By Daniel Greenberg
Humanity is at an unparalleled moment, not just in our own history, but in planetary history. From the war on terrorism to the war on rainforests, from global markets to global warming, the challenges are overwhelming. It’s clear we must learn to live in ways that honor all life.
By Katie Koerten
Look up in the sky on almost any fair day. If you see a large bird gliding in circles and its spread wings form a nearly straight line, you’re probably looking at a red-tailed hawk. If the bird is close enough that you can see pink to light-red tail feathers, it’s definitely a red-tail. In addition to admiring them from afar, I had an opportunity to work very closely with these birds.
By David Ahlfeld
Where is the land that produces your food? For many of us, some of what we eat comes from local sources. We have our own gardens or know the farmers who grow our food; we can visit the land where it’s raised. But where is the land that produces our electricity? For a few, rooftop solar photovoltaic panels or small solar farms provide electricity for household needs. But for most of us, our electricity is derived from coal or uranium mines or from mined natural gas. Though we use electricity locally, the environmental impact of its production occurs more in distant landscapes than in our own.
By David Spector
At this time of year, I expect an email from my father reminding me that the Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of August 13. My father remembers watching a spectacular meteor shower, perhaps the Perseids, from a dark beach with his own father in the 1930s, and he continues to share the memory of that experience through these annual reminders.
By Mark Protti
Sometimes we come to appreciate what we have by hearing what people outside our everyday lives say about it. At the Institute for Training and Development (ITD), which I co-direct, I often experience this as my staff and I bring together students and professionals from around the world to learn about American institutions and exchange ideas.
By David Spector
What makes for a good bird walk? As someone who has both participated in and led many bird trips, I have often had occasion to consider this question. Below is one answer, in the context of a woodland bird walk that I led for the Hitchcock Center for the Environment a few years ago.
By Lawrence J. Winship
Who in Amherst has not heard of the tunnels that allow the gorgeous yellow-and-black spotted salamanders to cross safely under Henry Street on their way to vernal pools where they mate and lay eggs? Or of the scores of enthusiasts who wait expectantly for the first warm wet night in spring when the call goes out, “The salamanders are migrating!” and then rush to the tunnels to watch and help? Or that these marvelous amphibians are the “mascots” of the Hitchcock Center for the Environment?
By Elizabeth Farnsworth
Have you seen a moose (and kept a straight face)? My first close encounter with a moose, in the wilds of Royalston, took place shortly after we moved here. My husband and I were gazing sleepily out the bedroom window one early morning, admiring the view, when we looked down to catch a bull moose staring directly up at us from the backyard.
By Piotr Parasiewicz and Kathleen Ryan
Although it may appear modest at first glance, the Fort River, which rises in Amherst and makes its way through Hadley to the Connecticut River, boasts distinction among the 53 tributaries of the Connecticut. It is the longest free-flowing tributary of the big river in Massachusetts, and it is home to an impressive array of rare and intriguing species. From the sea lamprey to a wide variety of mussels, the Fort is a treasure trove of biodiversity right in our own neighborhood.
By David Spector
At this time of year I enjoy watching the red trilliums, with their threefold symmetry and deep red color, flowering in the woods near my house. They please me for many reasons. I find the simplicity of the flower beautiful—the large petals, the three- way replication of pattern, the spacing of the plants that allows easy focus on one flower at a time. I enjoy the deep, understated red of the flowers, seeming to glow slightly in the shade of the woods.
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax