The Western MA Exchange

"Every day is Earth Day." How can it be otherwise? It's our home! I'm grateful that we have a day designated every year to remind us, and to get us out to contribute to prevention and remediation of anything affecting the health of our planet home. And it really feels like National Volunteer Week goes so well with Earth Day and creates a theme of all of us, as individuals and groups, taking responsibility for making a difference in this wondrous Pale Blue Dot (thank you, NASA and Carl Sagan). Volunteers involved in direct conservation actions, as well as activity volunteers who help connect people with the environment and volunteers who otherwise keep the Chapter running, make up the heart of Earth-love everywhere. This edition of our newsletter really puts forward the true "awe"someness of volunteer power. Read on to immerse in this phenomenon of inspiration. Happy Earth Day! Diane Jones, Western MA Chapter Chair

Happy National Volunteer Week!

Every year since 1974, the country has celebrated volunteers during the fourth week in April. Did you know that our Chapter is run exclusively by volunteers? From Executive Committee members, to activity leaders, to trail maintainers, our Chapter would literally not exist if it were not for the hundreds of people who donate their time to keep the Chapter active and vibrant. We want to express our deep gratitude for every one of the volunteers who have donated countless hours over the past year to share their skills, experience, and passion for the outdoors with us! President Biden, in his annual proclamation on National Volunteer Week, stated, "During National Volunteer Week, we remember that even one act of service — big or small — can make a difference. Volunteers spread hope and, in the process, inspire so many to give back to their communities. I encourage everyone to look for ways to volunteer in their own communities, show up for one another, and step up for those in need." If you would like to find ways to get involved, check out the volunteer page on our website. There you will meet some of our volunteers and learn about the different types of volunteer opportunities available.

Hiking Chair Wanted - Is This You?

We have a wonderful opportunity for an enthusiastic hiker who wants to share their passion and experience with others as the Hiking Chair on our Executive Committee. The volunteer role of the Hiking Chair is to support leaders in offering a variety of hikes to AMC members and other participants, with a safe, fun, inclusive, and welcoming approach. The Hiking Chair is also a full participant on the Chapter Executive Committee, supporting the programs that help nature lovers in western Massachusetts Be Outdoors! The main qualifications of this role include:

• Become an AMC member
• Take hike leader training provided by our Chapter
• Be friendly, welcoming, and capable of working with a diverse group of people
• Be an organized and effective communicator
• Have and effectively utilize computer/internet
• Be an enthusiastic promoter of the AMC and Western MA Chapter

Curious? Drop us a line at info@amc-wma.org for more information and/or to share your interest, or visit our volunteer activities page for more information. We look forward to welcoming you! Learn why we do what we do, and gain the satisfaction of facilitating outdoor discovery and exploration.

Earth Day

Even though Earth Day was this past Monday, we want to use this opportunity to tell you how we celebrate Earth Day all year and ways that you can get involved. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 was created by Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin, following a series of devastating disasters. Over 20 million people participated throughout the country, bringing much needed attention to the harmful effects of weed killers, oil spills, carbon emissions, excessive trash, and harmful chemicals. Here in the Western MA Chapter, we have a Conservation Committee that is dedicated to creating opportunities for folks to help clean up the environment, clear out invasive species, or learn how to support legislation that protects our environment. Learn about an ongoing initiative - the Westfield River Waterfront Cleanup, and other initiatives that we are supporting. Please join us as we work year round to support the AMC mission to "foster the protection, enjoyment and understanding of the outdoors". Learn more about the Conservation Committee's initiatives and upcoming activities on their committee page.

A group of eager volunteers helped pick up 13 bags and a large barrel of trash along the road where the trail starts. Afterward, the group was rewarded with an eagle fly-by on their hike to get a view of Hampton Ponds. We would like to express our deep gratitude to all the volunteers who came out to help! MORE PHOTOS »

The Western MA Chapter supports AMC's mission by creating opportunities for sustainable outdoor experiences. We advocate for the protection of land and water, support and promote scientific research, and lead activities designed to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of our natural world. We have ongoing initiatives and many opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts to join us as we work to protect the environment, including river cleanups, invasive species removal, and replacing traditional pit privies with more environmentally-friendly composting toilets. Learn more on our initiatives page. For ways to get involved, go to the Chapter Activities page of our website and click on Conservation, AT Management, or NET Management.

This beautifully written and illustrated story is about a young boy who falls off the sled on his family's winter migration and the animals come to protect him until his father returns. This is also a great time to search for spring flowers along the trail. This story will be up until the end of April. Stay tuned for next month's story!

The New England Trail (NET) Committee held their annual meeting for trail adopters on Saturday April 13 with 16 people in attendance at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst. Andrew Long from the National Park Service (NPS), and Nora Sackett and Caitlin McCarthy from AMC Trails were also present. Miriam Maistelman, the AMC NET Coordinator made a presentation recapping last years accomplishments, and outlined goals, projects and training opportunities for 2024. Andrew Long from NPS spoke on the recent Unit status designation of the NET, and how he is in the process of securing resources needed for trail improvements such as bridge replacements and construction of overnight camping facilities. Participants also watched a training video on a new app designed by the Colorado Mountain Club called RIMS (Recreation Impact Monitoring System) that trail adopters will be using to identify usage and impacts on the NET. Adopters had opportunities to ask questions of AMC and NPS staff, socialize with their fellow trail maintainers and enjoy lunch in a beautiful setting to kick off the 2024 trail season! Learn more about the National New England Scenic Trail for hiking or how you can get involved in maintaining it.

The volunteer role of the Hiking Chair is to support leaders in offering a variety of hikes to AMC members and other participants, with a safe, fun, inclusive, and welcoming approach. This includes assisting leaders with hike planning and scheduling; encouraging and assisting interested hikers in becoming trained leaders; learning and sharing related AMC and Chapter policies; attending monthly Executive Commitee meetings; creating basic activity reports and submitting the committee's annual budget; and collaborating with fellow committee members to reach goals. Curious? Drop us a line at info@amc-wma.org for more information and/or to share your interest. We look forward to welcoming you! Learn why we do what we do, and gain the satisfaction of facilitating outdoor discovery and exploration.

Congress is taking action to make outdoor recreation inclusive for all as the House of Representatives plans an upcoming vote on the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act with strong bipartisan support. Similar legislation has also been introduced in the Senate, known as the America's Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA). The EXPLORE Act and AORA (H.R.6492/S.873) include many AMC priorities, including provisions of the Outdoors for All Act, to reduce barriers for disadvantaged communities to access Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars. AMC »

From trail work and corridor monitoring to trip leadership and training – here's what our committees were up to last month.

A.T. Management

Most recent meeting: 2024-Mar-04 ✧ Next meeting: 2024-May-06 ✧ Recent projects and activities: wildlife transects and corridor monitoring are ongoing; trail projects will start up asap - season schedule has been set and is posted on the website ✧ The committee voted to invest in funds to repair gravel in high-impact sections of the Upper Goose Pond Caretakers Rd ✧ Met with NPS and APPA staff for pre-approval of funding and trail location for the Hop Brook project ✧ Future projects and plans: 3 Greenagers projects are planned ✧ Volunteer recruitment needs are: natural heritage monitors; trail maintainers; corridor monitors; shelter coordinator, and committee vice chair beginning 2025

Bicycling

Committee Chair attended the February ExCom Meeting ✧ Completed draft calendar for 2024 biking season ✧ Listed April and May bike rides on ActDB ✧ Updated committee webpage for 2024 season ✧ Investigating participation in MassBike May monthly riding activities ✧ Distributing information to local bike shops about Intro classes to pass onto their bike customers

Communications

The Communications Team continued to make progress towards the annual goal. The eblast open rate improved 11% in March. The Chair participated in Canva training to learn how to make flyers. The webmaster continues to add pages and update existing pages. One Facebook post reached over 7000 accounts. ✧ Facebook: 15 posts (top post: Nice and Easy Canal Walk) ✧ Instagram: 15 posts (top post: Eclipse Hike and Social) ✧ Newsletters: 1394 messages sent ✧ Website: 1) Updated Noble View map and participant comments page, 2) Wrote new page for leader resources, 3) Started on a new initiative with the Conservation Committee tentatively titled "Westfield River Waterfront Cleanup"

Hiking

Active hiking leaders: 36; new leader: Alison Terjek ✧ Trips led in March 2024: Mt Greylock (2024-Mar-05); Fitzgerald Lake (2024-Mar-12); Mt Greylock (2024-Mar-15); Hoosac Range (2024-Mar-17); Bearsden Conservation Area (2024-Mar-19); N&S Sugarloaf (2024-Mar-26); and Mt Toby (2024-Mar-30) ✧ Walking Series by Nancy Condon - 9 outings (Nice and Easy Canal Walks and Holyoke Revitalization Tours) ✧ Created a list-serv for hiking leaders

Membership

Welcomed new Membership Chair: Lynn Garrity

Paddling

Previous meeting: 2024-02-06; next meeting: 2024-04-17 ✧ Leader training role-playing scenarios for T&E have been completed ✧ Planning is currently underway for this season's paddling events, demos, leader training, workshops, and invasive pulls ✧ Six whitewater events have been posted on ActDB ✧ We are in need of more paddle leaders and committee members

Training and Education

Chapter Leadership Skills Training was run on 24-Mar-2024 in Greenfield, MA ✧ Online adult MHFA Training has been postponed until June, with self-paced learning; youth and in-person training undergoing scheduling now ✧ Upcoming AMC SOLO WFA/WFR courses are on ActDB