The Pioneer Valley Library Collaborative is proud to present a variety of programming in honor of Climate Preparedness Week 2024 – a national event held each year September 24 through September 30.
Tuesday, September 24, 7pm- “Reading the Forested Landscape” Book Discussion at theWesthampton Public Library. After attending the webinar with author Tom Wessels, join us for a discussion of his book “Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England.” Copies of the book will be available at Westhampton Public Library. Book Group meets in-person, but if you would like to join via Zoom please email westhampton@cwmars.org. “An intrepid sleuth and articulate tutor, Wessels teaches us to read a landscape the way we might solve a mystery. What exactly is the meaning of all those stone walls in the middle of the forest? Why do beech and birch trees have smooth bark when the bark of all other northern species is rough? How do you tell the age of a beaver pond and determine if beavers still live there? Why are pine trees dominant in one patch of forest and maples in another? What happened to the American chestnut? Turn to this book for the answers, and no walk in the woods will ever be the same.” –From Publisher
Food Margins: Lessons from an Unlikely Grocer tells the story of my involvement in a small food co-op in Orange, Massachusetts, one of the poorest towns in one of the wealthiest American states. Part memoir and part history lesson, the book traces the tangled economic and political histories of the plantation, the factory, and the supermarket through the life of one New England town and tells the story of a rural community imagining and creating a viable alternative to the mainstream in a time of increasingly urgent need to build a more socially and ecologically just food system.
Cathy Stanton is Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Environmental Studies at Tufts University. She has written widely about industrial and agricultural history and historic sites in the American northeast, none of which prepared her for the challenges of actually trying to stay afloat in the grocery business. She is excited to share her experiences and insights with audiences across Massachusetts. No registration needed
Beyond Climate Preparedness Week:
October 1st, 7-8 p.m. Virtual Talk: Climate Smart Forestry- hosted by the David & Joyce Milne Library in Williamstown, MA. Andrew Randazzo, of Mass Audubon, will speak about how landowners can manage forests to be both more resilient to climate change and help to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the forest to reduce the cause of climate change. Please register for this virtual talk to receive the link.
October 4th, 6:30-8 p.m., Virtual Talk: Feeding Backyard Birds, with William Gette– hosted by the David & Joyce Milne Library in Williamstown, MA. During his richly illustrated PowerPoint presentation, naturalist and photographer, Bill Gette, will review the species of birds typically seen at local feeding stations and in backyard sanctuaries. He will discuss aids to field identification (e.g., size, body shape, bill shape, behavior), times of occurrence, ranges, food preferences, and other exciting facts about these amazing animals that not only survive, but prosper, in our severe New England winters. Please sign up to receive the Zoom link!
Booklists for Further Reading- Click here to explore our booklist for suggested reading.
__________________________________________________________________________
Climate Preparedness Week is a project of CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather). To find events in other communities please visit CREW’s Climate Preparedness Week Page.