WINDSOR — In a field surrounded by boreal forest, a woman dressed in orange, black and white Ghanaian clothing danced to the rhythm of two drummers on Wednesday. Excavation will begin next week on the 900-square-foot building to be constructed in 2025 with an anticipated opening in 2026. This was one of several ceremonial moments at T amarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center’ s groundbreaking for a building that will house a classroom, basement storage and a composting toilet.
Rose petals, rose water and a stick of mugwort figured in the ceremony, as well. Excavation will begin next week on the 900-square-foot building to be constructed in 2025 with an anticipated opening in 2026. Dignitaries posed for a photo with shovels, pitchfork and chainsaw in hand, all tools that have been used to clear the more than two miles of trails and build bridges at Tamarack Hollow’s 88 acres.
Aimee Gelinas and Dan Cohen of Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center thank supporters as they embark on a capital campaign to raise money to finish a 900-square-foot building in a field surrounded by boreal forest. Excavation begins next week. Aimee Gelinas , executive director, with her husband, Dan Cohen, will use the building to anchor their teaching as part of the 11-year-old nonprofit’s mission to inspire “environmental and cultural awareness, appreciation, and stewardship.
” That mission also includes an emphasis on “folkloric traditions from world cultures that intrinsically connect music with the rhythms of the natural world.” When they started, Gelinas and Cohen offered outdoor programming only, which was subject to cancellation by rain or snow. “We’ll be able to have indoor programming up here, like drumming and teacher trainings for a full day,” Gelinas said of the new building.
Gelinas first applied for a grant to build a center shortly after receiving nonprofit status in 2013. It was denied. In 2020, she applied for and won a $50,000 matching grant from Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Noel Staples Freeman, Aimee Gelinas and Dan Cohen of Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center perform during the groundbreaking ceremony for a building at Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center on Wednesday. The building's total cost is estimated at $200,000 and Tamarack Hollow is embarking on a capital campaign to raise the balance. Gelinas delayed starting building as Tamarack Hollow added land in a $79,900 purchase of 30 acres in 2022 and a $95,000 purchase of 26 acres in 2023, bringing its total holdings to 88 acres.
Gelinas, with her parents, Michael and Mary Georgene , deeded Tamarack Hollow’s first 5.7 acres in 2014. That parcel previously held a snowmobile lodge called Tamarack, where the new building will stand.
Gelinas dedicated the evening to her parents for their “unwavering support and belief in this project from the beginning.” Both were teachers in Springfield and Longmeadow, and Gelinas has named features at Tamarack Hollow for them, specifically a trail called Michael’s Way leading to Georgie’s Falls, a waterfall. In addition, Scott’s Stoop, a contemplation area near a stream originating from the Drowned Lands wetlands, will be named for Cohen’s late brother.
Among the guests were representatives of environmental and arts organizations in the Berkshires, including Bettina Montano, founder and artistic director of Berkshire Pulse . Montano said she knew Gelinas was “my people” when she witnessed Gelinas directing children to put their hands on their hearts and to listen to their own rhythm and then said, “That is the rhythm of the world.” Patti Steinman, senior naturalist at MassAudubon , spoke of Gelinas’ longstanding commitment to building a nonprofit and likened Gelinas to the medicinal plant yarrow, known as “the plant that can do anything.
” Julie Richburg, lead ecologist for inland natural resources at Trustees of Reservations, thanked Gelinas for preserving the land and the wildlife. Tamarack Hollow protects the northern border of Notchview Reservation , a 3,108-acre preserve open to cross-country skiers, hikers and birders. “Now we have this amazing neighbor,” Richburg said.
“This land is really going to be impacted by climate change. It already is.” Gelinas also acknowledged Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation , which has funded programs at Tamarack Hollow.
State Rep. John M. Barrett III, D-North Adams, praised the Legislature for doing the right thing and then told Gelinas, “You done good.
” Noel Staples-Freeman of Pittsfield, the dancer, met Gelinas through drumming. She said it was her first time at Tamarack Hollow. As she packed up in light rain, she said, “This was such a beautiful event.
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