WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The ninth annual Bear Hole Trail Race returned to West Springfield on Saturday morning, drawing over 50 participants to the seven-mile event.

Originally started nine years ago to support a conservation restriction at Bear Hole Reservoir, the race now serves as a fundraiser for West Springfield's third and fifth-graders. The West Springfield Environmental Committee uses the funds to provide classroom training and field trips to the Bear Hole Conservation Area for hands-on nature and environmental education.

"The school system doesn't provide funds for this in the science program, so this is something additional," said organizer Alan Cabot. "We hire teachers, they go into the classroom, they teach them for the day, and then they take them out for hands-on t

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