Gardening, Trees & More

Elisabeth Holder's Garden in Spring
Take a tour of Elisabeth’s garden as it appears in early spring, along with her brief commentary. Click here. We are hoping to feature more gardens at other times of the year as part of our Alive Outside initiative. Let us know if you would be willing to share photos of your flower or vegetable gardens

Tree Fund Gifts Support Spring Tree Planting
Middletown’s Public Works Department and Urban Forestry Commission will soon be planting more trees, with support of the Jonah Center’s Tree Fund. In the past decade or so, Middletown has lost over 100 trees per year, and that is just counting the trees on city property. Recently, the Jonah Center Tree Fund received an unsolicited $500 donation from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County/Sally Ann McGee D’Aquila & Salvatore D’Aquila, Jr. Fund. Read more here.

City of Middletown Eco-Events in April
The City of Middletown invites the public to upcoming events: a downtown street clean-up work party on Saturday, April 17; a paper-shredding event on April 24, and its on April 30. More details on all of these can be found here.

Where's Dirk Gently When You Need Him
Read Erik Assadourian’s reflection on the blockage of the Suez Canal by the container ship “Ever Given” as a metaphor for the dangers of an ever-expanding consumer economy.

Invasive Hydrilla Threatens Connecticut River
A unique strain of the invasive aquatic plant known as “Hydrilla” has become a dire threat to the Connecticut River. In the past 2 years, the prevalence and thickness of the mats of vegetation have increased significantly and represent a serious impact on the ecosystem. Motor-boat propellers fragment the plant and accelerate the spread. Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development (CRCD) has produced a moving18-minute video on the problem, plus a 2-minute trailer. Everyone who values the river needs to be aware of this.

How To Think Like An Afrofuturist
Join the Wesleyan University College of the Environment in welcoming Ingrid LaFleur, Founder of The Afrofuture Strategies Institute. Sat. April 17, 10:00am – 11:30am on Zoom. "The imagination is the staring point of all manifested reality, but what informs the imagining mind?" More details here.