This program is currently paused due to lack of funding to properly resource our facilitators to hold this space - help us bring this program back for 2026 by donating to our fundraiser
Connecting on the Rail Trail
Presented in beautiful partnership with Finca Luna Búho and Mixed Faces Wild Spaces.Join us for a free and recurring community event series along the Ashuwillticook Bike Trail in the Berkshire/Taconic Region.Run by and for people of historically underrepresented identities in the outdoors. Together we will go biking, riding, walking, birding, foraging, plant IDing, exploring queer ecology, and much more!
Meet our Collaborators
Finca Luna Búho is an Afro-Indigenous nourished carespace, centering and holding the voices and decision making of those living in marginalization and at the intersections of these lived experiences.They are located on unceded Mohican land in the so-called northern Berkshires of western Massachusetts. In 2007, they began this land collective to create a rural place of refuge, knowledge sharing and intimacy-with-land that centers BIPOC, immigrant, queer, trans, poor, and disabled communities. They offer space for gatherings, change-making & justice organizing, healing, farming and mutual/intimate land and nature connection. Finca Luna Búho is a place where people can seek trust-based space and inspiration, creatively be and collaborate for community restoration and flourishing.Mixed Faces Wild Spaces is a movement for people whose lives are shaped by the compounding pressures of systems of domination—racism, ableism, classism, transphobia, xenophobia, and more. They offer free, liberatory outdoor programs grounded in healing, connection, and land-based belonging. Sustained by sliding-scale events and services like guided nature experiences, consulting, and ecological design through our initiative, Triphyllum.All of this work moves toward a larger vision: a land based sanctuary where people are free to be whole.
Event Dates and Times
All events are on the weekend, and begin at 10:00 am, ending at 1:30 pmJuly 13th - Opening Day Bike and Ride
July 26th - Mixed/ Mulitracial Bike and Ride (Affinity Space for Mixed Folks)
August 9th - Beginner's Bike and Ride
August 23rd - Queer Ecology Plant Want (Affinity Space for Queer folks + their loved ones who are allies)
September 6th - Accessible Community Nature Stroll (Affinity Space for Disabled, Chronically Ill, and Neurodivergent Folks + any loved ones who are allies)
September 20th - cancelled
October 4th - cancelled
October 18th - cancelled
November 1st - cancelled
November 15th - cancelled
How to Register
Fill out the Registration form, where you can indicate which event(s) you are signing up for.Fill out our liability waiver. This only needs to be done one time for the year!Fill out our Media Release Form. This only needs to be done one time for the year!
Where do these events take place?
Unceded Mohican Land along the Ashuwillticook Rail TrailDetails of the specific meeting location will be distributed to participants through the event registration processEvent Location Statement: Our events along the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail are intentionally designed to be fluid and adaptable. Each gathering is unique, with locations, routes, and meeting points tailored to the specific needs and dynamics of the event.To safeguard the safety and privacy of our facilitators and participants, we do not publicly disclose these details in advance.This approach is rooted in our commitment to protecting our community from potential harm.
Who are these events for?
-These events are geared towards historically underrepresented communities in the outdoors.-Each event within the series will be an intentional affinity space for underrepresented communities in the outdoors.-Each event session will specify the affinity space.-These events have no age limit, unless indicated otherwise.-All people under the age of 15 must be accompanied by someone over the age of 18.
What can I expect during these events?
-Together, we will go biking, riding, walking, birding, or engage in various forms of plant identifying, including queer ecology.-Each event session will specify what the event activity will be.-The rail trail is more busy on the weekends, with a mix of people biking, walking, roller skating, walking their dogs, scootering, pushing baby strollers, and more.-While pets are allowed along the rail trail, we ask that participants of this event leave their furry friends at home.-Service animals are always welcome.
What is the physical accessibility of the location and event?
-The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is an old railroad track converted into a 10-foot wide paved trail. The trail runs 12.7 miles through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams. Cheshire Reservoir, and the Hoosic River offer outstanding views of the scenery and wildlife.-The path is a paved and level surface, with very slight inclines or declines throughout.-There are picnic tables and benches dispersed throughout each section of the trail.-We are intentional to choose a section of the trail that has bathroom access, and there are wheelchair accessible bathroom stalls at each bathroom location.-There is wheelchair accessible parking at each section of the trail.-Each event session will specify what the event activity will be, including accessibility information for that specific section we will be recreating on.-Our facilitators carry with them a first aid kit for all events, and we have facilitators who are medicinal herbalists, and certified in Wilderness First Aid.-More questions? Check out the Ashuwillticook Website to learn more about the location or to ask questions!
What is the language accessibility for this event?
We will have Spanish Speaking events led by Finca Luna Buho’s Spanish-Speaking, Indigenous Ecologist; Fran.For non Spanish-Speaking events, we have the availability to have a Spanish translator with us for language accessibility needs. This can be indicated during the registration sign up form. We make efforts to insure that all forms, and any educational materials, are offered in both English and Spanish.We are working to expand our language accessibility, and, currently we are only able to support with Spanish translations support.
What is the Goal and Why?
The goal of this recurring event series is to increase connection with the outdoors for historically underrepresented communities in the outdoors.We designed the structure of these events with deep intentionality, nurturing the most fertile circumstances to encourage a reciprocal relationship with nature within these communities, our communities.The participants and the facilitators of this event series are people whose lives have been shaped by systems that fragment, marginalize, and disconnect us—from land, from each other, and from ourselves.Yet, it is within our communities that a deep, ancestral knowledge about how to live in true reciprocity with the land and with one another lives.The reality is the environmental crisis is not a distant threat; it is a present reality that disproportionately harms those already targeted by economic, political, and social violence.Many of us have been deliberately severed from nature, denied access to the healing, joy, and belonging that come from a grounded relationship with the earth.This work is vital because it centers the voices, wisdom, and leadership of those most impacted—not simply to survive, but to reclaim the right to live. To root ourselves in joy, healing, and belonging in the outdoors.The nature deficit gap deeply affects our communities, cutting off not only health and safety but also the fullness of life that flows from connection to land.Connecting on the Rail Trail embodies our belief that flourishing happens when we nurture care, justice, and shared power—when we create spaces where difference is sacred, healing is communal, and love is the practice of freedom.This is how we reclaim belonging.This is how we build a future that is not just about survival but about thriving deeply, fully, and joyfully—together, with nature as our guide and partner.
How are we meeting our goal?
1. By making all Connecting on the Rail Trail events completely free, we reduce the financial barrier to access. We say reduce, because we wholly recognize that getting to the actual event takes time, labor, and can cost money. We look forward to being able to provide compensation to participants, which would support with any lost time, labor, or money expended to attend our event(s).2. By having a Spanish Translator for language accessibility needs, and hosting Spanish Speaking only events, we reduce the language barrier to access for those who Speak Spanish. We look forward to one day being able to support the language accessibility needs of all languages spoken in the Berkshires.3. By providing riding devices and protective equipment to borrow at each of our bike and ride events, we reduce the gear barrier to access for those who do not have the equipment to bring with them. We look forward to being able to give bikes and helmets to participants to keep as their own, so they can continue to foster deep connection with the outdoors on their own, and hopefully pass that love onto others.4. By the labor and love of all the folks who dreamed, planned, created, and now facilitate these events. Our deep care for community and nature has been poured into every aspect of these events. We are excited to bring this dream to life!
Support our Program
Love what we are doing and interested in supporting or becoming a Sponsor? We invite Berkshire County community members, organizations, businesses, and other entities to support our free community programming!2024 + 2025 Sponsors:
-M.O.O.R.
-DCR
-The Resonance Collective (Formerly DEI Outdoors)
-The Old Stone Mill.
-Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation's Equity FundSponsorship Tiers:
1. $100 - Listed in the Sponsor Section of the Website
2. $250 - Previous Benefits plus; Featured in social media stories
3. $500 - Previous benefits plus; Featured on social media post and shout out from facilitators on day of event
4. $1000+ - Previous benefits plus; Featured logo on merch/ educational materials given to participantsInterested in donating materials, services, or your time? Reach out to us by email to see what our current needs are!Our fiscal sponsor, Sonrisas Inc, is a Non-Profit with 501(c)(3) tax status! We are able to provide documentation for any and all donations if need be. Send us an email via the link at the bottom of the page.Click Here to Submit Sponsorship or Donation Payment!Progress towards our goal: $2,575 / $30,000