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COEJL PROGRAM BANK
View Programs
?Adopting? Parks, Streams, Roadsides
COEJL
info@coejl.org
Source: To Till and To Tend
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?Adopting? Parks, Streams, Roadsides At-a-Glance
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To work with synagogue members at enhancing the beauty and environmental quality of a local natural area.
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| Audience:
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Early Childhood
Ages 5-7
Ages 8-10
Ages 11-13
Ages 14-17 (High School)
Ages 18-21 (College)
Adults
Family/Community
Seniors
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| Facility:
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Outdoors (Park/Wilderness)
Outdoors (Urban/Suburban)
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| Program Type:
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Advocacy
Game/Hike/Outdoor Activity
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| Issues:
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Air/Water/Trees
Sustainability
Tzaar Baalei Chayim/Biodiversity/Endangered Species
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Description
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Cleaning up a ?natural? area near your synagogue can make a big difference ? not only to the ecological health of the area itself, but to the self-esteem of the neighborhood around the area. Helping restore these areas gives local children a safe place to play and provides positive alternatives to ?street life.? You can help with such clean up efforts either with just your own organization or in coalition with other area civic organizations.
A short passage from the Talmud illustrates the Jewish perspective on caring for public land:
It once happened that a farmer was removing stones from his field onto public ground. A pious man found him doing so and said to him, ?Fool, why do you remove stones from a ground which is not yours to ground which is yours?? The man laughed at him. Some time later he had to sell his field and when walking on that public ground he stumbled over those stones. He then said: ?How correctly did the pious man say to me, why do you remove stones from ground which is not yours to ground which is yours?? (Tosefta Bab Kamma 10:2, Baba Kamma 50b)
Many civic organizations, including synagogues and churches, have in recent years ?adopted? a local park, stream, lake, or even roadside. Your organization can informally ?adopt? an area simply by pledging yourselves to clean it regularly and to advocate to your local government for its needs. In some areas, more formal ?adoption? programs are available. For example, you can:
1) Adopt a park
Check to see what local, county, or statewide governmental body in your area is in charge of your local parks (often, there is shared jurisdiction, or different parks may be administered by different agencies). When groups ?adopt? parks, they can, in addition to general clean up, get involved in planting trees, building or renovating playgrounds, and even providing activities in the park. In some areas, parks may need volunteer ?security,? to help ensure that they remain safe play areas for young children.
2) Adopt a Roadside
Many communities now take sponsors to adopt major surface streets and highways. Usually, this involves calling the local office of your state?s Department of Transportation or its equivalent in your area. Typically, sponsorship commits your organization to a certain amount of money to be donated and/or to volunteer for a clean up operation three to six times a year. In most areas, your sponsorship will be proclaimed on a road sign, which can help people make the connection between your organization and environmental concerns.
3) Adopt a Stream, Lake, or Wetland
In some areas, the state Department of Environmental Conservation or its equivalent sponsors the adoption of streams, lakes and wetlands. In addition to the types of clean up operations described above, adopting a stream, lake, or wetland can involve having your organization help with surveys of water and air temperatures, water and soil pH, and wildlife. You may be asked to help build or enhance habitats and nesting shelters. If interested, your group also can get involved in advocating with regard to development plans alongside the area you have adopted. Often, because of the scenic value of such areas, there are heavy development pressures, which, if not carefully monitored, may cause environmental degradation.
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Materials Needed
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Depends on program. Garbage bags and other clean up supplies.
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Benchmarks
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For adopt a stream: learning about a habitat and what makes it healthy.
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Preparation Time
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Activity Time
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Attached Files
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Comments
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This program added on 2002-09-03.
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Programs placed on the Jewish Environmental Educator's Program Bank are
solely the property of the program submitter. COEJL has no right or
interest in the posted programs and is making no representations or
warranties concerning same. All inquiries concerning programs should be
forwarded directly to the program submitter.
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