By Arc Solutions
One of the oldest amphibian crossings in the United States has been helping yellow spotted salamanders cross the road for more than 35 years. In Amherst, Massachusetts, two small tunnels help these hefty salamanders—up to ten inches in length—and other local amphibians such as wood frogs and spring peeper frogs cross under Henry Street. This two-lane road cuts between the salamander’s upland habitat, where they spend most of their lives, and vernal pools where they congregate every spring to breed and lay their eggs.
By The Fabulous 413
The Fabulous 413 head over to Amherst to get a tour of the Hitchcock Center for the Environment to learn about the ecosystem of a living building. We talk to the folx maintaining the center about all the exciting summer happenings and how we can all live sustainably.
By Chris Larabee
In an effort to raise further awareness of climate change and the power of collective action, the new Climate Club at Four Rivers Charter Public School held a day of action this week with a speaker panel and trash pickup around the city. The nascent club, which formed in March, brought together panelists to speak to students about their environmental work, climate activism and how students can use their voice to make change. Following the panel, students were split up into groups assigned to different areas around Greenfield to pick up trash on local lands and waterways, as well as on campus.
By Charlotte Relyea-Strawn
The Hitchcock center located in Amherst, Massachusetts, is not just a regular building that offers activities to kids! It is unique because it is the 23rd Certified Living Building in the world and the 4th one in Massachusetts! It is a living building because it has net zero energy meaning it is completely sustainable. What is net zero? Net zero means that the greenhouse gasses being produced and taken out of the atmosphere are balanced so there isn’t an increase of carbon dioxide in the air. Specifically the Hitchcock center uses net zero energy for building its own harvests, recycling water, composting toilets, and eliminating toxic materials.
By Julian Mendoza
Stephanie Apanell’s fourth grade class at Whately Elementary School joined forces with Amherst’s Hitchcock Center for the Environment this October for a series of climate-related explorations. Students engaged in hands-on activities over the course of three sessions at Whately Elementary, as well as during one visit to the Hitchcock Center. Monya Relles, the Hitchcock Center’s environmental educator who headed the program, said they primed their lessons to make climate-related education about more than “just being hopeless.”
Amherst, MA, November 7, 2023 — The Hitchcock Center for the Environment has been selected to receive $500,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for expanding and deepening community-based air pollution monitoring, training and education in the Connecticut River Valley region by adding rural communities to the urban partners already engaged in the Healthy Air Network, incorporating extreme heat as a related climate risk, and supporting youth engagement and action.
By Kerry Flatley
You’ll find plenty of things to do in Amherst MA including wandering through museums, exploring nature, visiting shops and restaurants, and touring college campuses.
By Amalia Wompa
Every year, Amherst citizens and college students witness the salamander crossings through cold, pouring rain with little to no light, except for red fluorescent head lamps…Before these tunnels were constructed, it was common for passing traffic to accidentally run over these small creatures, hindering their new population in the coming spring.
By Julian Mendoza
Stephanie Apanell’s fourth grade class at Whately Elementary School joined forces with Amherst’s Hitchcock Center for the Environment this October for a series of climate-related explorations. Students engaged in hands-on activities over the course of three sessions at Whately Elementary, as well as during one visit to the Hitchcock Center. Monya Relles, the Hitchcock Center’s environmental educator who headed the program, said they primed their lessons to make climate-related education about more than “just being hopeless.”
By Emily Thurlow
When 15-year-old Ollie Perrault found herself on the basketball court at the TD Garden, she seized an opportunity she’d never thought she’d have, and she took her shot. And though the Easthampton climate activist wasn’t trying to score any actual baskets, she was able to get some airtime for her cause when she met Gov.-elect Maura Healey and Prince William and Princess Kate of Wales.
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax