My last entry was 7 months ago, when I was leaving Kibbutz
Lotan in the Negev of Israel. Can’t believe it’s only been 7 months – so much
has happened since then, hitting home on the idea that when change begins, it
picks up exponentially. So let’s see – what’s happened since then?
Camp – the impetus to my Kibbutz Lotan trip. What an amazing summer it was! Brian Hertz and I worked our little bums off (with the help of so many wonderful folks – Adam Allenburg, Michelle Renfrow, Scott Brasewell, Loui Dobin, the amazing Maintenance team, and every single staff member and camper for their love and support) planning programs, running programs, re-running programs, taking care of the garden, and developing the culture of camp to be more sustainably oriented. Here are a few highlights:
·
Bunk day – Bunk day is the first full day of
camp that is all about building your bunk community. For Bunk Day, Brian and I
ran an individual program for each unit, which focused on the environment and
Judaism. There was an activity adapted for each age group, but the point of the
program was constant throughout – Sustainability is about sustaining the world,
it's creatures, and most importantly, ourselves. In doing this, environmental
stewardship became a full-frontal focus for the summer.
·
Kibbutz Program – The Kibbutz kids (14-15 year
olds) were the prime ingredient for keeping the garden and the sustainability
program alive this summer. A set of 10-13 kibbutznicks came every day for a
week, weeding, harvesting, and tending to the garden, all with a great
attitude. When I say these kids were the prime ingredient in the success of the
sustainability program, they were like the broth in a pot of soup – the one
thing that made it complete. It is because of these kids that the
sustainability program at camp has blossomed.
·
The Garden – this was only the second summer for
there to be a garden at camp, and this garden lasted almost all the way
through, which is saying a lot for Texas. It was unbelievably hot this summer,
temperatures rising to 101 degrees, sometimes higher. But our garden stayed
strong, producing copious amounts of okra, tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe,
and collards. I’m convinced it was more than just the drip irrigation that kept
it going – there was a whole lot of love and support throughout the entire
summer for the sustainability program, and plants tend to pick up on those
kinds of things J
·
Earth Night – Earth Night was an all-camp
program that was all about – you guessed it – the Earth! We ran the evening
program as an eco-fun house, each room focusing on a different subject of
sustainability. The themes? Alternative energy, soil, pollution, and
sustainability in Israel, topped with segments of Discovery Channels Planet
Earth to conclude the evening. The most amazing part of Earth night was the
Havdallah services, which took place as the beautiful sun was setting over
camp. Campers from the Sustainability
Limud wrote about appreciating the environment and nature. Here’s one a
camper wrote about their feelings towards the environment:
"Do you ever wonder why you close your eyes
when you kiss someone, or why they are shut when you dream? It is because the
most beautiful things can't be seen, but felt with the heart. Take a second and
close your eyes. Can you hear the birds, the bugs, maybe even the wind? Can you
sense twilight coming with the sunset? Don't try to think; just be one with the
world."
If
you’d like to read more about Earth Night, here’s the link to the blog entry
posted over the summer: http://greene.rjblog.org/2011/07/26/earth-night/
So, what happened after camp was over? An amazing donation to build an eco-village on the camp site where the new Kibbutz program will reside. Jaw-dropping, right? I may or may not have freaked out just a little bit when it happened…more emphasis towards the may. So as of August, camp has been undergoing a huge new project to build an eco-village, modeling it after the Bustan Neighborhood at Kibbutz Lotan, domes and all!
Where do I fit into all of this? At the end of the summer,
camp offered me the position as the Eco-Village Director for the following
summer, which I gladly and have enthusiastically accepted. I’m incredibly
thankful for such a wonderful opportunity. So now, I’m returning back to Israel
and Kibbutz Lotan to complete the Green Apprenticeship Program and get my
certification in permaculture and eco-design. After Lotan, I will be traveling
to other sustainable kibbutzim to see what and how they do what they do, and am
then coming back to the states to work/volunteer at Jewish-based sustainable farms
to learn as much as I can about Judaism and the environment. Then, it’s back to
camp to implement all the goodness I learn!!
I’ll be honest, I’m freaking out just a bit J Stay tuned for all of
my adventures, discoveries, realizations, hardships, and whatever else comes my
way!
