South County — Morning sun struck the ridge traversed by the Appalachian Trail, the backdrop of Greenagers’ headquarters at April Hill in Egremont. Conservation Director Elia del Molino told members of the Massachusetts Climate Action and Sustainability Committee and their entourage how the 40 to 60 youth and young adults employed each year on the trail crews gain hands-on experience with things like erosion, invasive species, and forest health. He described how, a few years ago, Greenagers received state funding through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program to train youth to survey culverts in Berkshire County to determine which were most vulnerable to flooding and which obstructed wildlife movement.
State Rep. Leigh Davis (D – 3rd Berkshire District) organized the day of southern Berkshire site visits on September 29 “to spotlight the wonderful initiatives going on in the Berkshires,” she said in her opening remarks, adding that as one of the most rural counties in the Commonwealth, “70 percent of our land is forested, so we really have a big impact on carbon sequestration.”
In Greenagers’ shop, Pathways to the Trades Director Pete Gray, who brings young people into carpentry and contracting, pointed to a shade structure just built by high school students from donated wood milled on site. Executive Director Will Conklin noted, “A project like this might not necessarily on the face of it look like it has a climate component to it, but as we get further into the climate crisis, buying lumber from British Columbia or northern Canada is going to be less and less sustainable or even possible.”
Greenagers recently applied for a state program to add enough solar panels to offset their entire operation. But “at the bedrock” of their climate action, said Conklin, is ensuring that young people are aware and equipped with the skills to actively seek creative solutions to the challenges.
“I can’t say enough about what Greenagers does for the community,” State Rep. Davis remarked, saying she had known about the group since she moved to the area in 2009. “They touch on so many aspects of what sustains and strengthens a community. It was just a natural first stop, and adjacent to the [Appalachian Trail], it was a good introduction to the Berkshires in so many ways,” she told the Edge. “I made promises to myself that if I were to get elected I would do all that I can to uplift all the wonderful organizations here.” As a freshman legislator, she made the pitch to the chair of the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee (of which she is a member) to showcase her district.
Committee Chair and State Rep. Tram Nguyen (D – 18th Essex District), who traveled from eastern Massachusetts along with State Rep. and committee Vice Chair Michelle Ciccolo (D – 15th Middlesex District) and State Rep. Joshua Tarsky (D – 13th Norfolk District), explained that the goal of the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee is to act as a liaison between the various committees in the legislature because “intersectionality” is key to climate action work. Along with Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer, the committee works to stay on track with the “climate roadmap” passed in 2021 to reach net zero by 2050. Following a sustainability fair two weeks ago in the capital, they are also committed to touring the state so that residents know their voices are “part of the legislative process.” “We would love to get feedback from you all and hear from you if there are any initiatives that we could be supportive of or collaborate with you on,” State Rep. Nguyen told those gathered.
Davis mentioned that the farm-to-institution pilot program she is working on right now (Bill H.4106) was inspired by a gathering Greenagers hosted a few years ago where she met Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) and realized farmers “need an easier, more direct way to sell their food.” Being able to sell directly to hospitals, correctional facilities, or schools would create a new revenue stream, and Davis thought a pilot program should be attempted on the statewide level.
At April Hill, tour attendees walked through beds of the summer’s last crops, learning about the farming programs Greenagers runs on its roughly 100 acres, which Farm Director Sarah Monteiro explained are connected to climate resiliency. They distribute a lot of produce to food pantries and food shares in schools and install garden beds to help residents grow their own food. They also manage a community firewood bank, delivering cordwood to those in need of heating assistance. Davis said she “really appreciate[s]” the extensive community collaborations that enable Greenagers’ “outreach to vulnerable populations.”
Conklin revealed that Greenagers, which works with 1,200 to 1,500 young people a year across their various programs, is also in the midst of a campaign to build a classroom and kitchen adjacent to the farm space to connect young people to their food. The education arm of the nonprofit has a strong presence in local schools, particularly via afterschool programs that take middle schoolers on explorations throughout the county, giving them a strong foundation in environmental conservation, farming, and the trades and fostering their connection to the community which they may choose to later work for with Greenagers.
A group that Greenagers trail crews have worked with considerably, the Great Barrington Land Conservancy, hosted the next stop on the committee’s tour. Volunteer Director Christine Ward gave attendees a fascinating history of Lake Mansfield, stretching back to its time as an industrial ice-manufacturing site, replete with occasional explosions and deaths. Later, its control by the Great Barrington Fire District afforded accidental protections for habitat and recreation. A permit for a hotel and casino was denied in the 1920s, but a busy paved road still flanked the lake. Eventually, groups came together to protect the lake, leading to the nearly $2 million project to rehabilitate the watershed and replace the road with a buffered nature path. State-funded Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grants funded most of it. “Lake Mansfield is an example of what the power of grant funding, careful planning, and community commitment can do for a space that is going to make our community much more resilient in the face of climate change,” said Ward. It is a “rarity,” she said, to have such a pristine lake so close to downtown.
Davis recounted how, while stranded in Great Barrington in a snowstorm, she stumbled upon a magical winter scene of people skating and sledding on the lake. Later, on the lake task force, she was a proponent of the transformation that took over 12 years of planning and convincing the community about the value of the project, which faced considerable pushback. The lake and adjacent trails are “a sanctuary for the town. It’s one of these models that I think other towns in the Commonwealth can look to and say, ‘this is how you do it right’.”
Next, the tour headed to Taft Farms, the beloved family-run sustainable farm in Housatonic, which has also been inviting customers of Housatonic Waterworks to fill up water for free if theirs was undrinkable. “That was important to me,” Davis explained.
The final stop would be Woods Pond in Lee, the proposed site for the EPA’s upland disposal facility. “I’m very grateful that members of the EPA will be giving us a tour,” said Davis, who described her carefully curated tour as “a bit of environmental action mixed in with collaboration and partnerships.” There were many other places she wanted to visit. “Maybe there’ll be a part two,” she said.
