Committee Reports

Our committees have been busy this summer!

20s/30s

This month, Western MA welcomes Matt Hart, our new 20s/30s Committee Chair!

A.T. Management

Completed 3 wildlife transects ✧ Corridor monitoring continues ✧ Full Summer project schedule (trail work, maintenance, and monitoring activities) is in process ✧ Held our first ever summer meeting (11-Jul-2023) ✧ Voted to recommend a hybrid option to NPS for the Hop Brook boardwalk trail project ✧ Chose a new location for the Shaker Campsite, 1 mile north of County Rd. in Tyringham ✧ Volunteers are needed for natural heritage and corridor monitoring

Bicycling

Intro Ride: Sunderland (03-Jun-2023) ✧ Amherst 20 Ride (11-Jun-2023) ✧ Berkshires Ride: Great Barrington to CT (22-Jul-2023) ✧ August bike rides are listed in AMC's activities database and on the Western MA bicycling webpage

Communications

Posted 13 items on FaceBook ✧ Posted 11 items on Instagram ✧ Sent 1,413 newsletters ✧ Published beginner resources, participant comments, and what's new pages on the website ✧ Prepped two new initiatives (moldering privies and invasive species) and the Families Outdoors page ✧ Posted upcoming and self-guided activities, photos, news, and events to the website ✧ Ongoing website maintenance and SEO work

DEI

Collaborated with DCR on Hike Like a Pro, Holyoke Heritage Park (14-Jul-2023) ✧ Collaborated with DCR on Hike Like a Pro Excursion at Mt Tom, Holyoke Heritage Park (22-Jul-2023) ✧ Collaborated with DCR on Paddle Like a Pro, Holyoke Heritage Park (04-Aug-2023) ✧ Volunteered with All Out Adventures paddling events (July 2023) ✧ D. Piers-Gamble participated in volunteer training for paddling and cycling with All Out Adventures (June/July 2023) ✧ Interviewed candidates for the position of DEI Consultant to the AMC DEI Board ✧ Updated Trip Talk Cards to use more inclusive language and practices ✧ Began collaborative planning for the AMC Western MA Women's Weekend ✧ Sent out requests for DEI Speaker Series presenters ✧ Collaboration continues with DCR on Camp Like a Pro, Holyoke Heritage Park (18-Aug-2023)

Family Programs

The July StoryWalk^® is "The Camping Trip", installed in collaboration with the Hilltown Family Center ✧ Held a family Mother's Day wildflower hike (14-May-2023) ✧ A natural woods playground for families is under construction at Noble View, overseen by H. Wyman in collaboration with local Boy Scouts ✧ Collaborated with DEI committee and DCR on Hike Like a Pro at Holyoke Heritage Park (14-Jul-2023) ✧ Collaborated with DEI committee and DCR on Hike Like a Pro at Mt. Tom (22-Jul-2023) ✧ Attended Mountain Day in Pittsfield MA to market AMC Western MA Chapter (22-Jul-2023) ✧ Attended 4 FallFest Planning Zoom meetings ✧ Planning August 2023 programs at Holyoke Heritage Park including Paddle Like A Pro and Camp Like A Pro ✧ Collaborating with local libraries on the MA Library Association Summer Reading Program

Hiking

Led 13 hiking trips from July 1 through August 15 ✧ Compiled leader information for the new AMC Outdoor Connector ✧ Currently working on upcoming TrailFest and Women's Weekend activities ✧ Currently booking hikes for August, and September ✧ Ongoing compilation of volunteer bios for posting on the web

NET Management

M. Maistelman hired as new NET Coordinator to replace Liam Creegan ✧ RZ Privy project completed. Close to 400 volunteer hours were invested in this project, which is highlighted here ✧ Small relocation on Section 15 in Wendell SF completed after a request from DCR to move trail ✧ Rock work on Section 11 completed with the help of 4 NET volunteers. This project will help with hiking through the wet area. Volunteers used new equipment purchased with AMC $ on this project. It was a great training opportunity and using sustainable solutions instead of bog bridging as initially planned ✧ Coordinated with DCR to remove blowdowns on Section 17 in MT Grace SF ✧ Completed training hike with new Trail Adopter Andy Gilbert, who will maintain the southern end of Section 18 in Warwick from Rt 78 to Richmond Rd ✧ New land protection completed on Section 1 in Southwick. This cooperative project with AMC, NPS and the USFW will permanently protect 1/3 of a mile on this section. It aligns with our efforts to protect more land and to have the NET located on public land ✧ Bridge over Mormon Hollow Brook on Section 15 (Wendell SF) scheduled for replacement

Paddling

M.T. Durr completed a 2-day whitewater rescue class with Zoar Outdoor ✧ D. Weisenstein completed a Boy Scout Safety Afloat training course ✧ Paddle With a Purpose! Trip to harvest invasive water chestnut in the Chicopee River (05-Jul-2023) ✧ Whitewater trip - Class II Fife Section, Deerfield River, MA (07-Jul-2023) ✧ Diversity Whitewater event at Zoar Outdoor, sponsored by AMC (08-Jul-2023) ✧ All Out Adventures adaptive paddle trips (July)

Training and Education

Ongoing planning continues for new training classes