Connecticut and Mattabesset River Paddle-June 18

Bill Yule, Naturalist at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, will be our educator on this paddle. We will stop for commentary and questions at Wilcox Island, the confluence of the Mattabesset and Coginchaug Rivers, the open water of the Boggy Meadows, the proposed site of Middletown’s kayak launch, and at a sandy beach on the Coginchaug. Bill spent many hours paddling and exploring this area as a child, so he has observed its character and changes over a number of decades.

Paddlers need to provide their own boats, life jackets, paddles, drinking water, and snacks. Advance registration is not necessary, and there is no charge for the event. You may call 860-398-3771 for more information or in case of possible cancellation due to weather.

Reposted from The Jonah Center for Earth and Art

Educational Paddle-Connecticut R & Boggy Meadows-Sat June 5

Jonah Center News

Educational Paddle

Saturday, June 5,

Launch time: at 9 a.m from Harbor Park near the boathouses.

Leader-Contact person: Beth Emery, ctladycyclist@gmail.com

Be part of the CT Trails Day Celebration and have a paddle! This event, co-hosted by the CT Forest and Park Association and The Jonah Center for Earth and Art, will take place in the lower Mattabesset and Coginchaug Rivers, as well as the Boggy Meadows where those two rivers converge. The tour departs from Harbor Park on the CT river in Middletown, Sat. June 5 at 9 a.m. Paddlers will return to the starting point between 12 and 1 p.m. Conditions permitting there will be 2 stops along a river bank. Paddlers need to provide their own boat, paddle, lifejacket, drinking water, snacks, sunscreen, and appropriate clothing.

River historian and environmental journalist Erik Hesselberg will provide us with a historical overview of how these rivers have been used, traveled and misused over the years. Trip participants will be encouraged to pick up plastic bottles, cans, and other debris as part of the Jonah Center’s ongoing effort to beautify and protect our local waterways.

This event is free and advance registration is not necessary. CT Forest and Parks requires that you sign a waiver form to participate.  Call (860) 984-6178 for more information or to learn about a possible last minute cancellation due to weather conditions or river waters above flood stage.

In the Mattabesset River,August 2008

Here we head upriver towards the two bridges

Middletown Photos Added

“Sufferin’ Cats”

We have added lots of Middletown photographs to these pages; read more….

Middletown Environment Meetings This Week..

Item – Tuesday, December 9, 7 p.m.
At First Church of Christ, 190 Court St. in Middletown

Roger Smith, Coordinator of the Connecticut Climate Coalition and Campaign Director of Clean Water Action will tell us what is coming up in the January 2009 session of the Connecticut Legislature to improve home energy efficiency and address global warming. In what will certainly be another tough budget year, citizen action will be critical in order to pass progressive energy-related legislation and help consumers hurt by high fossil fuel prices

Item –

Attend the Public Hearing on

Middletown’s Plan of Development and Conservation

Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers

v Protecting Natural Resources & Preserving Rural Character

v Maromas: Middletown’s Last Frontier

v Protecting Water Quality

Middletown is in the process of updating its Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). This is an important document that will help guide the City’s decision-making on planning for the next decade or more. Citizen support for these chapters will send a message to the commission and city officials that we care about our environment.

Your attendance alone will demonstrate your support for these sections of the updated plan and your interest in protecting Middletown’s natural environment.

Drafts of the chapters are available on the City’s Planning Department website at http://www.middletownplanning.com/pocd/pocdupdate.html

Source: The Jonah Center

There’s a new bridge in town. To provide access to the new CVS store on Washington Street it was necessary to bridge the Coginchaug River at West Street. Yikes!

New Coginchaug Bridge at West St

Global Warming News, Or is It Cooling?

The Jonah Center for Earth and Art will be hosting a public meeting Tuesday evening Dec 9, 2008, at 7PM in the Memorial Room at First Church, 190 Court St, Middletown. The subject: “What You Can Do About Global Warming and Energy Policy in Connecticut“. The speaker:

Roger Smith, Coordinator of the Connecticut Climate Coalition and Campaign Director of Clean Water Action will tell us what energy- and climate-related legislation is coming up in the January 2009 session of the Connecticut General Assembly. Roger has a wealth of information and experience in this area.

In what will certainly be another tough budget year, citizen action will be critical in order to pass progressive energy-related legislation and help consumers hurt by high fossil fuel prices. This is your opportunity to help shape our energy future and slow global warming.

A slight shift of gears is called for here as we mention one of our favorite bloggers on the subject of climate change; Gateway Pundit. Their post today presents a huge array of sources and stats that gives credence to the notion that the earth is cooling not warming. Read about it here…..

Of course cooling has been mentioned before; remember Newsweek from April 25, 1975? (PDF)

Finally, we couldn’t resist….

Farmer's Almanac Says It's Global Cooling

Old Farmer’s Almanac Latest Prediction for 2009 and beyond (video)

River Paddle Floating Meadows: July 12 9 AM

Mattabesset and Coginchaug

River Paddle

July 12, 9 a.m.

Last year’s event was great fun!

Departure from Harbor Park at 9 a.m. to catch the end of the flood tide, so that we will be in the Floating Meadows at high tide. Professor Barry Chernoff will offer short talks on river ecology along the way. If you plan to attend and if you wish to be informed in case of cancellation due to weather, email Hall.john.c@sbcglobal.net

Feet to the Fire Festival: More Info….

The Wesleyan community will explore its environmental impact through an eco-arts festival called “Feet to the Fire” on May 10 that will feature food, music, art, theater and a premier by a world-renowned choreographer Ann Carlson (pictured above).

Running from noon to 5 p.m. at Veterans Park in Middletown, “Feet to the Fire” will combine the variety of arts performances, interactive exhibits and a farmers market with food from Connecticut vendors. Exhibits coordinated by the Jonah Center for Earth and Art will highlight energy conservation, sustainability and resilient communities.

Ann Carlson, award-winning choreographer, launches a new series of performance works, Planet Next, that envision life on a future earth. The first of these works, “Green Movement,” uses elements of humor and surprise while challenging the audience to intimately confront the realities of their present day existence.

“Feet to the Fire is an extraordinary campus-wide and community exploration of one of the most urgent issues facing our world today,” says Pam Tatge, director of Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts. “The idea that so many students, faculty members, community members, and artists have collaborated to make works for the festival is simply thrilling.”

The event will also feature a sculpture garden, labyrinth, theater, dance, music, poetry, art and performances by Art Farm’s Circus for a Fragile Planet, Marion Belanger, Tom Callinan, Electric Junkyard Gamelan, Green Street Arts Center, Independent Day School, Kalimba Liberian Group, Geoff Kaufman, Jesse Karlsberg, The Middletuners, Mixashawn, Noah Baerman Trio, Oddfellows Playhouse, RJ and the On-the-Spot Jug Band, Susan Romano, Sirius Coyote, Toussaint Liberator, Wesleyan students and more.

The festival is a part of “Feet to the Fire: Exploring Global Climate Change from Science to Art,” an 18-month project that includes research opportunities for a team of students and faculty to explore first-hand the effects of global warming, fieldwork studies in art and science, performances, pedagogical exchanges in existing courses, commissioning of artists and convening of experts.

“All of us working on the Festival are united in the belief that the arts have the potential to help us see and understand the impact of climate change while at the same time assist us in envisioning a sustainable future,” Tatge says.

The project is funded in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Creative Campus Innovations Grant Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Wesleyan’s grant is one of only eight grants given to challenge campus-based performing arts presenters to integrate their programs more organically within the academic environment.

The Festival is co-sponsored by Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts and Environmental Studies Program, the Jonah Center for Earth and Art and the City of Middletown, in collaboration with the Center for Creative Research and the Green Street Arts Center.

Feet to the Fire will take place from noon to 5 p.m. rain or shine. Admission is free and open to the public. The event is located at Veterans Memorial Park in Middletown, located off Newfield Street. For more information and directions call 860-685-3355.

Source: The Wesleyan Connection

Coginchaug River at Veterans Memorial Park (June 2007)….

Feet to Fire Festival: Sat. May 10….

Feet to the Fire Festival

An Eco-Arts Festival with Global Implications | Bring the Whole Family!

The Jonah Center is a community partner with Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts in this exciting community event

Saturday May 10, noon to 5 p.m. in Veterans Park

FREE ADMISSION

How can we become more aware of our environmental impact and imagine a sustainable future? Wesleyan University engages the arts to explore the possibilities through the Feet to the Fire Festival at Middletown’s Veterans Park. Feet to the Fire is an eco-arts festival for the whole family featuring music, dance and theater performances, interactive exhibits and a farmers market with food from Connecticut vendors. Exhibits coordinated by the Jonah Center for Earth and Art will highlight energy conservation, sustainability and resilient communities.

Ann Carlson, an award-winning choreographer, launches a new series of performance works, Planet Next, that envision life on a future earth. The first of these works, Green Movement, uses elements of humor and surprise while challenging us to intimately confront the realities of our present day existence.

For more information about the Festival: http://www.wesleyan.edu/feettothefire or call 860-685-3355.

Feet to the Fire Festival 2008: Help Wanted….

A Call for Volunteers

FEET TO THE FIRE FESTIVAL 2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008, 12–5pm

Free admission

Veteran’s Memorial Park

Middletown, Connecticut

Located just off Newfield Street (Route 3)

Each of us has an impact on the world around us. We leave footprints and our footprints are changing the
planet. How can we impact these changes and imagine a sustainable future?

THE FESTIVAL

An eco-arts festival for the whole family featuring music, dance and theater performances, and a farmer’s
market with food from Connecticut vendors. Interactive exhibits will highlight energy conservation,
sustainability and resilient communities. This free festival is co-presented by Wesleyan University’s Center
for the Arts and Environmental Studies Program, the Jonah Center for Earth and Art and the City of
Middletown with support from the Middletown Commission on the Arts and the Rockfall Foundation.

VOLUNTEER NOW TO BE PART OF THE FESTIVAL!

In the spirit of the Festival, volunteers will be asked to join the Festival team by assisting artists and
exhibitors, working on security, transportation, parking, promotion, documentation and other tasks to
create a pleasant, healthy and safe environment for Festival-goers to experience all that the Festival has to
offer. Shifts available to suit your schedule and jobs that will make a difference.

If you are interested in participating in the Festival as a volunteer, please contact Adrian Nieves at
anieves@wesleyan.edu or 860-685-2696 by April 15, 2008. We will hold a volunteer meeting shortly.

Meeting 3/25:Community-Senior Center Vets Park

Reminder: Meeting on the proposed Community/Senior Center in Veterans Memorial Park. Tues Mar 25 at 7 PM at First Church of Christ, 190 Court St, Middletown.

A Jonah Center bulletin reports:

“Architect Tom Arcari from Quisenberry Arcari Architects in Farmington will discuss conceptual drawings developed over the past two years. The feasibility study committee hopes to have a referendum question on the November 2008 ballot. The total project costs are estimated to be about $25 million.

Veterans Park is located to the west of Washington Street, behind Palmer field. The urban wildlife habitat along the Coginchaug River between Veteran’s Park and the North End Peninsula and the Floating Meadows has been a focus area for the Jonah Center for the past several years.”

The short video below shows the Coginchaug River where it flows between Palmer Field and Veterans Memorial Park.