The Town of Sheffield and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation will host the 2017 Massachusetts Town Forests Conference at Sheffield Town Park on Saturday, September 23rd from 9:30 am to 4 pm.
The event will include tours of Sheffield Town Forests and local businesses that use wood products. There will be demonstrations of portable sawmills, wood working and timber framing also.
The town forest tours will demonstrate sustainable forest management, timber harvesting, wildlife habitat management, invasive plant control and trail creation.
The wood business tour will demonstrate wood heating, specialty wood products and raw wood material businesses.
Lunch and light refreshments will be provided. There will also be a beer tasting sponsored by Big Elm Brewing of Sheffield.
Schedule
9:30 – 10 am Registration
10 am – noon Morning Tours – visit either a Flood Plain Forest Restoration Project tour or tour Berkshire Products hardwood lumber facility and visit Southern Berkshire Regional School’s new pellet boiler
Noon to 1:30 pm Lunch and visit vendors
1:30 – 3:30 pm Afternoon tours: visit either the Sheffield Town Forest or see a Timber Frame & Band sawmill demonstration of building Model Timber Frame and a local new home using a timber frame
3:30 pm Close and Beer Tasting
This program is hosted by the Town of Sheffield, Mass DCR, the Sheffield Land Trust, and the Massachusetts Forest Alliance.
For additional information or to reserve lunch and a tour spot, contact Tom Ryan at 413 784-1828 x1243 or email tom.ryan@state.ma.us
This event is free and open to the public. To ensure having a lunch and spot on a tour, register for the event by emailing tom.ryan@state.ma.us by 5 p.m. on September 20th