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from the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership
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If you can't see the graphics above - please click here to see the newsletter online.
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| Happy Shavuot, |
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Among other things, this is the festival of first fruits. A renewed tradition here in Israel, started by the kibbutzim, is to present the newest developments of all the different branches of production. Here at the Heschel Center we have a few "first fruits" (such as the Environmental Education Fund and the EcoOcean project) and lots more yield from all our ongoing projects. Our prime "produce" - the seventh class of Environmental Fellows - have almost completed their year of training and the selection of the eighth class is reaching the final stages. In this newsletter you will see a partial parade of our latest produce, including the special feature - an interview with new Israeli Knesset member, Dr Dov Khenin, a Heschel Environmental Fellow.
This newsletter was prepared largely by Julia Mayersohn, who began working at the Heschel Center as a volunteer this spring, and deserves all the thanks and credit.
Please contact me with any responses, comments or queries: david@heschelcenter.org.
As usual you are welcome to contribute to the Heschel Center's efforts by buying Seeds of Sustainability at the bottom of the page.
Chag Sameach,
David Paran
Resource Development
Read Dr. Jeremy Benstein's Shavuot Commentary
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| 2006 Knesset - Special Feature |
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Dr. Dov Khenin, MK
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The 2006 Elections to the Israeli Knesset (parliament) not only marked the start of a new government for Israel, it also opened new doors for two Heschel Center Environmental Fellows. Dr Dov Khenin (Year 1 Fellow - 1999-2000) was elected to the Knesset as a representative of the Hadash party, and another Fellow, Raed Fadila (Year 4 - 2002-3) has taken a prestigious position as an aide to Ibrahim Zarzur, a Knesset Member for the United Arab List.
Read an interview with new Knesset Member and Environmental Fellow, Dov Khenin
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 Plant seeds to support an Environmental Fellow.
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| Heschel News |
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6th Annual Education Conference
A winning poster by school children being presented to the City of Ashdod
Teachers learning about water protection during a tour of Ashdod
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A exhibition of environmental organizations shown at the end of the conference
Teachers attending the first session of speeches at the conference
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This year, the Heschel Center organized its 6th annual education conference in the port city of Ashdod in Southern Israel. This year's conference was centered on issues of water and ocean protection and was attended by more than 400 educational professionals. Israeli school curricula do not include environmental studies in their typical "basket" of courses, and as such environmental programs are mainly extracurricular activities. The conference is part of the "HaCadur be' Yadeinu" ("It’s Our Planet") series.
The program began with tours of the city of Ashdod, with an emphasis on the coast and a polluted stream that runs through the city. Opening ceremonies included a keynote speech by Professor Bar of Ben Gurion University, as well as representatives of various environmental organizations and the city of Ashdod. The afternoon continued with numerous workshops, including lectures on ocean ecology, water's role in shaping of national borders and gray-water systems for use in schools. A new addition to this year's conference was participation by attendees, who enriched the sessions through 15-minute presentations. Though the programs and workshops were meant for teachers, the students weren’t left out - a nation-wide poster competition concluded during the conference, and winning students were invited to accept their awards.
This year's conference was funded with the help of the Israeli Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Environment, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the Karev fund and the Israeli National Parks Authority.
For more on the Green Schools Network and other educational programs, see: http://www.heschelcenter.org/education_eng.html
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Plant seeds to support the Green Schools Network.
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International experts run innovative workshop at Heschel
The application of Eco-procurement in Israeli local authorities was the main theme of a 3-days workshop in the end of May 2006, which was organized by the Heschel Center.
Eco-procurement or Green public procurement takes place when contracting authorities use environmental criteria when choosing suppliers, goods or services. Public procurement represents a considerable part of national GDP (about 16% in Europe), and greening public procurement could reduce the ecological footprint of local municipalities.
The workshop was facilitated by experts from ICLEI, the International organization of sustainable local governments, who shared their extensive knowledge of the subject with the participants. The participants included advisors and consultants that work with local authorities, as well as members of the Israeli Ministry of Environment.
The training visit of experts from ICLEI Europe is part of the activities of the national Local Sustainability Support Center, supported by the EU's LIFE program.
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Sustainability Sessions at the Local Government Conference
The Second Local Government Conference 2006 took part on 31st May at Tel-Aviv University. Two sessions, initiated by The Heschel Center, dealt with the financial aspects of sustainability issues on the local level.
The first session presented the issue of Eco-procurement (see above). Speakers included specialists from ICLEI, City Councilors from Westminster, UK and Johannesburg, South Africa, and representatives of the Israeli national and local government, and private sector. The International speakers showed successful practices around the world, while the Israeli speakers discussed ways of implementation in Israel. The main message for the 60 participants was that applying Eco-procurement in local authorities could be done easily and immediately, with instant successes, even without initiation of national legislation or policy.
This conference is among the activities of the national Local Sustainability Support Center, supported by the EU's LIFE program.
The second session discussed the connection between local governments and their budgets, and sustainable development. Speakers included mayors and general managers of local governments, the general manager of the Israeli Ministry of Interior Affairs, environmental economists and academics.
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Plant seeds to empower local sustainability.
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Eco-Ocean Concluding Conference Held in Bat Yam
The Heschel Center's successful year of "Around the Sea" programs, run in conjunction with the EcoOcean organization, are coming to a close in June with a concluding event for the Bat Yam school network. The gathering, held by the six Bat Yam schools that participated during the school year, will include lectures for parents and activities for younger students organized by the graduating class of 4th-6th graders. In addition, two participating schools in Hof Hacarmel will hold an open day for parents. The Heschel Center-EcoOcean partnership hopes to expand its program from the 10 sea excursions organized this term to include 15-20 next year. Schools in the Acre district are slated to enter the network for next year's program, and teachers are already beginning their training for the program.
The "Around the Sea" program was organized to train and equip teachers to teach environmental studies in their classrooms. Student excursions introduced children to marine research equipment and increased their environmental consciousness.
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Heschel Center candidate named Chair of umbrella environmental organization
Life and Environment (Chaim ve' Sviva), an Israeli umbrella organization incorporating the work of over 80 environmental organizations in Israel, has elected long-time Heschel Center associate Dani Rabinowitz to chair its Board of Directors. Dani was nominated to the post by the Heschel Center, and will lead the board as it lays the agenda and promotes key issues for Life and Environment's constituent organizations. Life and Environment works with groups nationwide to promote environmental justice, support grassroots projects, provide resources for new projects, facilitate work with media and government organizations and encourage increased government budgets for environmental projects. If you'd like to learn more about Life and Environment, their English language website can be reached at: http://sviva.net/pages/html/modules.php?name=News&file=articleen&sid=175
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Heschel Establishes Environmental Education Fund
The Heschel Center, with a generous donation from the Maor Foundation, has established an Environmental Education fund. This fund will sponsor a seminar series for creators and heads of environmental education initiatives from around Israel. The seminar series, scheduled to begin in December, will last 4 months and have eight sessions, two of which will be tour-based meetings. At completion of the program, each participant will receive a $1,000 grant to help continue their initiative. The program will involve 15-20 students, and will be the first in what the organizers hope will be an annual event.
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| Seeds of Sustainability |
This year, we launched a new initiative to allow all of our friends and supporters to take a productive part in the Heschel Center's activities.
We present you the opportunity to plant "seeds of sustainability" in the Heschel Center's various projects or in the center itself.
Each seed costs $50 and the "planter" will be sent a virtual tree certificate to mark the contribution. The seeds can be planted in your own name or on behalf of someone else, in which case the certificate will be sent to the recipient's email address with a copy to the "planter". You are also welcome to specify a special occasion and the specific project in which the seeds are to be sown.
 Plant seeds of sustainability |
See a sample tree certificate  |
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To make a tax-exempt contribution to the Heschel Center now, please click here
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