Walk With Us On The Landfill Trail

This is a sneak “peak” of the view.
See the rest for yourself, join an upcoming walk with us!

– May afternoon at the retired landfill

Imagine yesterday’s trash as today’s treasure. At Middletown’s retired landfill, you can see stunning views of three rivers, a 1000-acre tidal marshland, the Arrigoni Bridge, and faraway hills. This 80-foot gravel path is next to the city’s transfer station and the Keating Building. It even has its own soundtrack…bird songs! This is a transformation in progress that’s worth seeing.

Join the Jonah Center for a short, invigorating walk! It’s about 10 minutes or less to get to the top where we can have a snack and take in the view together.

Ready to explore?
Come to a group walk: Sunday, June 8th, 9-10 AM and Saturday, July 19th, 9-10 AM
Sign up to walk with us or explore on your own and share your feedback!

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Video — A Tawny Garden Slug?

Videographer Phil LeMontagne wrote: This video proves that you don’t have to leave the planet to see something that looks truly alien. I took the video on the grounds of the Wadsworth Mansion.  I believe that it is a Tawny Garden Slug, (Limax flavus).  The long tentacles at the front are for sight and smell.  The short ones are for taste and touch.  It was probably looking for something to eat, but since it was very exposed, in the middle of a very wide trail, it was more likely to be eaten itself.

Video — Paddle With A Purpose

Phi LeMontagne captured this video of our Paddle With A Purpose event on July 14, 2024. We invite new volunteers, even if you have never paddled before, to join us this summer. Our partner, The Connecticut River Conservancy, has a limited number of kayak to loan to those who don’t own one. See our 2025 paddle schedule and access our registration form here.

 

Socially Conscious Music

Student composer Emma Mistele (center), with John Hall (left) and Kristen Colombo (right) at the presentation of music written for Noah Baerman’s class at Wesleyan.

Some of the Wesleyan students in Noah Baerman’s course “Experiments in Public Life: Creating and Presenting Socially Conscious Music” met with the Jonah Center, Community Health Center, Gilead Community Services, Oddfellows Playhouse, and Artists for World Peace, to find inspiration for their projects.  Our readers can listen to  the resulting 5 compositions and 12 others here.

The composition that emerged from the Jonah Center interview, “Vernal Piano” by Emma Mistele, is included in the above album, but its introduction and recording can also be found here

Public Input Needed For Complete Streets Projects

Middletown’s Complete Streets Committee, with support of the Jonah Center, will be conducting a Public Information and Input meeting regarding current projects on Monday, June 9, at 7 PM in Room 208 of City Hall, 245 deKoven Drive.  This will be a good opportunity to learn more about what’s going on with bike paths, sidewalks and multi-use trails in and around town. Continue reading

Spring & 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. Scroll down to find the Registration Form. A limited number of loaner kayaks are available from our partner, the Connecticut River Conservancy, for Middletown paddles only. Continue reading

Video — Life In The Wangunk Meadows

 

This wildlife video by Phil LeMontagne shows the abundance of life in Portland’s Wangunk Meadows that includes a special wetland area known locally as “the Rookery.”  Click on the image to watch the video. The animals shown and directions to the site are below.  Continue reading

Saving Energy, Money, C02 and Air Quality Together

While broader clean energy and energy conservation policy changes are under attack at the federal level of government, our collective, local actions have an impact. If you have had a home energy audit, installed solar or added a heat pump, let us know! Take our Energy Saver Survey (10 minutes or less) Continue reading to see what we’ve heard so far…

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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!  

Middletown Town Hall lawn, springtime tree with no leaves, Town sign and Tree City USA sign
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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.

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A 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.

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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 gLa.messages@gmail.com to register or find out more. Continue reading