The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Arborist, teacher earn recognition for work on environment
MIDDLETOWN — The Board of Directors of the Rockfall Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2017 Environmental Awards, to be presented at the annual meeting Nov. 2.
Middletown resident and arborist Jane Harris will receive the Distinguished Service Award, and Certificates of Appreciation will be presented to The Independent Day School’s director of physical education, Janet Sisson, and the Jonah Center for Earth and Art. The event is open to the public and will take place at 6 p.m. at the deKoven House Community Center, 27 Washington St.
Harris has been gardening in Middletown since 1974. She dates her environmental interest to the publication of Rachel Caron’s “Silent Spring,” according to a press release. A great deal of what she planted on her land
Harris dates her environmental interest to the publication of Rachel Carson’s landmark book, “Silent Spring.”
in Middletown was a disappointment, which led her to enroll in the Master Gardener program, Harris said in the release. After she was appointed to Middletown’s Urban Forestry Commission, she became a Connecticut licensed arborist, then joined the Middletown Garden Club, where she met role models that exemplify the values of environmentalism mingled with public service, much of which occurred under the aegis of The Rockfall Foundation.
Under the guidance of Ed Richardson, a champion of notable trees in Connecticut, Harris began the process of replanting the Wadsworth/Kerste deBoer Arboretum. This collection consists of over 200 trees. Long Hill Estate is another location that has kept Harris busy for close to two decades, she said. Harris is also the manager of an orchard of over 350 trees. She chairs the Middletown Urban Forestry Commission, is secretary of the CT Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, edits the Middletown Garden Club’s newsletter, chairs a national committee of the Garden Club of America, and serves on the Parklands Committee of Long Hill Estate. She is a past board member and president of The Rockfall Foundation.
The Jonah Center for Earth and Art has a mission to foster more sustainable relationships between people, other creatures, energy resources and the environment through collaboration, education, community action and art. Since its inception in 2004, the organization has rallied the citizens of greater Middletown around a variety of projects, according to the release. Its main areas of activity include enjoying and protecting local waterways, climate change and energy efficiency, bicycling and walking for all ages, ecofriendly landscaping, urban development and quality of life, and environmental coalitions and government relations.
Executive Director John Hall has been actively involved in regional energy and environmental efforts. He is a member of Middletown’s Clean Energy Task Force, coauthor of the city’s 2010 Comprehensive Energy Plan, and an energy consultant for municipalities.
Sisson’s inspiration comes from her students as they challenge her to do better and continue to offer programs that take The Independent Day School to the next level, the release said. Since being hired as the school’s physical education teacher and athletic director in 1989, she has worked to make generations of students into people who value lifetime fitness, Sisson said. She has built lifelong relationships with many of her former students.
Her physical footprint, for which she is being honored by The Rockfall Foundation, is the IDS Discovery Nature Trail. The completion of this trail in 2016 marks the culmination of one of the biggest challenges Sisson said she has enjoyed since 1989: how to use the more than 33 acres of land on the IDS property.
A native of Watch Hill, R.I., she holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Rhode Island and a master of science degree from Central Connecticut State University, both in physical education. She lives in Middletown with her partner, Lisa Christensen.
For information, visit rockfallfoundation.org or call 860-347-0340.