To watch the Vernal Pool video by Phil LeMontagne, click on the image below..
Vernal Piano
A glimmer of good news this Earth Month…
It’s official! The Middletown Resource Recycling Advisory Commission (RRA) is transitioning to the Middletown Sustainability Commission (MSC).
How did this happen?
Through the dedication of the RRA and resident advocacy, this important ordinance change has been discussed publicly and passed through the Public Works & Facilities Commission as well as the General Council before it moved forward to the Middletown Town Council for discussion and approval.
On April 8th, Middletown Common Council members heard final public comments from the community and unanimously approved this change!
April Litter Clean-Ups
The Jonah Center will be hosting two separate litter cleanup events this month, on April 19 and 26 and we’d like to invite you to join us. Litter Cleanups are a fun way to help your community and meet other like-minded folks who care about keeping our towns, cities, and the natural environment clean. Help celebrate Earth Week by pitching in.
Continue readingA Tool for Our Times – Middletown Community Participation Guide
“Act locally” is a mantra we will be hearing often. Some may ask, but how?
Wesleyan staff and students recently hosted an event to share the Middletown Government Participation Guide (available here in English and Spanish). This is an important “tool for our times” that offers a peek behind the curtain of our local government and explains the many ways we all can use our skills and voices to get involved.
Continue readingSpring & Summer Paddle Schedule for 2025
Our “Paddle With A Purpose” schedule for 2025 is below. We need volunteer paddlers to help us remove invasive water chestnut plants from local waterways. A limited number of loaner kayaks are available for Middletown paddles only (see below). Continue reading
Do You Know A Middle-Schooler Who’s Interested In Art?
Gla Rose, an artist, educator, and Jonah Center Board Member, is leading a 7 week after school art program starting April 23rd at CNTR in Middletown, CT. Art Station will meet Wednesdays from 3:30-5:30pm, and is geared towards 6th-8th graders. The program will focus on open-ended art-making inspired by the work of a variety of lesser known contemporary artists. A range of media will be explored including collage, drawing, painting, sewing, printmaking, and mixed media. Gla will tailor the program to the interests of participating artists, and support artists to reflect, envision, experiment, build technique, and collaborate. Contact [email protected] to register or find out more. Continue reading
A Renewed Call for Local Environmental Activism
Like many Americans who care about the environment, we here at the Jonah Center are deeply concerned about recent proposed changes to America’s environmental laws by the new EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, which were announced earlier this month. These proposals appear to be part of a dramatic shift in the federal government’s approach to environmental regulation by reducing or eliminating regulations restricting pollutants in order to promote the greater use of fossil fuels and limiting the development of clean energy and anything else related to climate change mitigation. Unfortunately, these proposals may have a dramatic impact on our nation’s ability to maintain clean air and water and make it harder to address climate change or support clean energy.
In case you missed it, here are a few of the recent changes proposed by the administration:
Have You Saved Money on Home Energy?
Remember our “Power Moves” article, where we shared ways to cut energy costs? Have you tried any of those ideas?
If you’ve successfully lowered your energy bills, we want to hear your success story!
Please send us a message through the Contact Page on our website. Just give us the best way to contact you, and we’ll reach out to hear the full details. Continue reading
The Constraints of the Physical World
Every year, Wesleyan Physics Professor Brian Stewart presents an illuminating talk about the world’s environmental and energy crisis. It is always well worth attending. Here is what Brian says as preview to this year’s talk. Continue reading
Is Your Well Water Safe?
UConn Extension Service is offering reduced cost well water testing to residents of Middlesex County. To register for the program, use this link.
Winter Bird Video & Quiz
This excellent video by Phil LeMontagne shows close-ups of some, but not all, of the backyard birds commonly found in northern Middlesex County in the winter. Most are year-round residents, but two of them, the Slate- colored Junco and the White-throated Sparrow, tend to move a little farther north in the summer. How many of these birds can you name? Keep watching until the end of the video to see why they are all constantly looking around nervously!
For a list of birds in order of first appearance, see below. Continue reading
Traffic Cameras Win Council Approval
Middletown Chief of Police Eric Costa speaking at the Jan. 27 meeting of the Public Safety Commmission.
After the public showed strong support for Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Devices at Middletown’s January 27 public information meeting, the Common Council voted unanimously on February 3 to approve the use of traffic cameras. We thank all who signed the Jonah Center petition last February and those who emailed the Common Council to express their support of this step in making our streets safer.
Chief Costa said the department had identified the following 4 locations in the city where ATESDs would make a significant improvement to public safety: Continue reading