Every Wednesday @ 5:30 p.m. from January 26th to April 20th

MCLA’s annual Green Living Seminar Series begins on Wednesday, Jan. 26 and continues through April, presenting a series of in-person lectures on the theme of “Greening the City.”

Every year, the Green Living Seminar Series centers around a different topic, timely and relevant in current sustainability issues. The series is free and open to the public, with seminars taking place on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. from Jan. 26 to April 20. Presentations will be held on the MCLA Campus in room 121 of the Center for Science and Innovation. In accordance with MCLA policies, all attendees must wear a mask while inside campus buildings.

Community members can find up-to-date information about the schedule as well as the link to the YouTube channel by clicking here.

Following these presentations, audio podcasts of lectures will be posted to MCLA’s YouTube Channel and video will also be broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television Channel (NBCTC) 1302 at the following times:
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Fridays at 4 p.m.
Saturdays at 3:30 p.m.
Sundays at 11:30 a.m.
Mondays at 5:30 p.m.

Mark Rabinsky, Green Communities Western Regional Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, will kick off the series on Jan. 26 with a talk titled “Clean Energy Solutions For Cities And Towns: Massachusetts Green Communities Program.

Future Green Living presentations include:

February 2: “Sustainable Zoning and Municipal Building Decarbonization Strategies” with Kai Palmer-Dunning, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Buildings and Communities Associate

February 9: “Pittsfield Grey To Green: Inclusive Planning for Environmental and Climate Justice” with Allison Egan, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Senior Planner

February 16: “Reducing GHGs from Transportation in Massachusetts,” with Katherine S. Fichter, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Assistant Secretary and Chief of Climate And Decarbonization

February 23: “How and Why to Increase Plant-Based Lunch Options in Schools” with Amie Hamlin, The Coalition for Healthy School Food, Executive Director

March 2: “Community Strategies for Addressing the Plastic Pollution Crisis,” with David Sayer, Beyond Plastics and Sustainable Saratoga

March 9: “Residential Landscaping to Support Pollinators” with Dr. Susannah Lerman, U.S. Forest Service Research Ecologist

March 23: “Public Health and Community Based Participatory Research in Urban Environmental Justice Communities” with Dr. Madeleine L. Scammell, Boston University School of Public Health, Associate Professor of Environmental Health

March 30: “Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership: Sustainable Forest Management and Natural Resource-Based Economic Development in Northwestern Massachusetts” with Dr. Hank Art, Williams College Rosenburg Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, Emeritus, and Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership, Board Chair

April 6: “Carbon Farming in Urban and Suburban Areas” with Dr. Nathan Phillips, Boston University Department of Earth and Environment, Professor

April 13: “Williamstown Composts!: Lessons from a Community Composting Pilot Program” with Nancy Nylen and Ann McCallum of Williamstown, Mass.

April 20: “Bicycling in Berkshire County: History and Future” with Nicholas Russo, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Senior Transportation Planner