It is not just New England’s prettiest season, it is very nearly the best time of the year.
To one of the hosts of this show, that means the arrival of Franklin County Cider Days, which showcases all the ways the apple is integrated into the agriculture of the area from sweet and hard cider to classes on orchard stewarding, donuts and more.
We head to one of the event’s many locations, New Salem Orchard, where 100-year-old trees continue to grow on one of the most idyllic spots in the area just west of the Quabbin. We speak to the inimitable Carol Hillman about the importance of her farm to the health of the community.
We also hear about another community education effort and how you can help it continue. Self-Evident Education highlights underrepresented histories with educational multi-media materials and is one of the many organizations that saw grant availability disappear with the current administration. We speak with executive director Michael Lawrence-Riddell and board member Ousmane Power-Greene about the importance of exploring uncomfortable truths about ourselves to grow into a stronger nation and how you can support these efforts.
And Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, shows us how language loses a bit of its edge as we explore words that have fallen prey to “semantic bleaching.”
