Refugee Family Nurtures Culture In Hartford Community Garden

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On a September weekday morning, Maaye May removes the lock and chain from one of two gates and enters the Niles Street Community Garden in Hartford. A 6-foot high, black-metal fence encloses the garden, which measures half the size of a football field. Within the gated oasis, the city surroundings slip away as bees, birds, flowers, fruits and vegetables begin to dominate the senses. May, 41, has an hour and a half to pick Thai chili peppers before driving to her part-time job washing dishes in East Hartford. She disappears into a green hedge, filling a small blue bucket with red and green chilies.

Heat Waves Are the Tip Of Connecticut’s Climate Change Iceberg

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Frank Himmelstein typically works 12 hours a day in the fields of the historic Himmelstein Homestead Farm in Lebanon. Normally, it’s hard work managing fields full of squash, peppers and other vegetables, but July 20 was anything but a normal day. The temperature in Lebanon hit 95 degrees. “It’s not good for people to be working out in this heat,” Himmelstein said on July 21. “Yesterday, well, even I needed to pace myself yesterday.”

The average ‘extremely hot’ day in Connecticut is classified as reaching 90 degrees or above.