BOSTON — State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing has been named 2013 Legislator of the Year by the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The presentation was made June 12 at the State House during the first-ever "Solar Day on the Hill," which Downing hosted.

"SEIA is proud to recognize Senator Downing for his leadership in renewable energy policy in Massachusetts, and in particular, for his steadfast support of solar projects," said Carrie Cullen Hitt, senior vice president of state affairs for SEIA. "Over the past few years, Senator Downing's thoughtful approach has resulted in creating a sustainable renewable energy market, resulting in investment and jobs, as

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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The company looking to build an aerial adventure park off Brodie Mountain Road has reeled in an international honor for being among the best companies for the environment.

The nonprofit B Lab has scored Feronia Forests LLC among the top B Corporations in environmental performances.

Feronia, which focuses on sustainable forestry practices, healthy trees and environmentally friendly uses of forestland, was listed among the top 10 percent of micro-enterprises in the world related to environmental impact.

The more than 750 corporations that were scored span 60 industries and 25 countries. Other B Corporations honored for their environmental impact include Method

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Robert Presutti is considered the "go-to" guy when it comes to anything tree-related.

The Lanesborough resident has been volunteering his expertise since 1998. He's served on his hometown's Tree Committee, for which he was named an Outstanding Citizen Forester by the state in 2005, and on the board of the Vincent J. Hebert Arboreteum at Springside Park.

Presutti is often seen taking care of trees at Springside and running free pruning workshops, and has worked with the Department of Public Works. He goes to conferences across the state on his own time and now is establishing a seed orchard at Springside Park.

"We're trying to

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few dozen residents ringed Park Square throughout Monday afternoon to voice dissent about the increasing prevalence of GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, in food.

"For us, this rally is just to increase the awareness of genetically modified foods," said organizer Jan Bradley, who said the Pittsfield gathering was one of a number of rallies going on throughout Massachusetts and in other states for Earth Day, spearheaded by GMO Free USA. A subsequent series of actions is being planned for May 25 by March Against Monsanto.

These rallies represent a second wave of political action as foes of genetically modified foods reorganize

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Backyard composting is economical, environmentally friendly and, perhaps best of all, easy.

"I have never taken the temperature of my compost pile," Cynthia Grippaldi of Pittsfield's Center for EcoTechnology said Monday. "I'm a lazy composter.

"But things are breaking down."

Grippaldi broke down the basics of composting for a crowd of about 20 behind Wild Oats Market on Monday afternoon for an Earth Day workshop.

Backyard composters put the natural process of decomposition to work for them — disposing their kitchen and backyard waste without paying the transfer station

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's Parks Commission has looked favorably on a plan by Berkshire United Way to create a trail of educational signage at Springside Park.

The trail, which is designed to offer outdoor learning games that promote engagement and build pre-literacy skills for young children, will consist of a series of signs posted in a route around the Rotary Playground in the southeastern most corner of the park. A similar trail of signs was installed by United Way in September 2011 at Muddy Brook Elementary School in Great Barrington.

The trail will consist of 10 colorful signs, which will be attached to posts being provided by Berkshire

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — William Enser Jr., the president of Berkshire Enviro-Labs, was back in Superior Court on Tuesday facing new charges.

Enser previously pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of knowingly falsifying reports submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection and 15 counts of willfully making false reports to MassDEP. He allegedly backdated drinking-water sample analysis to cover up misconduct and feign compliance with environmental laws.

He now faces an additional 14 counts of willfully making false reports to the MassDEP and another 14 counts of knowingly falsifying submitted reports, all of which he pleaded not guilty to in Berkshire Superior Court on Monday.

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Environmental Action Teams wants to find some roadkill.

The organization is embarking on a project to identify where in Western Massachusetts wildlife are crossing roadways in hopes to improve those crossings for the safety of both drivers and the animals.

On Monday, the group will host a public meeting at Berkshire Community College to solicit information from those with on-the-ground knowledge of where wild animals are getting hit the most.

"The first meeting is introducing it to the public. We're trying to get people to talk to us about where they see roadkill hot spots," Elia Del Molino, program manager for Connecting

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Who could pass up a chance to take pictures of some cute little chicks? Not us!

The little peepers were hatched Sunday and arrived at Carr Hardware this week. Since we couldn't decide which photo to use, we thought why not use them all?

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