Hitchcock Center for the Environment

Today is a tough day. It is hard not to feel despair, and a whole gamut of other emotions. The Hitchcock Center is looking to nature today, as we do everyday, to find the lessons, and solace. The house wren was still flitting about this morning, looking for gnats on the waning clematis vine, the squirrels are still hiding nuts and acorns for the winter (despite the nearly 80 degree day), the trees are dropping their leaves and slowing down their metabolism to conserve energy for the winter. Nature is resilient. Nature is bountiful, even when it is taxed. Nature is stronger because of diversity. Nature gives us hope. Today, we feel all the feelings, but we continue to teach the lessons of nature’s incredibly efficient, resilient, and beautiful systems, and put forth hope and action. “Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants #EducationForAHealthyPlanet #EnvironmentalEducation #BuildingCommunity #HitchcockCenter #ClimateAction #Sustainability #rabbit #LivingBuilding #Biodiversity #livingbuildingchallenge #robinwallkimmerer #nature #natureslessons #hope #action

Join us for a fabulous afternoon of food, drink, and environmental sustainability at our annual Hitchcock Harvest Feast & Celebration fundraiser. Help us honor Colleen Kelley, Phil Korman, and Conklin Furniture for embodying the values of the Hitchcock Center in the Community. Enjoy an amazing meal by Wheelhouse and sample beer/wine/cider/kombucha from Artifact, Amherst Brewing, Black Birch Vineyard, Katalyst Kombucha, Progression, and White Lion all while supporting education for a healthy planet! Buy tickets today! https://lnkd.in/e7GBAkU9 Thanks to our sponsors Rare Forms, USA Waste, Greenfield Savings Bank, Wright Builders, Eversource, Amherst Office Park, bankESB, Wagner Wood, Kuhn Riddle and HL Dempsey for making this event possible.

We are so looking forward to hosting the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce After 5 at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment next week! We hope you will join us! Link below to register.

The Hitchcock Center is looking for a part time environmental educator to join our innovative and unique education team! We are looking for someone enthusiastic, passionate, and interested in being a part of growing our high quality environmental education programming at our Living Building and in schools. This is a temporary position from September 2024 – June 2025 with the possibility of continuation. Please send a cover letter and resume to careers@hitchcockcenter.org. Applications received by August 20, 2024 will be given first priority although applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For more info visit https://lnkd.in/eKN-wpSy #hiring #environmentaleducator #educationforahealthyplanet

Straw structurally insulated panels (S-SIPs), oh my! Check out what our incredible partners Rare Forms Design/Build are doing in the sustainable design space. SEED Panels offer an efficient and sustainable solution to insulation needs. The prefabricated panels enable design flexibility and rapid assembly for any construction project. They are made from 98% locally sourced plant based materials and sequester 5 kg of CO2 per square foot of panel, making them both climate- and carbon-positive. For more information about these versatile, high-performing panels, visit https://lnkd.in/eg7bmwag or contact info@rareforms.design. We are so lucky that Rare Forms supports our mission and work developing hopeful, creative problem-solvers who can take on the challenges of climate changes. And we are ALL so lucky that Rare Forms is a mission-driven business that focuses on their impact on people and community over profits. Thank you, Rare Forms! #LivingBuilding #ClimateAction #HitchcockCenter #WesternMass #MyLocalMa #Sustainability #HampshireCounty #OnePercentForThePlanet #BeOnePercentBetter

Listen to our recent podcast appearance on NEPM! 📻 The Fabulous 413 recently toured Hitchcock Center to interview our staff and environmental educators about the ecosystem of a #LivingBuilding. In the episode we chat about our year-round happenings, local youth climate activism, how our Building recycles rain and greywater, and the fascinating and surprisingly complicated culture of composting. The Fabulous 413, hosted by Monte Belmonte and Kaliis Smith and part of New England Public Media is a daily afternoon radio show celebrating life in #WesternMass- a kind of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" for grown-ups. Listen now: https://lnkd.in/e2rSiJHQ #Sustainability #ClimateAction #MyLocalMa #TheFabulous413

Come join our amazing team!

We're just 10 DAYS AWAY from Battle of the Botanicals 2024 🍻 Get tickets now to see friends and neighbors, eat and dance, and taste signature botanical cocktails created by 8 of our regions best restaurants! The three top-voted bartenders will then take the stage for a live cocktail mix-off (21+). We hope to clink glasses with you at Battle’s epic return on June 20th: https://lnkd.in/e6v2WpyF #WesternMass #PioneerValley #HampshireCounty #MyLocalMa

Today's high temperatures have prompted an air quality alert in #WesternMass due to higher levels of ozone, which may impact vulnerable populations 🚨 Through a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Hitchcock Center is working with numerous partners in Western Mass, including the Healthy Air Network, to raise awareness, educate, and find ways to take action on the issues of air quality and extreme heat. Track healthy air days near you: https://lnkd.in/ePPga-gC

We’re ONE MONTH away from Battle of the Botanicals! We can’t wait to gather with you at The Powerhouse of Amherst College on Thursday, June 20 🥂 Each restaurant at Battle 2024 will present a tasting station with an appetizer and cocktail sample that highlight a signature botanical feature. The three top-voted bartenders will then take the stage for a live cocktail mix-off judged by a panel of local celebrity judges! 🎟 Get your discounted early bird tickets now: https://lnkd.in/e6v2WpyF