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By CHRIS LARABEE

NORTHFIELD — A revitalized greenhouse and garden, rehabilitation of the school’s cross-country trail and work with the Franklin Land Trust are all highlights of Pioneer Valley Regional School’s nascent Innovation Career Pathways environmental science program.

By LUKE MACANNUCO

GREENFIELD — Though Japanese knotweed towers over Greenfield resident Wisty Rorabacher at the Green River Swimming and Recreation Area, the scale of the invasive plant species is not a source of intimidation for Rorabacher and her group, the Floodplain Forest Restoration Project.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Local scientists warn that the proposed federal cuts to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystem Mission Area — a federal research program that studies the country’s natural resources — that are outlined in the White House’s fiscal year 2026 budget could not only degrade national ecosystems, but the industries and people that rely on them.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

BUCKLAND — Community members are invited to learn about river corridor mapping and work being done along the Clesson Brook Watershed during an open house on Saturday, June 28.

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

In response to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to give FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. a water quality certification for its operations in Turners Falls and Northfield, two environmental advocacy nonprofits have joined others in the Pioneer Valley in filing an appeal with MassDEP’s Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution.

By DOMENIC POLI

WENDELL — The citizens group that formed in 2023 in opposition to a since-withdrawn proposal for a battery storage facility has filed a motion asking the Land Court to overturn the state Attorney General’s rejection of the group’s proposed bylaw.

By EMILEE KLEIN

AMHERST — Ahead of an expected round of workforce reductions at the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center based at the University of Massachusetts is preparing for the worst-case scenario: elimination of the entire operation.

By BILL DANIELSON

It was a beautiful morning in late April and I was out exploring a trail around a quiet pond. The trail around the pond was well maintained and because it was so early in the spring there were no leaves on the trees. This is what allowed me to notice a large number of Eastern Painted Turtles that were sunning themselves on the trunk of a fallen tree and it was thoughts of photos that diverted me off the trail and closer to the water’s edge.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Solar panels have been installed on Fisher Hill Elementary School’s roof, another step in a renovation project that began nearly five years ago.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — After a year of planning, Mayor Ginny Desorgher will join community members and the environmental nonprofit Greening Greenfield on Saturday to start planting trees along the perimeter of the former Wedgewood Gardens mobile home park on Colrain Street.

By DOMENIC POLI

WENDELL — The citizens group that formed in 2023 in opposition to a since-withdrawn proposal for a 105-megawatt battery storage facility plans to present clean energy siting suitability findings to state policymakers in Holyoke on May 5.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — In recognition of Arbor Day, the city’s Tree Committee and the Department of Public Works will plant a honeylocust tree near Kostanski Funeral Home, a business that has been a key supporter of the Tree Committee for roughly 20 years.

By DOMENIC POLI

Four weeks before the real Mother’s Day rolls around, a bunch of local environmental organizations are leading an online giving day to honor Mother Earth.

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — To celebrate Earth Day, the Energy Committee is helping to organize free, family-friendly activities at Fisher Hill Elementary School on Tuesday, April 22.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — A 25-acre portion of the city’s downtown will soon be home to dozens of trees through a state grant-funded effort to combat extreme heat with shade.

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — The city’s celebration of Earth Day isn’t new, but the parade is.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

COLRAIN — The Connecticut River Conservancy and the town of Colrain have been awarded $224,100 from the Barnhardt Manufacturing Co. sulfuric acid spill settlement fund to support removing the Colrain Lower Reservoir Dam as part of efforts to restore the North River.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

LEVERETT — A proposed donation of a 147-acre working forest in North Leverett, which would continue to be actively managed under town ownership and open for hunting, will be decided by voters at the May 3 Annual Town Meeting.

By CHRIS LARABEE

CONWAY — With a 65-acre conservation restriction enacted in mid-March, 74 acres of land on Reeds Bridge Road have now been permanently conserved by a local family and the Franklin Land Trust.

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

GREENFIELD — Officials at the Greenfield-based Connecticut River Conservancy are left waiting amid the freeze of $13 million in federal funding that had been awarded to the environmental advocacy nonprofit, including $11.5 million for river restoration in New Hampshire.