Reforestation of the Carmel - Fellows Alumni in Action

This year, Tu B'shvat is being observed with an extra sense of urgency amid our renewed understanding of the frail nature of our ecosystems.  Last month's devastating fires in the Carmel Forest are on everyone's minds here in Israel, and the holiday's traditional activities--planting trees and celebrating nature--are especially poignant now, when we are still mourning the tragic loss of lives, homes and over 12,500 acres of forest.

One of Heschel's Environmental Fellows Alumni is helping to make a difference on the Carmel.  Amiad Lapidot, 2nd Year Fellow and founder of the EretzCarmel non-profit organization, lives and works on the Carmel.  While his home was spared, many of his neighbors in the region were not as fortunate, nor were many of the area's animals.

In response, Eretz Carmel is working with local communities to strengthen the Carmel's threatened bio-diversity.  The project, whose catchy Hebrew name translates roughly to New Life for Newts, aims to create wetlands and woodlands in abandoned agricultural plots.  By replacing the thorns overgrowing former farmland with newly planted trees, Lapidot is providing new homes for local birds and other animals displaced by the fire.  By digging furrows that fill with rain water, he is helping the endangered amphibian population regain its fragile footing.  And by working together with the local communities, he is changing attitudes and behaviors towards open spaces and the creatures who inhabit them.  Always one to look at the big picture, Lapidot plans to spread this project nationwide, eventually working with communities throughout the country to create rural renewal and to strengthen Israel's bio-diversity.