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environment and conservation

Stanford eyes $20,000 grant for municipal compost program

STANFORD — Landfills and incinerators in the United States process enough organic material annually to fill a line of fully-loaded 18-wheelers stretching from New York City to Los Angeles, 10 times, according to a report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund.

In response, the number of communities with composting programs nationwide has increased 65% in the last five years, and the town of Stanford is considering joining that movement.

The Stanfordville Climate Smart Communities (CSC) board is seeking feedback from residents via an online survey on their level of interest in participating in a composting program in their community if one were to be established.

Wendy Burton, Town of Stanford Supervisor, said there is a grant opportunity from Dutchess County for up to $20,000 to fund a composting project for the initial start-up costs for a food waste drop-off program.

Burton noted that the town Transfer Station is under consideration as the site for a municipal composting project.

“The survey is to test the waters on community interest, and we are also going to speak to our local restaurants and Big Rock,” as well as the local school district, to see if they would be interested in participating, the town supervisor said.

The brief survey asks residents to estimate how much compostable waste they think their household produces weekly, whether they would be interested in education about home composting, community composting, with potential drop off options around town, or a composting pick-up service, age range and number of people in the household.

The Dutchess County Division of Solid Waste Management recently launched the expanded grant program for municipalities and schools aimed at reducing food and organic waste through composting and at the same time provide convenient composting opportunities to residents.

Composting is a process where organic materials, like kitchen scraps and yard waste, are broken down naturally by microorganisms. These tiny creatures use oxygen, water and the carbon and nitrogen in the materials to create a nutrient-rich soil called compost, which is akin to turning trash into treasure for gardens.

The survey is currently being circulated via the Town of Stanford mailing list. For more information, email wburton@townofstanford.org.

Debra A. Aleksinas
environment and conservation

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The Millerton News - October 1, 2026

The Millerton News - October 1, 2026

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Doug Tallamy’s work in progress: saving the planet one backyard at a time

Doug Tallamy’s work in progress: saving the planet one backyard at a time

Windacre, a 25-acre property in Millerton will be the site of “Work in Progress,” an afternoon with acclaimed entomologist, New York Times bestselling author and Homegrown National Park co-founder Doug Tallamy.

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For nearly three decades, Doug Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware and co-founder of Homegrown National Park, has studied the intricate relationships between native plants, insects, birds and the ecosystems that sustain them. His books, including “Bringing Nature Home” and “Nature’s Best Hope,” have helped shift the conversation about conservation from something that happens primarily in parks and preserves to something ordinary people can practice on the land around them.

On Sunday, Oct. 4, Tallamy will bring that conversation to Windacre in Millerton for “Work in Progress: Toward Native Fields,” an outdoor gathering exploring both the possibilities and the complications of restoring private land for biodiversity.

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Celebrating Dick Hermans’ life built around community

Celebrating Dick Hermans’ life built around community

Dick Hermans in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton\u2019s Main Street in 1985.

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No matter what I’ve done, I’m trying to be useful to the communities I’m associated with.
— Dick Hermans

When Dick Hermans receives the Estabrook Community Leadership Award on Oct. 11, he will accept it for a lifetime of work that has taken many forms: bookseller, radio host, school board member, advocate for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, business owner, volunteer and, perhaps most importantly, a person who has consistently looked for ways to be useful to the communities around him.

The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News will present Hermans with the 2026 award at the annual Jubilee celebration at the Sharon Playhouse. The award honors outstanding leadership in community service and was inspired by Mary Lou and Robert Estabrook, former owners of the newspapers who believed that strengthening a community extended well beyond the work of publishing a newspaper.

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Tending the Fire: Homelands PowWow brings Mohican culture home to the Berkshires

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Members of the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe at Homelands PowWow in 2025.

Joeseph Plante New Media Storytellers
Our goal is to continue building an annual gathering that honors the history, culture and traditions of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans in their original Homelands.


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Ancram Center’s “A Number” doubles questions of identity

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How would you feel if you found out you weren’t the only you — if there was an exact replica of you? What if you found out that you’d been cloned? Would you believe that you’re the real you? Would you suspect you might be a copy of the original? How could you be sure anything about your life was real? These are some of the questions posed in Caryl Churchill’s play “A Number,” opening at the Ancram Center for the Artson Oct. 1.

Churchill was born in London in 1938 and has been hailed by the theaterl world as one of the strongest voices of her time to take on sexual politics and feminist themes. Her works garner pointedly considered analysis from the highest levels of theatrical intellectualism. Basically, it’s about as far from “The Lion King” as you can get. While she’s experimented with dance theater in the past, “A Number” is much more stripped down, highlighting Churchill’s chosen themes and the skills of both actors on stage.

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Dispatches from the Farm

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Adamah Farm crew members planning out the day’s tasks on a late September day.

Janna Siller

“Dispatches from the farm” is a new, periodic column offering a firsthand look at the rhythms, challenges and rewards of farming through the eyes of a local farmer.

The thing about plants is that they can’t get up and move. When a storm like last weekend’s nor’easter threatens to roll through, you can’t just round everybody up and settle them safely on the sofa for movie night.

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