Environmental Leadership Action Network - Special Feature
Five Environmental Fellows' initiatives have been chosen for intensive incubation and support as part of this program. They were selected from among the fourteen outstanding proposals submitted by Fellows graduates in a wide range of fields. Each project will be coordinated by one Fellow and will involve others in a cooperative effort, extending the Heschel Center's network of environmental professional leaders. The projects and coordinators:

Ecological Education Center – Urban Sustainable Agriculture in Action.
 Gidi Bashan (Yr. 5)



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.

Promoting the Israeli Commons
 Dr Daniel Mishori (Yr 6)


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.

Forum for Sustainable Economics in Israel
 Hagai Kott (Yr. 6)

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.

Greening the Building – Model for Urban Sustainability
 Shimon Tzuk (Yr 6)


This project aims to turn the "Green Building," 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. It 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 and support of the building's proprietor and the Tel-Aviv Municipality.


Sustainable agriculture consultants on the roof of the Heschel Center's Green Building

 

Roof garden in Chicago       Roof garden in New York

Developing Planning Tools for Local Sustainability
 Rafi Rich (Yr. 3)


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.


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