As of today (late June 2021) the Jonah Center has been successful in planting 17 trees in “high public benefit” areas in Portland. 8 trees were planted in the Quarry Heights and Chatham Court neighborhoods of the Portland Housing Authority (see above); 3 trees were planted in the Quarry View Brownstone Park; 3 trees were planted on East Main; 2 trees were planted on Main Street; and 1 was planted on Waverly Avenue.  We thank all the Portland donors to the Jonah Center Tree Fund who made these new trees possible. Pictured above are: Milca Santiago; Bonita Brockers and her son Cartier Brockers; Jesslyn Jordan her daughter Savannah LaFountain and son Travis LaFountain.

Shown above is one of the red maples planted at Quarry View Park.  Pictured are Darlene Rice (co-owner of the park) and John Hall. Photo credit: Dean Soucy, the other co-owner and park developer.

The Quarry View Park assumed 1/2 of the cost by delivering and planting the trees themselves, and Portland Housing Authority paid 3/5 of the cost of the ornamental trees they received. Most of the 17 trees were larger-growing shade trees such as red maple, oak, London plane, and linden.

Below are the 2 red maples and 1 pin oak on East Main Street near Fairview.

The Jonah Center’s most far-reaching project is to connect the 2 longest multi-use trails in Connecticut.  Of the 23 miles between the western terminus of the Air Line Trail in Portland and the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in Cheshire, approximately 8.5 miles already exists in the form of shorter trail segments along the way. Another 8.6 miles has been planned or is in the process of being planned. That leaves about 5.5 miles in need of a routing study.  The project has was recognized in state law in 2019 as the Air Line Trail – Farmington Canal Trail  (ALT-FCT) Connector. 

The Jonah Center is working with the Lower CT River Valley Council of Governments (the RiverCOG) to apply for a grant of $350,000 to study the whole connector route, with particular focus on the 5.5 miles between Smith Street in Middletown and North Broad Street in Meriden, and Newfield Street in Middletown.

The ALT-FCT Connector would use off-road trails for about 13 miles, and about 9.5 miles of on-road bike routes. Completion of the ALT-FCT Connector would result in completion of a 111-mile Central Connecticut  Loop Trail (shown below). Click here for a Google Map of the Loop Trail that allows you to zoom in for more detail.

Middletown clothing store Ciinder + Salt at 195 Main Street organizes clean-up events throughout the season.  Below is a list, with links for registration.

cinder + salt River Paddle & Clean-up with Time of Day Band

Saturday, August 14, 2021 | 8:30am-10:30am

Grab your kayak or paddleboard & meet cinder + salt at Harbor Park in Middletown for a river clean-up and paddle with our official tour guide, Dave from Time of Day Band.

Event registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cinder-salt-paddle-river-clean-up-with-time-of-day-band-tickets-141878623783?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

Facebook event page: https://fb.me/e/Opk1IRda

cinder + salt Beach Clean-Up & Yoga Practice with Starr Mill Yoga

Saturday, September 4, 2021 | 8:30am-11:30am

cinder + salt is partnering with friends at Starr Mill Yoga for a seaside yoga practice and clean-up at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison.

Event registration and Facebook event page: https://fb.me/e/NIvGKQVB

cinder + salt Trail Clean-Up with The Rockfall Foundation 

Saturday, September 25, 2021 | 9am-11am 

Immerse yourself in beautiful fall foliage for cinder + salt’s final clean-up of the year with The Rockfall Foundation at Wadsworth Falls State Park in Middletown.

Event registration and Facebook event page: https://fb.me/e/2ehJuH8pd

Paddlers will continue to go out into the Floating Meadows (the freshwater tidal marshland formed by the Mattabesset and Coginchaug Rivers) each Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., to remove invasive water chestnut plants.  This invasive species endangers our local waterways by blocking sunlight and oxygen, thereby damaging the habitat for fish and other aquatic life.

Another invasive aquatic plant, hydrilla, has become a major threat to local waterways. Managing hydrilla is trickier because it spreads by fragmentation. How the spread of hydrilla will affect our efforts to control water chestnut has not been determined, but we will keep our paddlers informed.  Hydrilla is now tangled up with water chestnut, so both plants are  removed simultaneously, resulting in a higher volume of plant material to be transported out of the watershed.

The Jonah Center is grateful to our partner, the Connecticut River Conservancy for staffing this work party and covering the event with their insurance policy. All participants will need to sign CRC’s liability waivers and paddle at their own risk.

The starting point is the canoe and kayak launch adjacent to Middletown’s recycling and transfer station. Here is a link to the location. For information on possible last minute cancellation, check back on this post or call 860-398-3771.