Skinner State Park's Summit House

The Center for Environmental Literacy (CEL) kicks off the second half of its regional-awareness lecture series, A Sense of Place: At Home in the Connecticut River Valley, Wednesday, February 7, in Gamble Auditorium at 7 pm. The yearlong series, which began in November, is designed to introduce Mount Holyoke's students, faculty, staff, and local friends to some of the many natural conservation areas in the region. The first offering of the spring semester is a slide presentation, “In Our Own Backyard I: Skinner State Park,” which will be given by Gini Traub, a regional interpreter with the Department of Environmental Management. Traub, a familiar fixture in the Summit House and on trails, will share many old and new images and anecdotes about the habits and habitats of the two Mount Holyokes. The event is free and open to the public.

Mount Holyoke College's long-standing association with the mountain goes back to treks taken by the MHC's seminary girls who made the nearly vertical climb from the halfway area to the summit. On July 4, 1845, Amherst College President Edward Hitchcock and his students constructed the Halfway Trail. Waiting for them at the summit, with prepared picnic lunches, were Mount Holyoke College's climbers. An overnight stay at the mountain house was once part of MHC's graduation week traditions. Joseph Allen Skinner provided land for the College's Outing Club cabin, and to this day the mountain is a popular spot for recreational and educational visits.

Mount Holyoke students enjoy Mount Holyoke (the mountain) in the nineteenth century. Courtesy of the MHC archives.

In her role as regional interpreter, Traub promotes environmental education through professional development workshops for teachers and provides both in-park and classroom programs for students throughout the Connecticut River Valley. Her association with the mountain began in the early 1980s, when she first started exploring the range's trails. She volunteered with the park's Friends of the Mount Holyoke Range, and in 1994 became the summer park interpreter. She is particularly interested in the geology of the range and facilitates research projects for scholars and naturalists as well.

Upcoming lectures are “The Forest And the Trees: A Visit to Harvard Forest,” by John O'Keefe, Fisher Museum coordinator (February 21); “In Our Own Back Yard II: The Notch Visitor Center,” by Jim Terruso, park ranger (March 7); “Water, Water Everywhere: The Quabbin Reservoir,” by Dale Monette, naturalist (March 27); “For Those Who Came Before: Native Americans in the Connecticut River Valley,” by Mitchell Mulholland, director of archeological services, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (April 11); and “Heart and Soul: The Connecticut River Greenway State Park,” by Terry Blunt, director of the Connecticut Valley Action Program (April 25).

“As we kick off the second half of this series, we at the CEL are reminded of the importance of continuing to present educational events to the College community and beyond,” says Aaron Ellison, Fisher Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and CEL director. “There is much to be learned about our local environment and the preservation thereof. The center is proud to be a part of this ongoing educational process.”