ECoin's First Project A Success

Middletown’s Environmental Collective Impact Network (ECoin) reached its first goal, resulting in a positive, measurable outcome for the environment. The group facilitated the retrofit of exit light signs, which replaced incandescent 40-watt bulbs with high efficiency 4-watt LEDs. The initial goal was to facilitate 50 retrofits, and ultimately 86 were done. Once the original goal of 50 was surpassed, the group re-set the goal to 100. However, it was hard to find that many more places around town that had incandescents that need to be retrofitted. The energy efficient exit signs were provided at no cost to local businesses and nonprofits, thanks to a $1,200 grant from the City of Middletown’s Clean Energy Task Force.

The reduced environmental impact of these 86 LED exit lights represents just over $4,000 worth of electricity per year, the equivalent of removing nearly 4 average cars from the road or reducing gasoline combustion by about 2,100 gallons per year. This was calculated using an online estimation tool on the Department of Energy's website. Changing one little thing like an exit sign might seem like a small step, but these signs are turned on and lighted at all times, so the savings really do add up when factored together. In the process of contacting facilities about the LED retrofits, ECoin incidentally introduced some businesses to energy efficiency programs and practices and started additional conversations encouraging businesses to go a step further on their own.

A little less than one year ago, ECoin was established to mutually reinforce the work being done by various groups to preserve the natural environment and improve the general quality of life in our city. ECoin now serves as a unifying force among local environmental nonprofits, city commissions, and representatives from the business community. It was created by John Hall through The Jonah Center for Earth and Art for the purpose of streamlining communications and concentrating efforts on specific goals, thus elevating the real measurable impact of environmental activism in Middletown. Hall explains that it is not always very clear if efforts around education and raising awareness really translate into positive impacts for the environment. He notes that multi-faceted problems call for pooling of expertise and concentrating actions. He stresses the importance of collaboration among members of the environmental community. And while it is a great demand to ask groups to dedicate more time to work together, it will eventually result in positive outcomes.

At regular ECoin meetings, participating organizations share information about their individual projects and support each other’s efforts. ECoin also went through a process of establishing goals and selecting and prioritizing specific projects for the group to work on together. The initial process took several months and entailed meetings with brainstorming for ideas and reviewing and vetting all the proposed projects. The high-level goals identified were energy efficiency, open space land preservation, waste management, low impact design, reduction in pesticide use, and making the city more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

The proponents of these general areas wrote out specific achievable goals that would have a measurable effect on the environment. Next, each proposed goal was ranked using an elaborate scoring system that resulted in a list of projects ranked in order of priority. The criteria for ranking the projects included how well it fits in with the organization's overall goal, how achievable it is, and how easy it is to measure the impact.

Meetings are hosted by the Rockfall Foundation at the DeKoven House. Regular participants in ECoin include the City of Middletown’s Conservation Commission, Recycling Advisory Council, Urban Forestry Commission, and Clean Energy Task Force; South Church’s Earth Ministry; Wesleyan University’s Sustainability Department and the Center for the Arts; Middlesex Community College’s Sustainability Committee; Middletown Garden Club; and the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District. Liberty Bank Foundation, the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, and St. Pius X Church have also attended meetings and expressed interest in supporting ECoin’s mission in the future.

In order to respect everyone's time, the group is very disciplined about keeping the meetings limited to one hour. Discussions focus on behavior rather than education. Soon, the group will be moving onto their next project with another specific goal in mind. For more information on ECoin’s activities or meetings, call John Hall at 860-398-3771 or visit http://www.thejonahcenter.org/mailform.php to email your question.

Members of ECoin pictured above, clockwise from top left: Katchen Coley, Krishna Winston, Jane Brawerman, John Hall, Jane Harris, Claire Rusowicz, Kim O'Rourke, Sheila Stoane

Reverend John Hall Honored By The City For His Service

The Common Council enthusiastically passed a resolution honoring John Hall, who retired recently, after ministering 21 years at the 1st Congregational Church. Councilman Dan Drew, reading from the resolution which he crafted, cited in particular Hall's service and outreach, including his ministry to mental health patients at Connecticut Valley Hospital.

Drew also spoke of Hall's work on behalf of same-sex marriage and on behalf of the environment in Middletown, "John has been a constant force for good in our community."

Does State Health Statute Make Communion Illegal?

"On a regular basis, every Sunday, we have communion," said Reverend Joel Neubauer, pastor of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church on Washington Street, at a meeting of the faith-based community concerned with state laws regulating charitable food distribution. "People bring wine from home. They bake bread at home and bring it to church for communion. We drink out of the same cup. Now I'm hearing that it's an illegal act?"

Attorney Dan Livingston, part of the law firm defending Food Not Bombs against a citation for distributing food without a license, confirmed the worse.

"Technically, it's illegal," Livingston said. "But whether the health department would cite you is another question."

"We're basically not being able to practice our faith because or what they're saying," Reverend R. Maureen Hawksley of St. Paul Lutheran Church said.

"You could make that argument," Livingston agreed.

The group included concerned members of the Middletown clergy, members of the health care community, and other concerned residents. They gathered because they are alarmed by a recent strict adherence by the city Health Department to a state statute prohibiting any food not prepared in a licensed kitchen from being served to the public.

The meeting was held Monday night at the St. Vincent dePaul Soup Kitchen on Main Street where director Ron Krom served as host, and provided a historical context for the meeting. He explained that indeed, state statute prohibits any food not prepared in a licensed kitchen, from being served to the public on a regular basis.

This statute was cited by city health department officials when they arrested Food Not Bombs members for sharing food with the public in a regular Sunday meal on the corner of Main and Liberty Streets.

Krom noted the similarity between what Food Not Bombs was doing and what his organization did every Sunday at dinner when they served food prepared and donated by community members. And when he testified to the fact at a state hearing, he found himself the subject of a Health Department citation.

"If I don't comply," he explained. "They have threatened to take away my license."

Krom explained that the citation did not come when the city first learned of the distribution of food from unlicensed kitchens at his soup kitchen, but only after he made public testimony at the State Department of Health in defense of Food Not Bombs.

"We serve sandwiches that are made by some of the schools, by some of the Catholic classes, Boy and Girl Scouts," Krom said. "And now we're being told we cannot receive these sandwiches."

As many pointed out, the irony of the current law is that it provides an exception for charitable organizations who cook food in unlicensed kitchens, and sell it to raise funds. So a bake sale is legal, but a church after-service social, at which baked goods are shared, is technically illegal.

"What if we sold the food at Sunday meals for a penny," suggested Middletown YMCA director Bob Spencer, who is also on the board of directors at St. Vincent dePaul.

"The law is rarely this blatantly stupid," Livingston explained noting that the state legislature, which is currently in special session, has been urged to address the flaw in the law (CT State Statute 19A-36). "Technically this is not a budget issue," he said. "But they could hook this change onto an implementer bill, which is a budget bill."

State Senator Paul Doyle, who represents Middletown, was the only state or city elected official at the meeting.

"I guarantee I will try to get it in," Doyle promised. "But I can't promise that it will make it in or that it will pass. I will certainly push and I will speak to the rest of the delegation. The cause is so broad that it affects everyone. The truth of the matter is that sometimes the legislature merely reacts, and there are unintended consequences."

Many at the meeting expressed disbelief that the Middletown Health Department was so determined to uphold the statute, in an across-the-board consistent manner, and they were alternately angry and saddened by this enforcement.

"If they're going to try to be consistent about it," said Reverend John Hall of First Church. "Then they're going to have to shut down all the church coffee hours, the Shepard Home, the Christmas dinners served by the churches."

The Reverend Cocomo Rock explained that at low point in his life, he sought out sustenance from a charitable organization.

"Had it not been for a local church I wouldn't have been able to eat," he said passionately. "Unless I ate in a jail, or a hospital, or I ate something I stole. Or from a garbage can."

"There are no licensed dumpsters," Livingston said. "We don't want people to eat from unlicensed kitchens, but they can eat from dumpsters. Everyone of us who is lucky enough to have a home eats out of an unlicensed kitchen every day."

"I think it's ironic that the policy over the past several years has been to cut back on the state and city sponsored projects, and rely on churches and people of faith to take up these programs, and now we've come to this," said Juan Figueroa, of the Universal Health Project.

Much of the meeting was given over to a discussion of strategies to change the law, and simultaneously prevent any organization which helps to feed the hungry from being prevented from doing so.

"We must remember that winter is coming and that the economy is getting further depressed, and that means more hunger, so we can't stop," said Bishop William McKissick of the New Jerusalem Church. "I'd love to lead the charge and serve people food and say 'Come and arrest me," but it's the hungry kid that worries me. There will be hunger. This is not about that, it's about a law that's stupid."

"It's absurd," said real estate developer and former director of St. Vincent dePaul Soup Kitchen Peter Harding. "We're going to hesitate to feed people? That's bull."

The group agreed to address the problem by immediately contacting state legislators to push through the change during this special session. In addition, Community Health Center CEO, Mark Masselli urged the group to approach the mayor, the majority leader and the Common Council of Middletown to make adjustment to the ordinance and the enforcement. Republican Council member David Bauer has drafted a Council resolution, but it is still being considered by the city's Health Commission

Pastors Asked to Support Change in Food Sharing Law

Elizabeth Conklin, one of the attorneys representing Food Not Bombs, has asked Middletown church leaders to urge state legislative leaders to alter a law which prevents churches and other organizations from sharing food with those in need.

Food Not Bombs has been cited by Middletown and state health departments for sharing food that has not been prepared in a licensed kitchens. In addition St. Vincent dePaul Soup Kitchen was cited Tuesday for serving a Sunday meal in which food, not prepared in local kitchens, was shared with the public.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter yesterday to State Senate and House leaders urgint them to change the law to allow an exception for charitable organizations which distribute food.

In his letter, First Church pastor John Hall cites what he sees as a threat to community meals at his church if the law is not changed.

I am writing to thank you for your attention to the threat facing charitable organizations regarding our food sharing practices. A number of clergy from Middletown, including me, met with Attorney General Blumenthal on September 18 to discuss the serious alarm and disruption caused in our organizations by the action of the Middletown Health Department against Food Not Bombs. My church is also the location where Food Not Bombs is currently preparing the food it shares on Sunday afternoon, since we have a licensed kitchen.

The problem for churches and the St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen arises from the Middletown Health Department’s apparent need to appear consistent in its enforcement action regarding food not prepared in licensed kitchens. They have threatened to cite St. Vincent DePaul if it accepts food prepared in people’s homes. If this enforcement action takes place and is extended consistently, it will shut down a huge percentage of the charitable food donations in our city. As a result, food insecurity and hunger will increase — a special tragedy during these difficult economic times. I understand that the Middletown Health Department is communicating with health departments in other communities to encourage enforcement of the same policy.

I am very grateful to Attorney General Blumenthal for recognizing that the state law on this matter (PA 95-44) was most likely intended to exempt charitable organizations, not just charitable fundraisers. Likewise, I am very grateful to you for taking up the cause in this special session in order to resolve this matter once and for all. It makes no sense to exempt the sale of food but not the giving of food.

Our church hosts a free community Christmas Day dinner that feeds 300 people. This meal requires many turkeys, hams, pies, cookies, brownies, cakes, etc. to be prepared in people’s homes because there is not enough oven space or standing room in the church kitchen for this to be accomplished. Also, every Sunday evening a different church prepares and serves the supper at St. Vincent’s. Some or many components of these meals are prepared in homes — casseroles, pasta sauce, salads, brownies, cupcakes, etc. People are willing to make these donations in part because they can do the work at home where it is more convenient. Even the goodies that we share after worship every Sunday morning are largely made in people’s homes. It is just not realistic for this to be done in any other way.

Church leaders are urged to communicate with legislative leaders immediately so that action can take place in the short legislative session currently underway.

Senate President Don Williams
phone 240-8600 fax 240-8406

Email Williams@senatedems.ct.gov

Speaker of the House Chris Donovan
phone 240-8500 fax 240-0208

Christopher.Donovan@cga.ct.gov

Soup Kitchen Cited For "Illegal" Sunday Meals

After testifying yesterday at a State Health Department hearing about Food Not Bombs, St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen director Ron Krom was afraid of the repercussions. As a witness for Food Not Bombs he explained that the soup kitchen on Main Street regularly served a Sunday dinner with food prepared and donated by individuals in the community.

"I thought they might do something," Krom said Tuesday morning. "And here we are this morning being told we are going to be cited."

This morning, town sanitarian Fred Rehm appeared at the soup kitchen and informed Krom that the soup kitchen would be cited for serving food not prepared in a licensed kitchen.

Fred Rehm of Middletown's Health Department declined comment saying that the possible citation was part of an "ongoing investigation."

John Hall, pastor of First Church felt that the citation would have a chilling effect on charitable food distribution, and that it would send a ripple throughout the faith-based community.

"I think it's all based on a misinterpretation of state law," Hall said. He and a delegation from Middletown spoke about the problem with Secretary of State Richard Blumenthal.

"It's hard to believe the intent of the law was to allow an exemption from state statute for charitable organizations preparing food in unlicensed kitchens for sale in fundraisers, and not include organizations who give food to those in need," Hall said.

Hall indicated that the broader enforcement of the statute is likely the result of the Middletown Health Department's attempt to avoid being accused of selective enforcement.

"This is a state law they're enforcing" Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said. "Krom went on the record in a Health Department hearing, and now we can't ignore it. If they want to change the law because it's too broad and preventing some good from happening, then fine. This is really a scientific question, and if scientists decide that the risk is minimal then we'll follow those directives. But our Health Department is only following a state law to keep people safe, and even poor people deserve to be kept safe."

Christmas Meal At Risk

Hall worries that a strict interpretation of the current statutes will prevent his, and other churches, from serving meals to those in need, particularly regular holiday meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"There aren't enough licensed kitchens in town to cook all those turkeys," Hall said. "You won't have people donating food if they have to go to a licensed kitchen to prepare it."

Giuliano cited the real risk of salmonella in turkey preparation.

"Thanksgiving is two months away," he said. "And there's got to be a way we can figure out how to cook enough turkeys in licensed kitchens between now and then to allow those meals to happen."

This recent concern with charitable meals prepared in unlicensed kitchens stems from the ongoing controversy with Food Not Bombs.

"We have to share our food with the poor" Krom said. "Unfortunately, if I hadn't testified I don't think that I would have received a citation today. In the end, I hope this will all bring about some social change."

"Look, if your goal is to get food to hungry people, no in town is trying to stop them" Giuliano said. "But it's our job to ensure that people are safe. I don't know if Food Not Bombs has some civil disobedience thing they want to express, but if they're just trying to thumb their noses at authority, I can't help them."

"Until we get a clear interpretation, it appears the city health department is going to press the issue for all charitable giving," Hall lamented. "And that's going to cause a problem."

UPDATE 9/22 4:10 PM: (This from Ron Krom at the St. Vincent's Soup Kitchen) While I was told in the morning that I would be "cited", the Health Department returned this afternoon with an inspection report with an identified violation. The report is a standard State of CT Department of Public Health Inspection Report for Food Service Establishments. We were found to be in violation of item #1,"approved source of food, wholesome, nonadulterated." The detail specified that "some donated food served on site is not prepared in licensed kitchens." I was told that I have two weeks to correct the violation, at which point we will be reinspected. If the violation is not corrected, "a number of things are possible, including shutting down the Soup Kitchen."

Paddling up the Connecticut and Mattabessett

The Jonah Center sponsored river paddle launched from Harbor Park Saturday morning despite the dire warnings of later-in-the-day thunderstorms (which as of this writing have not yet arrived).

About twenty brave souls who know enough not to trust a weatherman or woman, canoed and kayaked North to Wilcox Island where Kate Miller, a local naturalist and a member of the Conservation Commission, talked about the island and the bird species which call it home. The shriek of a pair of peregrine falcons affirmed her statements.

From Wilcox Island the boaters headed to the mouth of the Mattabessett and once they floated under the highway and railroad bridges, it appeared that the small regatta had left civilization behind. If it wasn't for the occasional floating plastic bottle, one could imagine floating in uncharted territory.

The vast watershed North of Middletown's center city is teeming with aquatic and avian life. We saw egrets, herons, kingbirds, red wing blackbirds and osprey. Miller also explained that the estuary is home to all kinds of fish and shellfish.

With black clouds mounting, John Hall, of the Jonah Center, suggested an early departure from the river, and the boats, laden with river garbage and detritus, headed back to Harbor Park.

Recognition of CVH Patients Buried In Numbered Graves

The Middletown Clergy Association will conduct its 11th Memorial Service in the cemetery of Connecticut Valley Hospital on Wednesday, May 20, at 1 p.m. As in each of the past 10 years, members of the Clergy Association will recognize and honor persons buried in numbered, anonymous graves, speaking publicly their names, dates of death, and ages at death. This year’s group of 100 numbered graves spans the period from March 1927 to February 1931.

The 1,686 numbered graves in the CVH cemetery are a moving testimony to the stigma that persons suffering from mental illness have endured over the years — a stigma that endures to this day. The memorial service is designed to restore the dignity and identity of Connecticut Valley Hospital patients whose names have been kept secret over many decades and to bring attention to the ongoing ways in which individuals with psychiatric disabilities are still feared and shunned by many in our communities.

The Memorial Service will last approximately one hour. In case of very severe rain, the ceremony will be held on May 21, at 1 p.m.

The CVH Cemetery is located on Silvermine Road east of the main CVH campus. Take Bow Lane east past the State Veterans Cemetery on your right. Proceed a bit farther and turn left on Silvermine Road. For those traveling south on Rte. 9, take exit 12, turn left onto Silver Street and go .7 miles, past CVH and the Connecticut Juvenile Training School. Turn right on Silvermine Road and you will come to the cemetery.

For more information, call The Rev. John Hall at First Church of Christ, Congregational (860) 346-6657 ext. 13.

A Table in the Presence of My Enemies

After hearing from Cocomo Rock, Sunday, at the aborted Food Not Bombs meal, that his minister had preached on hunger during his sermon at Church that morning, I called John Hall, minister of First Church of Christ Congregational and asked him what he said.

"I talked about the social dimensions of eating," Hall told me today. "I did talk a little bit about the Food Not Bombs controversy."

Hall said the controversy was not without its share of human foibles.

"I think there's some sport going on. People like to have something to oppose. And I think the Department of Health is flexing their muscle. But I love the debate that this has generated. These kids have brought up the issue that we have all this food that is being wasted."

I asked Hall if he would mind allowing the Eye to reprint his sermon for those of us not fortunate enough to hear it.

Here then, is the sermon that John Hall delivered on Sunday:

A Table In the Presence of My Enemies
May 3, 2009

Text — Psalm 23, verse 5
“You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.”


Who we eat with, who we’d rather not eat with, and what we eat is all emotionally loaded. Jesus got in trouble because he ate with sinners. His disciples didn’t observe the customary food-related rituals, such as hand-washing. 50 years ago in the South, blacks and whites were kept from eating at the same lunch counter. In the church, people belonging to certain Christian denominations won’t share the Lord’s Supper with people from other Christian denominations. How pathetic is that?

I’ve been following the “Food Not Bombs” controversy in Middletown. It’s been covered in the local news blog, Middletowneye; I recommend you check it out. A group of students and others have been sharing food on Sundays at the corner of Liberty and Main Street.

I spoke with one of the Wesleyan students involved. The main idea is: there’s a lot of perfectly good food that gets thrown out. After caterers serve at a party, what can they do with the leftover food? They can’t sell it. They can’t save it until the next party. Restaurants have food in quantities too small to put it on the menu. Bakeries throw out perfectly good baked goods just because they’re not the freshest. Supermarkets have produce that’s slightly damaged.

A lot of food gets thrown out at the same time there are people who need food. Doesn’t it make sense to get this unwanted food to people who do want it?

This is “Food Not Bombs’” mission, and they’ve been doing it for about 10 years — until someone raised the question with the Health Department: Is this food safe? Is it being properly handled? Do the people eating the food know where it came from? These are appropriate questions. There have been meetings and proposed accommodations. Fred Carroll got a $100 ticket for his involvement.

The Health Department says they don’t want to shut down this activity. The people I’ve talked to believe that the Health Dep’t is sincere in that statement. And they’re willing to cut the group some slack in terms of certain regulations, as long as the group complies with other regulations, including filing reports.

Food Not Bombs says that the Health Department shouldn’t have jurisdiction over people sharing food. They say it’s like having a cookout. When you have friends over for a cookout, you don’t have to file paperwork.

This is all more complicated than I can describe here, but you get the basic picture. I find this interesting for two reasons. For one, it raises legitimate questions about wasted food, and hunger, and regulation, and our conventional meal-sharing practices. Jesus got in trouble over his meal-sharing practices, so this should get our attention. When it comes to eating food, it’s never just about food. Think about who you like to eat with. Are there times when you’d rather eat alone?

Now to Psalm 23. The psalmist is declaring trust in God, the Good Shepherd. That’s what the psalm is about in general. And then it says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Why does it say, “in the presence of my enemies”? Why not just “You prepare a table before me, so I can eat?” What does the presence of the enemies add in this case?

Part of us likes having enemies. Part of us also dislikes having enemies — probably the bigger part. But nothing — not even sharing food — unites people like sharing an enemy. Enemies energize us, and focus our attention, give us purpose, and bind us together. It’s human nature, when things are tough, or when we’re anxious, to find someone to blame or oppose. When I was in high school, just being bored made me look for something or someone to oppose. Opposing can be fun. Politicians and talk show hosts use this dynamic. Inflame fear, inflame outrage, and you can get a movement going. We’ve had class warfare debates about people on Main Street before.

Here’s the question that came to me: Does this argument about people eating food on Main Street have anything to do, on anyone’s part, with wanting someone to oppose? This could apply to either side, or both sides. Is this, in part, a kind of sport?

Going back to Psalm 23, what does it mean to say, “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies?” It could mean, “You invite me to your table, O Lord, when others are against me.” It could mean, “You prepare a table for me because of my enemies, to help me oppose my enemies.” It could mean, “You prepare a table that puts me above my enemies, so I can look down at my enemies who aren’t at the table.”

It could also mean, “You prepare a table for me where I will eat with my enemies.” You bring enemies together at the same table. I don’t know what the original psalmist meant by this verse, but from a Christian perspective, this is obviously the preferred reading because this is what Jesus did. Jesus ate with the “wrong” people. And he ate with his enemies. Jesus had real enemies. He didn’t just create them for sport. And by the people he ate with, he inflamed certain oppositions. Some things need to be opposed.

On Palm Sunday, in connection with this Food Not Bombs movement, I posed the question, “Has Jesus come to Jerusalem?” Jesus’ coming to Jerusalem, turning over the tables, and getting crucified, was God’s way of disrupting a problematic status quo.

Something is being stirred up in Middletown by Food Not Bombs. If nothing else, it draws attention to the fact that a lot of food is getting thrown out when there are hungry people. Is that something Jesus would have us look into? Is God up to some disruptive creativity in our city? Is some dramatic sport taking place? Is it purely nutrition and health that are being served, or are turf and authority being guarded too?

Is a meal like the one being served at Main and Liberty today a kind of Eucharist meal, a transformative meal, where Jesus is covertly present?

Jonah Center Home Energy Audits

Subsidized Home Energy Improvements For Oil Customers

The Jonah Center for Earth and Art is gathering applications for subsidized home energy audits and efficiency improvements. Up to now, the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund has provided this service for free only to customers whose main source of heat is electricity or natural gas. But on November 15, Governor Rell will announce that oil heating customers can benefit from an improved program for a reasonable $75 co-pay. (The previous co-pay for oil customers was $300.) This new service includes a furnace test and tune-up and is valued at $800.

By aggregating customers in a local area in advance, the Jonah Center group can be first in line to take advantage of this new funding (limited to 6000 customers state-wide) before winter sets in.

If you are interested, visit the Jonah Center website (www.thejonahcenter.org) as soon as possible, click “send us a message” on the left side. Provide your name and email address with “energy audit” in the message box. A PDF file of the application will be sent to you with further instructions.

Fall Foliage & River Cleanup a Huge Splash

Sixteen paddlers showed up today for a trip up the Connecticut River to explore the Mattabasset, enjoy the fall colors, commune with the wildlife, and pick up garbage. John Hall and Kate Miller of the Jonah Center for Earth and Art led the way. All in all it was a great day on the river. We started at Harbor Park at 10 a.m., and made it back around 1:30 p.m. Sightings included a few great blue herons, some belted kingfishers, one or two egrets, and a peregrine falcon (perched on a girder under the Arrigoni Bridge). The group first stopped at Wilcox Island for a brief discussion of the local ecosystem, the nature of the Connecticut River watershed, and the impact of pollutants and invasive species. Then we headed up to the Mattabasset and enjoyed the scenery, occasionally snagging whatever garbage came our way. After stopping briefly at an area of wild rice near the landfill, we arrived at an old beaver 'dam', where we ate our lunches and collected garbage in earnest.

Photo credit: John Hall











It was a perfect day for a jaunt on the river. We also came across some fishermen, who looked like they couldn't be happier.

In case you're looking for an excuse to spend time by the river tomorrow (12 October), you might consider watching the Head of the Connecticut Regatta, currently in its 34th year.

Paddling up the Mattabessett

It was a good turnout of about 50 canoers/kayakers to accompany Wesleyan environmental sciences and biology professor, and president of the Johan center Barry Chernoff and Jonah Center founder John Hall for a tour of the confluence of the Connecticut, Mattabessett and Cochingchaug Rivers. Cheroff has studied the river and the wetlands for years.

The group gathered at the Middletown boat launch at 9, and travelled upriver to the mouth of the Mattabessett which is marked by a highway overpass for Route 9. At the first bend in the river, Chernoff began the first of his informative talks about the river, and its flora and fauna.

Where we floated, just north of the old Remington Rand plant, and site of the Jonah Center, Chernoff explained that the three rivers, and the associated wetlands were a rare example of an ecological system which has all but disappeared in Connecticut. These rivers are the breeding grounds for a variety of fish, amphibians and bird life, as well as numerous mammals.

The first bend in the river is a deep one, and Chernoff explained that the pool beneath the bend, which in a relatively shallow river, is 60 feet deep, and contains some very large specimens of river bottom fish like catfish, sucker and carp. Chernoff also said that the river is home to some very large pickerel.

Chernoff noted that once we rounded the bend we would be in "another world" where the noise from the highway would all but disappear, and we would be surrounded by a cathedral of giant trees which bend over the banks of the river.

Just down river the ecosystem changes to "floating" meadows, which help the wetlands absorb the unneeded, and unwanted nutrients and other impurities which float down the Mattabessett from Berlin and New Britain. During the spring freshet, where the wetlands appear like a giant lake, the sediments are caught by these grasslands, and the water flowing back into the river is purer for it.

At the grasslands stop, Chernoff pointed out the acres of wild rice, which, in the fall is a feedlot for thousands of birds, "who help to replant the rice," Chernoff noted.

We saw a giant egret, a blue heron, several osprey who were inhabiting a man-made nest.

Chernoff called the three rivers and their wetlands the Noah's Ark of Connecticut waterlife. Apparently Connecticut has 48 species of native freshwater fish, and 23 of those species can be found here.

The rivers are home to some invasive species like the carp, which unlike the sucker - also introduced to bottom clean the river - is indiscriminate in it's suction of the river bottom, contributing to a muddy flow, and disturbing the nests and eggs of other species.

Another problem in the wetlands is poaching. Poachers trap muskrat and mink, but the snapping turtle poachers may be the biggest problem. Chernoff explained that the snapping turtle, which is never dangerous in the water, is trapped in large cages for their meat. A few ounces of meat from a five year old turtle will gather a high-price from turtle soup connoisseurs in Manhattan. The five year olds, which can weigh twenty pounds, will not be sexually mature for another 15 years (large snappers can live 100 years), and so, the poaching is interfering with propagation of future generations of snappers. The snapper traps look like large chicken wire coops, and should be reported to the DEP. They are illegal, and any trapped turtle is likely to be angry and dangerous.

Turning up the Cochinchaug, the river got narrower, and shallower as we passed the abandoned landfill, a towering mound of festering methane and waste. We stopped at a landing and Chernoff turned over rocks to exhibit some of the important freshwater river life including leeches, clams, snails, and muscles. Upon request, he also found a water penny, the larval stage of the water penny beetle.

The trip ended with a relaxed return downriver, and a disaster for me. The photos I took here, are likely the last from this camera, which was dunked when I fell into the river upon disembarking from my kayak.