A North End location now called “Mount Trashmore” may soon be transformed into an environmental education center.
The Jonah Center for Earth and Art, a nonprofit organization founded by the Middletown First Church of Christ, is spearheading the effort. But another group, Friends of the River Inc., is claiming it was their idea first.
Dmitri D’Alessandro, public relations director of the organization, alleges that their idea to revitalize the landfill area was stolen by the Jonah Center. He points to an editorial written by Friends of the River in the Middletown Press on Dec. 18, which he claims establishes his group’s precedence.
“We’ve been trying to put this together for years,” D’Alessandro said. “We’ve been doing all the hard work of cleaning the rivers. Now these people are coming along and taking advantage of all the hard work we’ve done.”
The allegation was vehemently denied by Professor of Earth and Environmental Studies Barry Chernoff, who is on the Jonah Center’s executive board.
“That’s not true,” Chernoff said. “There are a lot of people who do good in cleaning up the river, but our idea is not just for cleaning up the river. That’s just one part of it. We want to promote sustainable living and responsible resource use. We see such efforts as collaborative.”
During a Wednesday night lecture, Chernoff and Revered John Hall described the Jonah Center’s goals for the North End. Professors, students and Middletown residents alike came to hear and air their own thoughts about the project.
Hall explained that the proposed building could feature environmental art and a so-called “living machine” akin to that operated by the Darrow School in New York, which organically—through the use of waste-decomposing plants—processes up to 8,000 gallons of sewage water a day.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Rachel Lindsay ’05. “I think it will take ages and ages, though.”
According to Chernoff, such a center would help illustrate to the greater public that environmentally friendly lifestyles are both within the mainstream as well as economically feasible. Indeed, the project is intended to attract more visitors to the area in the hopes of winning attention from local politicians who are constrained by Middletown’s distressed budget.
Showing a slide of other such centers with environmental sculptures created naturally using plants and trees, Hall claimed that such an attraction in North End would draw people to the area. Yet he cautioned that the proposed undertaking would likely be a long time in development, and welcomed the involvement of all interested.
“This is a community-based project,” Chernoff said. “Wesleyan is part of the community.”
He added that he was looking into raising money for internships for Wesleyan students to participate in preliminary research on the landfill and its nearby rivers. Chernoff said he hopes to involve more students in Earth Day activities and facilitate transportation between Long Lane and the Jonah Center.
“I think a lot of students would be interested in this,” said Sara Swetzoff ’07.
One of the major focuses of the discussion was the project’s potential to tap into the whole spectrum of the Middletown community.
Wesleyan University Protestant Chaplain Gary Comstock was struck by the array of faculty, local residents and students involved, and by the opportunities available for Wesleyan students to participate in decision-making.
“People usually ask, ‘Where do I stand in line to give out soup at the soup kitchen?’” Comstock said. “This is at the vision stage. They are really looking to us for ideas.”
Hall envisions a grassroots effort to promote environmental awareness and conservation, including a kayak launch. The plan to develop the North End is only a facet of a more ambitious outreach program designed to raise community consciousness of economically viable conservation options, such as promoting the benefits of growing lawns without using harmful chemicals.
The Jonah Center’s website, http://www.firstchurchucc.org/jonah.html, features an in-depth report on the North End proposal. The Center seeks to enlist members of the Wesleyan community as it considers various plans for the proposed education center. The group meets the third Tuesday of every month at the church, and welcomes the public to attend and give input.
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