Program Overview
Imagine a headline like this:Middletown Dump Reborn As Ecological Center
It is becoming a reality.
 | The Jonah
Center for Earth and Art has developed working relationships
with the City of Middletown and Wesleyan University, resulting in
specific projects or programs in the areas of environmental studies,
renewable energy, outdoor recreation, green building and landscape
design, and habitat restoration. The neck of land at the confluence of the Mattabesset and Coginchaug Rivers known as the “North End Peninsula” (diagram at left and picture below) now appears to be industrial urban blight. But this city-owned property is rich in educational and recreational possibilities. It is also the site of the city’s landfill, which was closed in 1991. |
In the summer of
2004, the Jonah Center initiated conversations with Wesleyan University
to study the landfill’s potential as a source of usable methane. After
the study, we gathered business partners to invest in the project, and
in May 2008, Middletown’s Common Council approved the first phase of a landfill gas to energy project.
Using the gas has the potential to reduce carbon emissions equivalent
to removing 5700 cars from the road.In May 2008, the Jonah Center was a community partner with Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts in organizing “Feet to the Fire” in Veterans Park. This eco-arts festival featured 40 exhibits on climate change, renewable energy, eco-friendly products, alternative transportation, and locally produced food. Music, sculpture, and theater performances drew 2000 visitors to the 5 hour festival.
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Current Projects
The Jonah Center is working on several related projects to bring economic, recreational, and educational activity to the North End neighborhood. Our primary goals are:- to preserve the important wetlands surrounding the North End Peninsula by reducing harmful storm run-off from the city’s recycling and transfer station
- to assist in the redevelopment of the adjacent Remington factory building to bring economic activity to the neighborhood
- to provide access to Coginchaug and Mattabesset Rivers and “Floating Meadows” by canoeists and kayakers
- to beautify the whole area through eco-friendly landscaping and environmental art
- to advocate the creation of an “Energy Improvement District” in Middletown to encourage clean, distributed generation of electricity and cost savings for businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations
- to assist in the realization of the landfill gas to energy project
- to alert citizens and testify before city commissions regarding any matter that affects local waterways, open space, air quality, and our city’s carbon footprint
We are also watching carefully the city’s plans for the redevelopment of Veterans Park, located 1 mile upstream along the Coginchaug River. This will very likely be the site of a new Community and Senior Center. If such a project is in demand by the residents of Middletown, we will advocate for a LEED certified building surrounded by landscaping designed to mitigate damage from storm water entering the Coginchaug River.
Our Long Term Vision
The Jonah Center will never be “finished,” and that is part of what makes it so exciting. A living, evolving program will always have room for innovation and evolution because adaptive change is at the core of our vision. Adaptive change is what life is all about.But we do have some specifics in mind.
Our ultimate goal is an educational and cultural facility that brings scientific and artistic endeavors into intimate contact with each other. We strive to promote eco-friendly practices and technology in a way that excites the imagination, celebrates the cultural richness of Middletown, and helps people in very practical ways to live their lives and support their families. The Jonah Center seeks to inspire people to see, think, and act in a new way.