Environmental Leadership Action Network - ELAN

Five Environmental Fellows' initiatives have been chosen for intensive incubation and support as part of the Environmental Leadership Action Network (ELAN) program. They were selected from among the fourteen outstanding proposals submitted by Fellows graduates in a wide range of fields. Each project is coordinated by one Fellow and involves others in a cooperative effort, extending the Heschel Center's network of environmental professional leaders. The projects and coordinators are profiled below.

Gidi Bashan (Environmental Fellow 2003-2004)

Ecological Education Center – Urban Sustainable Agriculture in Action. 

This initiative will create an open-access educational community farm on an abandoned piece of land on the city's outskirts. The participants will set up the basis for amateur agriculture aimed at individuals and groups from the local under-privileged communities and educational institutions. They will build an environmental education center which will deal with community action and empowerment through sustainable agriculture.  In summer 2007 the first conference on community urban gardens took place with over 300 participants. The conference represented a significant first step towards the creation of a support network for the development of urban gardens. The network's role is to support and guide activists, each of whom encounters serious problems in terms of bureacracy and know-how required to maintain gardens. Through ELAN, Gidi has been leading a team that is building this network, and another team that is locating possible sites for additional projects and trying to attract stakeholders and entrepreneurs to promote the concept of the urban community garden.

Dr Daniel Mishori (Environmental Fellow 2004-2005)

Promoting the Israeli Commons.

This project aims to promote mechanisms for proper management of the Israeli "commons" and to expose as wide a public as possible to the social-environmental aspects and conceptual framework of the idea.

"Commons" is a term used for special kinds of property that belong to all, such as beaches, air, water sources, the street, the Bible and the Internet. This is a primary social right and is crucial for maintaining quality of life and environment for the entire population and for future generations, as well as for protecting the animal and plant life that live alongside us.

The immediate goals of the project are to publish a book on "The Israeli Commons," to set up an Internet site dealing with the issue and to organize an academic conference and other public events.

Hagai Kott (Environmental Fellow 2004-2005)

Forum for Sustainable Economics in Israel. 

The aim of this project is to develop this groundbreaking area of study in an Israeli context, where it is virtually unknown. "Ecological economics" is a new school of thought which raises serious questions challenging the basic assumptions of the dominant economic thinking. It points out a fundamental flaw in the view of the economy as a closed complete system with a sub-set called "environment." Ecological economists argue that in reality the opposite is true: the economy is a sub-set within a larger system – the entire planet. The conclusion is that the scope of economic activity is limited by constraints set by the planet itself, and the big question they raise is: what is the proper scale for the economy in relation to Planet Earth? The Forum will meet regularly to study the theory of ecological economics, translating and adapting it for Israel. The participants will then work to promote the ideas and their application.

Shimon Tzuk (Environmental Fellow 2004-2005)

Greening the Building – Model for Urban Sustainability. 

This project aims to turn the "Green Building" on Nachalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, which houses a group of environmental organizations including the Heschel Center, into a model for urban sustainability. In particular, it will create an educational roof-garden based on sustainable agriculture. The Heschel Center's building in downtown Tel Aviv is also home to other organizations working for Israeli sustainability through advocacy, information, education, scientific and political action. The roof-garden will provide a concrete example of putting these ideas into practice and will form a common area for the organizations' practical environmental activity and cooperative efforts.

The first stage of the roof-garden has already been established. Water from the airconditioning units is ducted to the roof where it feeds two herb gardens. The moisture levels of the soil are monitored electronically, with a computerised system which indicates when the garden needs more or less water. 

 When completed, the roof garden will be a model for urban agriculture, water and waste recycling and use of solar energy. It will also, of course, have direct environmental benefits. The vegetables, fruit and herbs grown will serve not only the tenants, but also members of the local community. The project will create a basis and setting for meetings and workshops to promote urban sustainability and agriculture. The garden will be built by the organizations' employees and volunteers themselves, as well as Environmental Fellows and other sustainable agriculture experts, with the assistance.

Rafi Rich (Environmental Fellow 2001-2002)

Developing Planning Tools for Local Sustainability.

This project aims to create professional models of sustainable planning for architects and planners at the local municipality level. The details of the project are still being developed.

Learn more about the Environmental Fellows Program here

ELAN and the first five years of the Fellows program were possible through the generous support of The Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund.

Fellows alumni activities are also supported by The Fox and Maor Family Foundations.