Hall School, Waldorf High School, Houghton Academy, Lenox Memorial Middle and High School, Monument Mountain Regional High School, and Mt. Everett Regional High School.
Each high school intern receives a $200 stipend for the two-week internship. The funds are provided by grants from the Great Barrington, Lenox and Monterey Cultural Councils as well as private sponsors and friends of the museum.
The museum is also seeking a college student for an 8-week internship. The internship application can be found on the museum’s website: www.bidwellhousemuseum.org. Deadline for applications is April 30th, and applicants will be invited for an interview. Please call or email Barbara Palmer, Executive Director of the museum, with any questions: bidwellhouse@gmail.com, 413-528-6888.
— H.B.
