Insects
Firefly Frolic
Mount Greylock State ReservationFriday, June 24, from 8:30 – 10:00 PM For all ages. Did you know that watching fireflies can be fun for you AND safe for bugs? Come learn about fireflies and how to best view these mystical glowing lights of…
Field Trip Introduction to Dragonflies
Multiple Locations OutdoorsSaturday, June 25 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Join Dave Small, the president of the Athol Bird and Nature Club, for an introduction to dragonfly watching. We will check a couple of different types of waterbodies – locally –…
Bring Back the Pollinators: Managing Pests While Protecting Pollinators
Online/ZoomThursday, July 21 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM How can we manage pests while protecting pollinators in home yards? Good garden pollinator habitat requires flowering plants and undisturbed places for pollinators to nest, but home landscapes also need to be…
Family Butterfly Hike & Seek at The Boulders
The Boulders Dalton, MASaturday, July 23 • 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Join Berkshire Family Hikes for a Butterfly Hike & Seek around the Boulders in Dalton. You’ll search for butterflies, both real and artificial, and learn a bit about these winged friends…
Native Plant & Insect Walk with Expert Charley Eiseman at Thomas & Palmer Brook, Great Barrington
Thomas and Palmer Brook Great Barrington, MassachusettsSaturday, August 13 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Each native plant species has a suite of insects that depend on it for food. In addition to the conspicuous ones that visit flowers or eat leaves in plain sight, there are…
Spotted Lanternfly in MA
Online/ZoomWednesday, August 17 @ 10:00 AM The spotted lanternfly is an invasive pest that feeds on the sap of trees and other woody plants. They were first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and have since spread to NJ, NY, OH, IN, DE,…
Berkshire Biodiversity Day (aka BioBlitz)
Brattlebrook Park Longview Terrace, Pittsfield, MA, United StatesDate: Saturday, September 17 – Sunday, September 18 Location: Brattlebrook Park, Pittsfield, MA (SEE DIRECTIONS BELOW - The Google location of Brattlebrook Park will lead you to a random dead end.) Celebrating local biodiversity during a time of unprecedented global biodiversity…
Berkshire Biodiversity Day (aka BioBlitz)
Brattlebrook Park Longview Terrace, Pittsfield, MA, United StatesDate: Saturday, September 17 – Sunday, September 18 Location: Brattlebrook Park, Pittsfield, MA (SEE DIRECTIONS BELOW - The Google location of Brattlebrook Park will lead you to a random dead end.) Celebrating local biodiversity during a time of unprecedented global biodiversity…
Attract Native Pollinators To Your Farm
Just Roots Farm 34 Glenbrook Drive, Greenfield, MA, United StatesThursday, september 22 ・ 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM Join Just Roots Farm, CISA, UMass Extension, USDA NRCS, Greening Greenfield, and NOFA Mass for a workshop that explores how to attract native pollinators to your farm! Local farmers will share…
Spotted Lanternfly and the Potential Impacts on the Maple Syrup Industry
Online/ZoomDuring this webinar, Brian Walsh will discuss what is known about the spotted lanternfly and observations about maple trees that provide insight as to the impact the insect could have on the industry. Ever since the spotted lanternfly was found…
The Amazing Monarch Butterfly: Global Stories and Local Monitoring Efforts
Online/ZoomFor hundreds of years, the residents of Michoacán, Mexico, considered the early November arrival of monarch butterflies — which coincides with their celebration of Dia de los Muertos — to represent the souls of their departed ancestors. It wasn’t until…
Silent Earth: Saving Our Insects
Online/ZoomPresented by and in partnership with the Massachusetts Pollinator Network, Lexington Living Landscapes, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust and Mass Audubon. Insects are vital, fascinating, weird, and wonderful. They are food, pollinators, recyclers, pest controllers, and much more, so we should be…
Pollinators in the woods? The place of wild bees in a changing forested landscape
Online/ZoomJoin Kass Urban-Mead, Xerces Pollinator Conservation Specialist, NRCS Partner Biologist, for an adventure exploring how wild bees use the woods – from the leafy forest floor to the tippy top of the canopy. Although we usually think of bees busy…
Spotted Lanternfly in Massachusetts: quarterly update
Online/ZoomHosted by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), this free webinar series is targeted at the green industry and environmental groups, with the goal of providing them with the most up-to-date information about this invasive pest. Winter Update: 2/15/23…
Forest Health and the Southern Pine Beetle
Online/ZoomNicole Keleher from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) will present on the status of the invasive Southern Pine Beetle in our region and recommendations for forest health. DATE: Monday, March 13 TIME: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM…
Earth Week Event: Salute To Pollinators
Mount Greylock State Reservation Visitor Center 30 Rockwell Road, Lanesborough, MAJoin DCR at Mount Greylock for this special Earth Week salute to pollinators! Visitor Center activities include crafts, a scavenger hunt, and an opportunity to help prepare our pollinator garden get ready for spring flowers! For all ages. DATE: Friday,…
City Nature Challenge
OnlinePlease join us in western Massachusetts April 28th through May 1st as we participate in the worldwide City Nature Challenge, a global bioblitz aimed at connecting people with the biodiversity all around them! Now in its eighth year, the City Nature Challenge has grown…
When Bugs Bite!
Lenox Community Center 65 Walker St., Lenox, MAClimate change is increasing mosquito and tick-borne diseases like Lyme and arboviral encephalitis. Disease ecologist Shannon LaDeau will discuss how changing environmental conditions affect tick and mosquito populations and ways to reduce and safeguard yourself so you can enjoy the…
Pollinators and Pollutants Public Hearing
Massachusetts State House 24 Beacon St, Boston, MAOn May 10, 2023, proposed legislation for pesticide reform and pollinator protection is expected to receive a public hearing before the Joint Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources at the Massachusetts State House in Boston (and on-line). This public hearing is…
Gardening With Native Plants, Why and How: Providing habitat for pollinators, birds and other essential wildlife
Amy Meltzer's talk will focus on the current biodiversity crisis, the evolutionary history among native plants, insects, birds and fungi, and how these interdependent relationships among diverse species are necessary for their survival. She will show how growing native plants…