2019 April Enews

In this issue:

BNRC’s Online Store • Learn About the Berkshire Taconic Regional Conservation Partnership • The Berkshires, Past, Present and Future • Berkshire Earth Expo, Spring Happenings Hike, Children’s Vacation Programs & More • Support Seasonal Staff • Free Open Space Conference • Springside Park Earth Day Clean-up

Belted Kingfishers are returning!
You will find these birds near water, where they feed on fish and nest in banks.They fly quickly up and down rivers and shorelines giving loud rattling calls. They hunt by plunging directly from a perch, or by hovering over the water, bill downward, before diving after prey.

Are you interested in learning about birds?
Join us on an upcoming guided bird walk. www.bnrc.org/upcoming-hikes

Online Store: Shop, Wear, Support 

Now you can Wear Your Support of BNRC–check out our new online store. You’ll find t-shirts, water bottles, regional and county maps and more. Is there something you’d like to see there, something you’d love to have or give as a gift to show your love for land conservation in the Berkshires? Let us know!

Click here to check out the store!

Learn About the Berkshire Taconic Regional Conservation Partnership (BTRCP)

Beyond the Berkshires: conserving important places in our wider region is vital for encouraging tourism and growing the economy, protecting the forests and farms, and for public health.

Have you ever driven from Troy, NY to Pittsfield, MA or from Rutland, VT to Litchfield, CT? If you have, you have probably noticed some gorgeous views. These woods, fields, and streams are part of a large landscape that is important for wildlife habitat, farming, forestry, and our own quality of life. A dozen or so groups that work within this area have teamed up to create the Berkshire-Taconic Regional Conservation Partnership (BTRCP) to work together on conservation across boundaries.

Click here to learn more. 

The Berkshires, Past, Present and Future
Karen Ross, volunteer and board member, reflects on life growing up in the woods.

My dream job?  Working as a volunteer for BNRC for almost 20 years. And how did I get so lucky?

Growing up in Pittsfield was a delight, especially if you loved the outdoors with its readily available hiking, skiing, and swimming. And then, Oh these mountains—what a lovely backdrop to be sheltered within. As kids we used to be “shooed” out the door and could run off to the woods to wander around, investigate ponds, and yes, even drink the stream water! Childhood experiences like these naturally morphed into an adult realization of how vulnerable our natural places and resources are. What could be better than working to protect them!

When I returned to the Berkshires in the late 70s, there was BNRC starting to make a real impact on conserving lands. By 2001 it was going strong, and I offered to do some volunteer work—whatever was needed…

Click here to keep reading.