August 5, 2026: Summer Leaves

In Greenfield, a parcel of land belonging to the city is being stewarded by new farmers who’re actively building access into the way they tender the land. Just Roots is located on what used to be the town’s “Poor farm” but now is 61 acres of community garden, produce and fruit, and companion land for their agricultural endeavors and others as well. We speak with farm manager Meryl La Tronica, Greenfield Farmer's Market managerTaylor Lopatofsky, and CISA's Clarissa Adan about the important place the farm plays in Franklin County.Just south on rt 9 in Florence, a bookstore is feeding the literary dreams of littles all across western Mass. High Five Books might have blossomed just before the pandemic, but it’s fostered a love of reading and an incredible network of authors and illustrators in the intervening years. We sit with owner Lexi Wright to hear about the store’s journey, a journey you can make of your own for the Pioneer Valley Book Crawl, and the recent honor she’s received from the Commonwealth. Plus interim word nerd and Jazz a la mode host Peter Sokolowski duplicates our understanding with a look at the unique ways English deals with pluralization.