by Robert Wiener
NJJN Staff Writer

August 4, 2009

Local Jewish educators returned from a four-day program on Israel and the environment last month with the title of “ambassador” for the Jewish National Fund.

Their training took the form of a seminar of environmental education at Surprise Lake Camp in Colts Spring, NY.

There they participated in sessions on JNF, Israel’s more-than-century-old land-reclamation and afforestation agency, as well as classes on gardening, crafts, recycling, and Jewish texts.

The JNF teamed up with the Teva Seminar on Jewish Environmental Education to link Israel with issues of ecology.

Twenty-three teachers and parent volunteers at day schools and synagogue-based religious schools took part in the seminar. They are expected to stay in touch with one another through monthly conference calls, and to incorporate some of what they learned in their lesson plans.

“We believe in reaching out to people,” explained Michelle Wachtel, education programs manager at JNF. “Without creating a connection to Israel for the next generation, why would someone support something they don’t feel connected to and don’t know about?”

The participants were nominated by their institutions, then selected by JNF staff. The ambassadors paid no tuition for the training.

“I believe teaching about the environment fits very well with teaching about the holidays and celebrating the holidays,” said Sari Keren, an Israeli native who teaches Hebrew and Judaic studies to fifth-graders at Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in East Brunswick. “Taking care of the environment is part of the Jewish tradition.”

Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com

--TOP--