At The Bad Grass series: new science about old trees

Christopher Roddick spoke at The White Hart Inn on Thursday, Feb. 15.
Janna Siller

Christopher Roddick spoke at The White Hart Inn on Thursday, Feb. 15.
The Bad Grass lecture series taking place at Salisbury’s White Hart Inn this winter is highlighting land care methods that increase biodiversity.
During the Thursday, Feb. 15, installment, speaker Christopher Roddick introduced upward of 60 attendees to conservation arboriculture, an approach to tree care as a form of ecosystem management.
Roddick’s career as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s head of arboriculture and lead foreman has sent him up into trees’ canopies and down into their root systems, teaching him the difference between vigor and vitality.
“Vigor is a plant’s ability to grow,” said Roddick. “If it’s growing really fast, we assume it is healthy. Actually, what health is is vitality, the amount of stored energy in the plant. The more energy a tree has in reserves, the more it can adjust and respond to stressors while increasing habitat for wildlife.”
He gave some practical tips for how to support tree vitality: increase soil health with compost or natural materials rather than synthetic fertilizers; allow leaves to fall and decompose in place; group trees together; avoid pesticides and fungicides; avoid clearing branches from older trees unless necessary for safety; if canopy reduction is necessary, prune from the tips; start trees from seed if possible or buy saplings that are not root bound in their container; keep young trees well watered; and prune trees for the first five to 15 years if they start off root-bound.
Roddick called trees holobiont (super-organisms) and described how almost every part contains fungi and other microorganisms essential to healthy function. The tree care techniques he recommends should therefore all be in service of maintaining those symbiotic relationships.
He noted that the trees we enjoy in our yards and landscapes are the same species that relied on being part of a system when they evolved in diverse and crowded forest environments. Their health hinges on our ability to provide them a system they can thrive in. Emerging forest ecology science is shedding light on how important relationships are to tree health- relationships with microbes, with the surrounding fauna, and with other trees in different life-cycle stages.
When you’re rooted in place, you’re an easy target, so trees have evolved to react, adapt and share resources among themselves. They economize by optimizing growth, getting rid of parts that are no longer needed, and compartmentalizing. Rather than healing from injury like humans do, trees grow new cells in new positions and shed or wall off dead cells.
Imagine a bristlecone pine that sprouted 5,000 years ago. While you can touch parts of the trunk that were growing vibrantly in the Bronze Age, the oldest part of the tree that is still actively growing is only 50 years old, and the needles are only a few years old. “The great duality of being a tree is that it is both young and old at the same time,” said Roddick
For Roddick, trees’ ecosystem services — like providing nectar to pollinators, habitat for wildlife, clean air, and carbon sequestration — are as important as their beauty and recreational value.
When asked the best way to increase biodiversity and ecosystem health on a property, he extolled the benefits of veteran trees that are embarking on the long process of dying, creating hollows for wildlife and nooks and crannies where fungi thrive. He also recommended planting keystone species like oak, maple, birch and willow that can host thousands of other species.
Of all the sunlight that hits the Earth, less than 1% gets caught by organisms that can use the energy. Roddick reminded the assembled gardeners that the vast majority of those are trees. He emphasized the importance of preserving trees into their later years as a means of increasing earth’s photosynthetic capacity.
The Bad Grass series is organized by local residents Page Dickey, Amy Cox Hall and Jeb Breece, whose goal is to “promote conversation and highlight the national thought leaders and practitioners we have in the region.”
The final lecture for this year’s series will take place at the White Hart Thursday, Feb. 29, at 5:30 p.m., and will be a panel discussion with Leslie Needham, Dee Salomon and Matt Sheehan on our human role in creating and maintaining natural landscapes. More information and tickets are available at www.silvaetpratum.com
Proceeds from the series’ ticket sales will be directed toward extending Falls Village’s pollinator-friendly roadside beds to the steps of the David M. Hunt Library.
The HVRHS boys rejoice around Jackson McAvoy after he scored the game-winning goal against Shepaug with just two minutes left to play.
WASHINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s boys varsity soccer team advanced to the Berkshire League tournament final after a 1-0 win over Shepaug Valley High School in the semifinal game on Friday, Oct. 24.
Jackson McAvoy scored the game-winning goal with just two minutes remaining.
The victory marked HVRHS boys soccer’s first victory over Shepaug since 2020.
“Finally,” said HVRHS Coach Adolfo Portillo after the game.
HVRHS will play top-ranked Nonnewaug High School in the BL final. Nonnewaug advanced to the title game by beating Northwestern Regional High School in penalty kicks (4-3) after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
The championship game will be played at Nonnewaug beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28.

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Students dressed in neon lined the soccer field for senior night under the lights on Thursday, Oct. 16. The game against Lakeview was the last in a series of competitions Thursday night in celebration of Homecoming 2025.
As homecoming week reaches its end and fall sports finish out the season, an air of school spirit and student participation seems to be on the rise across Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
But what can be attributed to this sudden peak of student interest? That’s largely due to SGA. Also known as the Student Government Association, SGA has dedicated itself to creating events to bring the entire student body together. This year, they decided to change some traditions.
Spirit week from Oct. 14-17 was unlike those of the previous years. From wearing Housatonic merch to Boomer vs Baby day, this year’s spirit week held a little friendly competition to see which grade could participate the most.
“I think that students are bored of the same old activities and events, so it’s good to switch things up even slightly to incentivize interest within students,” said SGA president and senior Mollie Ford. “Plus the point system is super beneficial because it gives students a reason to participate.”
The school spirit sentiment can be seen outside of just the school. Senior Simon Markow is known for his photography throughout the community, and has dedicated time to help Housy sports teams’ social media posts.
“Since I’ve started photography, I think school attendance [at sports games] has gone up,” Markow said. “I feel this year, students will be more aware of games and are more likely to be at the games.”
Whether it’s a pink-out volleyball game or an under the lights soccer match, it’s likely you’ll see some familiar faces.
Social media has played a large role in this over the years. Almost every student organization at Housatonic has an Instagram account, and it’s helped reach students more efficiently than a poster or email would.
“The increase of social media use, with the help from me but as well as the teams themselves has definitely increased student interest,” Markow said. “With Housy teams posting more about their upcoming games, and my help showing the cool goals, spikes, or touchdowns, it’s enlightened students to watch the games themselves.”
In a small school, promoting pride has proven to be a challenge. But this year’s senior class has made some adjustments in the hopes to change that.
“The SGA community has spent the last few years really focusing on student participation, because we think it’s the students who contribute to a better climate,” Ford said. While Housatonic’s student body may be small in size, it seems they certainly aren’t small in spirit.