Public Notice:
Join HooRWA board and staff for our Annual Meeting on Monday, February 7, 2022 at 7:00. This meeting will last approximately 1 hour. Out of an abundance of caution, this year’s annual meeting will again be online via Zoom.
Please register at least 24 hours in advance for this meeting HERE After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
If you have donated to HooRWA within the last year at the $40 level or higher, you are considered a voting member and can help us vote in our slate of 2022 board of directors.
Annual Meeting Agenda:
- Welcome & calling meeting to order
- Approval of the January 2021 Annual Meeting Minutes
- Treasurer’s Report for FY2021
- Nominations to the Board of Directors
- Presentation on the Mohawk Trail Woodlands partnership by Abigail Matheny & Sabrine Brismeur, students at Williams College (approximately 10min with Q&A)
- Presentation of Tanzman Award to recipient
- Adjourn
Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership:
a brief presentation by Abigail Matheny & Sabrine Brismeur
Description of project: Working under the guidance of Professor Sarah Gardner and for the consideration of our client Henry “Hank” Art, the chair of the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership (MTWP) Board, we proposed recommendations regarding the establishment of a “Mohawk Trail Forest Center.” Our work for this report was part of a semester-long undergraduate project for the “ENVI 302: Environmental Planning Workshop” class at Williams College. We developed and published an online survey to gather feedback from MTWP stakeholders regarding the need for and envisioned uses of the center. We then conducted comprehensive interviews with a variety of stakeholders and used this information to define and describe its potential functionalities. In addition, we researched, explored, and mapped several locations for the center along the Mohawk Trail corridor, and identified the relevant factors in their feasibility. Our proposed center works to connect residents and visitors to comprehensive and diverse educational materials that reflect the history, characteristics, and future of Northwestern Massachusetts; advance the region’s small-scale eco-tourism economy by serving as an active visitor resource hub; support landowners in the practice of sustainable and regenerative forestry that aids in climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation; and protect an on-site woodlands preserve for recreational and demonstrative purpose.
Bios:
My name is Abby Matheny and I am a current senior at Williams College. I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA and this spring, I plan to receive my bachelors of arts degree in chemistry with a concentration in environmental studies. When I am outside, I forget about my to-do lists and deadlines; I feel as though I have no worries other than to appreciate the world around me. As a college student, it is hard to separate yourself from your responsibilities, and this pause from the craziness of my everyday life is what I love most about spending time outside.
My name is Sabrine Brismeur, and I am a senior and Environmental Studies major, as well as the current research assistant for the Center for Environmental Studies. I am from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and spend much of my time away from Williams on the island of Saint-Martin in the Caribbean, where my paternal family is from. My studies generally deal with global power structures in regard to climate change and environmental exploitation, but my work and internship experience is oriented towards tropical marine ecology and environmental management, especially involving wildlife. What I love most about the outdoors is the variety of wildlife, and how the ecosystems they share are sustained by their interconnected relationships. As a child, I was absolutely captivated by animals and the “wild,” and I hold that same interest today with the additional context of ecosystem relations!