The winter months are the perfect time to travel to Thailand, especially when you get a cold snap or lots of snow. Warm tropical temperatures hovering around 86F, paired with a pineapple strip, a mango shake, and a beach anywhere south of Bangkok can cure anyone’s winter blues.

While Bangkok is fast (we enjoyed ebikes on our last trip with teens), it is furious and sometimes smoggy, and it’s definitely a place to shop. But instead of lingering in Bangkok we decided to take a slow boat up the Chao Phraya River to the Ayutthaya province to see ancient ruins and the spirit of ancient Siam.

And on this slow boat, The Mekkala Cruise (with an overnight luxury cabin) you can learn about good environmental stewardship by being among Thai people, and people of the river.

We boarded the boat at 1PM and met with Teerapole who we’d been coordinating with via email. We met at a well-traveled temple and on a small pier where the fish are protected from fishing.

He tells Green Prophet: “I think the river culture in Thailand is becoming something of the past. Not many tourists have an opportunity to see a simple way of lives of Thais since boat travel is less popular than other means of transportation. It’s also amazing to know how local people  have learned to live with nature for centuries.”

Over on the boat, the group was small, in total about 15 of us, and we had ample space and privacy on the renovated rice barge which is more than a 100 years old.  A covered deck protected us from the sun, and the occasional hot rain. Around 1:30PM we pulled off the pier and headed up Chao Phraya River, passing endless barges trucking goods like freight trains or Mac trucks to and from Bangkok. At one point a passing barge hit a bridge and that was scary. We also had a toddler at the time and made sure she was wearing a life jacket the entire time because you never know.

Don’t expect the excitement of the turquoise water you’ll find down in the south on this river trip. This is a well-traveled river, giving credence to Bangkok being the Venice of the East. The journey takes you to the banks of the King’s Summer Palace (the one from the movie The King and I) gave us ample time to think and imagine a different way of life so connected to the water, and so far from the thirsty Middle East from which we arrived. The water is most murky and brown, without smell but don’t expect to jump in to cool off.

Factories that line river, including the Singha Beer factory are contributors to industrial pollution in the river as well. There are over 30,000 industrial facilities that line the river, and many of these are in clear view as we chug along.

The drive to Ayutthaya from where we were in Bangkok takes about an hour and a half by car. The Mekkala Cruise we took lasted about about five hours at night, and a couple more in the morning. We enjoy the slowness of going up river. It was a one night trip.

Along the way we couldn’t help but notice the sandbags, the general disorder and the waterline marked by paint or sand shadows, showing where the floodwaters had risen only three months ago. Even ancient river people attuned to the currents are not immune to the chaos of climate change.

But river people live simply, many of them parking their boats under their homes.

After a half day on board we get off to visit a fresh food market. Being a little late for the day, the pickings were slim. We returned home to find a wonderful candlelit dinner waiting for us. The food was the best so far that we’ve had in Thailand and the staff of four were very careful to make sure they prepared food to suit our dietary habits. I was eating lacto-ovo vegetarian and they got it without any explanation.

As for facilities you couldn’t be happier: The gorgeously renovated rice boat and cabins were spotless and well equipped with private toilets and showers.

After docking for the night, the next day early in the morning the boat started on its journey without us knowing it. Then we docked for a nice treat: we stopped at a Mon village (see the local food truck below), an ecological village that clearly was affected by the flood. Red flood lines were painted on all the electricity poles throughout the village. See how they shop for fresh food below.

Back on the boat we ate breakfast and continued along our way to the King’s Palace.

Run by the company Asian Oasis, the same outfit that runs a couple of eco-lodges in northern Thailand, the Mekkala Cruise was an overnight cruise that starts in Bangkok and ends in the old capital of Siam.

As revelers race towards the islands looking for parties and sunshine, an honest retreat is the Mekkala’s slow boat cruise bringing you closer to the every day people that inhabit the suburbs of Bangkok. The drop off destination is a perfect launch pad for another day of must-see tourism sites: the King’s Palace, and all the 4,000 year old ruins in the Ayutthaya region. These are the ruins that will give you a bit of scope and scale of the Thai culture.

In the spirit of protecting and celebrating the river culture of the Bangkok area, we learned from our own intuition and the staff on board how important the rivers are for the way of life in Thailand. I give this boat cruise a big thumbs up as a gentle way to ease into Bangkok and the time of your life in Thailand. It’s easy to find a hotel and get glued to the beach life in Thailand or settle for default shopping trips in Bangkok. Taking a slow boat river cruise is a fun and easy way to feel authentic travel without missing your creature comforts.

We have also travelled to Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai as a family on an unforgettable trip, but we stayed in huts and homes that had mud floors and we ate from campfires. If that’s for you and your family, read all about Chiang Mai hill tribes tourism and homestays here.

If you are only taking the Mekkala for one day (they offer longer trips), extend the river cruise experience by taking a long tail boat another hour up the river from the King’s Palace pier for about 200 baht per person. It will bring you smack dab in the middle of all the ruins, with the help of a motorbike taxi.

Thai people have an extraordinary grace, charm and sense of humor that you can really only experience in person, in their own country.

What are Thai people best known for I asked Teerapole when we were docked in Bangkok. What can they give the ecological movement? Tolerance, he told me. Thai people are open-minded and are easy to embrace change. I told him that the Thai people also have a lot to teach the world. Their family values, communal eating habits, their simple way of life should be embraced by all of us.

Want to know more about eco and sustainable travelling Thailand?

This is the best vegan restaurant in Thailand – Street Vegan 

Rent ebikes or electric bicycles in Bangkok 

This $900 a night luxury eco hotel in Phuket, Thailand is great for families

The post This luxury river cruise from Bangkok takes you to Thailand’s most magical destinations appeared first on Green Prophet.

Dr. Tamar Makov is a lecturer at the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management school at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Originally from Israel, she earned a BSc in Nutrition Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before moving to the U.S. to complete an MA and PhD in Environmental Studies at Yale University.  Recruited back to BGU in 2019, she now lectures at the university. Her research focuses on data science, circular economy, and life-cycle analysis.

See Related Article: Hebrew University Recognized as World Leader in Movement Ecology 

At the heart of her work lies industrial ecology. The field of study that industrial ecology encapsulates is the analysis of the relationship between the natural environment and industrial processes to promote sustainable development. The aim of this idea is to minimize environmental impacts and promote efficiency by integrating production and consumption development. Critical characteristics of the field of study are life-cycle assessment, economy, and sustainability. While lifecycle assessment is widely taught throughout the U.S and European universities, Israel only has about five dedicated researchers in the field. Dr. Makov’s efforts, a new curriculum at the university, and other students are looking to change this.

At BGU, Dr. Makov’s research thrusts include:

• Looking into emerging tech, to model current production systems
• Identifying current “hotspots” to identify and lessen environmental impacts
• Digitalization studies, to examine how consumer behavior shifts in response to initiatives
• Second-hand culture, the study on how reuse is effective only when it replaces new production and use of resources

By intersecting research, data, and conclusions, Dr. Makov and her associates aim to bridge theory and real-world impact. To increase efficiency and sustainability while reducing harmful environmental practices and their impacts. 

Dr. Makov also lies at an interesting intersection herself. Her educational background at Yale University and her current job at BGU highlight some notable differences in the academic mindset between American and Israeli students. In America, it is much easier for students to focus on their education. While there are inconveniences and real, valid life events, students are still given the opportunity to focus entirely on their education. However, this is not the case for all students in Israel. Makov explains that it is more challenging for students to work, especially when focusing on certain school subjects. To many during a time of war, an environmental education can be seen as secondary. It is challenging to focus on sustainability when a war is unfolding in the backyard. Additionally, many of Makov’s students were in attendance at the Nova Festival during the October 7th terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas. These are just some of the challenges and experiences that Israeli students face when they decide to attend school.

See Related Article: Desert University Goes Green With Gusto

Even if students do decide to study the environment, their tough times do not disappear. On one occasion, Dr. Makov had students studying abroad in the Netherlands. During their final presentation, three of their classmates disregarded the instructions and instead targeted the few Israeli students. Instead of displaying their knowledge, they displayed their ignorance by spouting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment at the horror and shock of the other students. 

Despite her international pedigree, Dr. Makov faces hurdles stemming from resource constraints and geopolitical tensions. Funding in Israel is much more limited than at major U.S. institutions. This means that research, grants, and funding overall need to be taken seriously and utilized in a careful and targeted way. Additionally, recruiting students with a background in the environmental field can be difficult. To add on, many institutions outside of Israel who used to send students to study at BGU have either pulled out, or the students have not wanted to come due to the war. Partnerships are fragile in general. One example of this came from Dr. Makov’s work on studying bluefish. The study was utilizing a particular software, one that Dr. Makov had used in the past. However, after the October 7th attacks and subsequent public response, the software company will pull its programming. This experience is not unique.

Meanwhile, Dr. Makov reflects on her own time studying abroad at Yale, where she once shared an office with a Palestinian man from Gaza. This shows that collaboration and cooperation are possible. Today, along with many others, Dr. Makov observes that many activists in the U.S. and worldwide often conflate climate issues, Israel-Palestine issues, and other social issues. In her view, this distracts from all causes and forms a generalization. She says that we are better off focusing on issues that are urgent to environmental work: low-income and minority communities still face increased environmental risks, and emerging economies like China drive global emission increases. One example of this comes from Greta Thunberg. Thunberg, who is a climate activist, recently attempted to deliver symbolic aid to Gaza. Thus, bringing the two issues close in activist dialogue. 

See Related Article: Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Joins Gaza Flotilla

As the war continues, Dr. Tamar Makov remains committed to expanding Israel’s footprint in industrial ecology and circular economy, even as she navigates a fractured global landscape. Her work demonstrates that rigorous methods, interdisciplinary teaching, and data-driven projects can still, and will continue to, pave the way toward a more sustainable future. 

The post Life-Cycle Thinking Under Fire: Industrial Ecology Mission Amid Geopolitical Conflict appeared first on Green Prophet.

It’s more important than ever to introduce habits of sustainability and environmentally friendly actions in the next generation. We’ve already come too far to let another generation ignore the issues we’ve created in the environment. 

But how do you introduce sustainability habits to your young children? You disguise it as playtime activities. Below are five activities you can do with your preschooler that will instill eco-friendly behaviors in them that they’ll hopefully hold on to while they grow up. 

Plant Flowers 

The miracle of watching something grow will be absolutely magical for your preschooler to experience. After planting a seed, watering it when needed, and keeping it in sunlight, your preschooler will witness the seed soon grows into a flower or plant. 

If you have the space for a garden, it can become a weekly activity for your preschooler as you dig in the dirt to plant seeds and pull out the weeds. This teaches them about growing their own plants and harvesting their own food.

Use Recycled Items for Crafts

Let the creativity soar during your arts and crafts activities when you use recycled items. Glass jars or aluminum cans can soon become decorated pencil holders. Tissue boxes can transform into your child’s favorite animal. 

This activity will promote the idea of reusing items we already have rather than throwing them away in a landfill. It also strengthens your child’s creativity as they figure out how to make an ordinary object into something extraordinary.

Sort Recycled Materials

If your community recycles certain materials separately, make an activity of sorting the recycling with your preschooler. Use different bins to put plastic, paper, and glass. This will teach your child the types of material that can be recycled, as well as encourage sensory learning by touching the different materials.

Start a Worm Farm

Kids love playing with tiny little critters and watching them move around. It’s no different with worms. You can start a worm farm by beginning a compost with your leftover meal scraps. Simply add the worms to the compost and let them turn it into a fertilizer. You can then use this in your garden and when you plant new seeds and flowers. 

This promotes the idea of creating things at home rather than purchasing them to fulfill sustainable activities as well. 

Read Books About the Environment

There are plenty of children’s books out there on the topic of being environmentally friendly and practicing sustainability. When you’re practicing at-home learning routines, such as the Frog Street pre-k home program, make sure to add these books to your reading time. 

Not only will your preschooler love the stories and illustrations included in these books, but they will learn about the environment and the actions they can take to be kinder towards it. Hopefully, these lessons and morals stay ingrained in them as they grow older and start making their own decisions.

The post 5 Activities for Preschoolers That Promote Sustainability appeared first on Green Prophet.

Passover 2018 in Israel begins after sunset on the evening of Friday, March 30th, and ends at dusk on Friday, April 6th. Outside of Israel, the holiday ends on Saturday, April 7th, at night.

The holiday marks the time when the Israelities left Egypt as slaves, and entered the land of Israel (Canaan) as free people

Today Jews around the world are working vigorously right now to remove each and every last speck of hametz (leaven) in their homes, and most see it as a time to do some spiritual housecleaning as well.

Green Prophet is always looking to religious sources for answering the complex challenges that the world faces today in the green movement. And here in the Middle East, the time is ripe for an environmental revolution too.

Here Karin revives an interview from 2007, on the green connection to Judaism’s Passover and the environment. The interview is with Rabbi Yehudah Leo Levi, a physicist, rabbi and author who lives in Jerusalem.

Q: How is Passover connected to the environment?

A: The connection between Passover and the environment is somewhat indirect, but extremely profound. According to the Torah (Jewish tradition), one central purpose of the creation of the human being was to complete the development the world God had created in His wisdom.

The human being was put into the wonderful Garden of Eden, not, primarily, to enjoy its delicious fruits, but rather “to serve it and guard it” (Genesis 2:15). Or, in the words of the Midrash: “When God created Adam, he took him to survey all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: ‘See My works, how pleasant and praiseworthy they are… be careful not to spoil and ruin My world. For, if you spoil, there is no one to repair after you” (Qoheleth Rabba 7:13).

In other words, the human being is to be a caretaker, not owner, of the world.

Subsequently mankind forgot this message and turned to paganism, serving the powers of nature instead of their Creator. Thus they travelled on a path of self-destruction. To save humanity, God chose Abraham to become the progenitor of a nation which was to bring God’s message to humanity. That nation was formed on the night of the first Passover for the explicit purpose of teaching mankind what God wants of them, which is primarily the development of the world, physically, socially, and spiritually. Thus, in a sense, Passover commemorates the creation of the mentors, who were to make mankind aware of their duty to care for their environment.

Q: What is the spiritual message of Passover

A: Because of His concern for a faltering humanity, God “created”, on Passover night, a new nation (Israel) to become a “lighthouse” to humanity.

Q: What are some Jewish traditions in general that show the faith is concerned with protecting the environment

A: Judaism commands the preservation of the environment by prohibiting its wasteful utilization.

Even during war, which may occasionally be forced on the Jewish people, they are forbidden to cut down fruit trees – even their enemies’ (Deuteronomy 20:19).

Jewish tradition expands this to forbid unnecessary destruction of all elements of the environment (Maimonides, Melakhim 6:10); even wasteful use of fuel is explicitly forbidden (Babyl. Talmud, Shabbath 67b).

Another interesting example is the concern lest discomfort be caused to the neighbor. Especially sources of excessive smoke, unpleasant odors, dust, and vibrations are forbidden, without the permission of the neighbors (Shulchan ‘Arukh, Choshen Mishpat 155:36). The reader will find there over a hundred paragraphs listing such prohibitions.

A third illustration is the Torah’s concern for proper city-planning. It demands a “green belt,” about a kilometer wide around each city, a belt which may not be used for building. If you need more housing, start a new city. (Cf. Numbers 35 & Rabbi S.R. Hirsch’s commentary to Leviticus 25:34, at length.)

For more reading:

1. Torah & Science – Their Interplay in the World Scheme, Feldheim Publishers, Jerusalem & Nanuet, NY, 2006; chap. 3.
2. Facing Current Challenges – Essays on Judaism, Lambda, Brooklyn, NY, 1998; Essay 36.

Rabbi Levi’s bio: I grew up in New York. There I got my academic degrees: B.E.E., M.Sc., Ph.D. (Physics), my Rabbinic ordination and a professorship at City College. In 1970 I moved to Israel to set up the Physics/Electro-Optics Dept. at the Jerusalem College of Technology – the second such department in the world. (I had to write the text-book myself; it was eventually published by Wiley in N.Y.)

Ten years later, I was appointed Rector there. Since my retirement in 1991, I am continuing bi-weekly lectures there, primarily in Judaism. I also give a weekly lecture at the Jerusalem Academy of Jewish Studies.

The post Connecting the Profound: Jewish Passover and the Environment appeared first on Green Prophet.

The fifth-grader at Our Own High School, Al Warqaa, had already participated in past Earth Day and Earth Hour events. He was a member of Students for the Earth. Inspired by EEG’s Neighbourhood Recycling project, he set out to establish his own micro-recycling program, enlisting his relatives, neighbours and friends to participate too. Shah created and shared informational flyers with about 25 people, then took his message on the road, going door to door to encourage others in his neighborhood to learn (and act) more on recyclable materials. Over a two week trial, he collected the waste, which he dropped at EEG for recycling.

“It is our responsibility to take action and spread awareness among people so that all become environment conscious,” he told Khaleej Times.

The EEG website states the Neighbourhood Recycling project “provides students a platform to contribute to the scoiety they live in and an opportunity to act as responsible change agents at a young age. Once registered with the campaign, kids are encouraged to collect mobile phones, batteries, printer toners and ink cartridges, paper, plastic, gave the youngster the platform to show his enthusiasm, giving him a chance to act as a responsible change agent.”

Participating students earn the opportunity to plant a tree – memorialized with their name – in one of the public places within the United Arab Emirates during EEG’s annual tree planting campaign.

Proof that well-planned youth engagement programs do work. It’s never to early to start teaching environmental stewardship. Got a programs underway in your school or neighborhood? Drop us a comment so we broadcast your successes too.

Image :: Khaleej Times

The post Meet Dubai’s eco-warrior…who’s just 9 years old! appeared first on Green Prophet.

A team of pollution-weary Palestinians and Israelis are injecting environmental education into East Jerusalem schools, teaching young Palestinians new “green” habits.  They’re achieving cooperation in a region where even garbage is a political flashpoint.

The idea sprouted four years ago as a part of the Kidron Valley clean-up strategy. A planned sewage treatment plant was mothballed after political squabbling, but a team of Israelis and Palestinians are trying to resurrect the project.

They see a wider environmental mandate, with education at the top of their agenda, and launched green programs at ten schools with lessons in recycling and rainwater harvesting. Al Afaq Boys School and the Sur Baher Girls School, the first to participate, eagerly adopted environmentalism.

“In traditional Palestinian culture, no one threw anything out, they’d reuse it. With new technology it became easier to throw away,” said Khaled Abu Khaff, a manager at Only Green, the first enviro-education center in East Jerusalem and a volunteer at Al Afaq.

Plastic litter covers the approach to Al Afaq, but stops at the school gates.  Interior grounds are litter-free. The campus boasts solar panels and rainwater harvesting barrels.  Student Mohammed helped build a sculpture of Earth from recycled materials, proudly displayed at the school entrance. He says the projects taught him new ideas, “I’ve learned to save and take care of the things.”

Sur Baher students learn to make soap and toothpaste from natural ingredients, and science teacher Zoubaida Salman teaches them to build simple electrical circuits, too. They run an organic garden and maintain rainwater harvesting barrels, donated by US-based Water Resources Action Project. The barrels supplied 50% of the school’s water needs in 2011 and 2012.

Ideally, the students would take the behavior home, but when asked, only a few admit they have.

Israeli lawyers and project leaders Richard Laster and Dani Livney work to identify others open to localized green initiatives, which are funded in partnership with Only Green, Friends of the Earth Middle East, and Water Resources Action Project.

“We saw that there was much that needed doing. Alot of garbage; not much planning, if at all; and sewage,” Livney told The Christian Science Monitor.  “We felt the place to start would be environmental education, to change people’s mindsets.”

Teachers try to involve parents in activities, such as collecting home trash for reuse in school crafts. “At the beginning of the course the parents say, ‘You want us to collect trash?’” said teacher Hazar Khatteb. “But now they understand.”

In 2009, the Association of Civil Rights in Israel reported that the Jerusalem municipality provided 15,000 people in Sur Baher and neighboring Umm Tuba with only 104 trash bins. Regional waste collection and recycling is in its infancy.

Back at Al Afaq, the boys plan to turn a courtyard into a lab for recycling, rainwater harvesting and solar and wind energy projects, financed by a $15,000 donation from the US Embassy in Tel Aviv and US Consulate in Jerusalem.  They hoped to start a program for visits by other Arab schoolchildren last April, but some of their equipment was vandalized in December, delaying the plan.

That vandalism could be evidence of community resentment from some who say inequity between East and West Jerusalem is a more important issue than environmental stewardship.  Abu Khaff says people complain about poor roads, not trash.

He said, “This type of [environmental] knowledge is not the top priority, but step by step we are changing that.”

Image of Old Jerusalem from Shutterstock

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This is a powerful opening for an in your face movie that is bound to win plaudits for its exposure of those who deny, and actually do their bit to cause, and profit from, global climate change.

How you respond to the film will depend on your own journey within the environmental movement: from hard-line activist to armchair academic. It is a film for everyone to see: not a must-see, like I would suggest ‘Age Of Stupid’ is, but certainly one that will stimulate action, discussion, and as the credits announce at the end, possible change through pressure and advocacy.

Craig Scott Rosebraugh’s new documentary is a hard-hitting, pull no punches style of film that exposes the greed and political machinations behind the big corporations that are funding the climate change denial Industry.

In essence it is about eco-systems and human stability. We see drought conditions affecting farmers in the Mid West of the US, and the rising wheat prices due to the low yield.

We see examples of coastal erosion affecting a village in Alaska, where faced with the entire village needing to move (and the efforts to find the huge cost of this from Federal Government), a Tribal Elder says: “we have lost pretty much half the ground I walked on as a little boy…. our people have lost their peace of mind.”

The village hit back in 2008 by suing 24 fossil fuel exploitation companies (Shell, etc) to raise the funds to move.

Trailer of Greedy Lying Bastards
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW0NMjD-wtA[/youtube]

There are no examples given from the Middle East, but those who are based across the dry lands know the issues facing them: increasing desertification, water shortages and coming droughts: environmental collapses combined with unstable Governments (or oil-rich Nations with no interest in measures to hold off or combat changes, or even just changing their ways).

Regular readers of Green Prophet need not be reminded.

After some of these very human-centred examples of the situation of the ground, the doc ratchets up a notch to explore and accuse those involved in the climate change denial businesses. And by god it’s murky!

From the British ‘loony lord’ Monkton (who is forced to admit on camera he has never sat in the British House Of Lords, which kind of discredits him!) (and who is the first speaker featured in the film’s trailer, above) to more serious scientists funded (both privately and through research grants) by the petrochemical Industry (Shell, etc), those who seek to lose their financial stake holdings if the US Govt tightens up its laws on environmental protection, drilling, emissions and various destructive action taken by these Industries, are seen to be hiding behind shady Think Tanks and the so-called ‘Astroturf Groups’, which are (allegedly) “in the business of selling doubt” (about climate change) according to Rosebraugh.

The film, which includes Daryl Hannah as executive director, takes a dive when Myron Ebell (from a prominent Think Tank) is shown saying: “there are no catastrophes in sight due to climate warning.”

Well, Ebell has pretty much hoist by his own petard by now.

Similarly Senator James Inhofe, whose quote “global warming could be the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people” is a chilling statement and battle cry.

Like many of the current crop of feature docs, particularly those that are ‘green themed’, within the first half the film, a lot of information is given, presented clearly and often starkly; the theme is presented and then explored and unpicked, and then halfway through the piece starts to feel too long – nothing new gets explored, or the style becomes predictable.

“GLB’ moves from the personal experience of climate change, to the political arena being fought in public and behind the scenes, and then back to the personal again – this is a worthwhile and traditional method of telling the story, indeed, it is now a standard grammar for documentary practise.

Interview with Daryl Hannah:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfeBATmVAaE[/youtube]

Rosebraugh does eventually gain access to a shareholders meeting, but there is no confrontation or clash of the two sides prevented: activists versus aggressors if you like – it remains largely at the level of ‘us and them’, or more starkly, those who have suffered personal catastrophe, and those who are protecting their own interests in the offending Industries, or through political/financial power.

‘Greedy Lying Bastards’ is what is says on the tin: it exposes those who are corrupt.

It also, tragically, shows a few of the end of the line victims who suffer due to the actions of the corrupt and inert. What we do with this knowledge is now up to us.

::Greedy Lying Bastards

The post ‘Greedy Lying Bastards’ Film Review appeared first on Green Prophet.

Today there are a dizzying variety of wildflowers blooming across Israel, welcoming the months of spring. Fifty years ago some of these plant species were on the verge of extinction. With the help of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and the Nature Reserves Authority, the 1965 campaign to publicize the law prohibiting picking wildflowers became one of the most successful in Israel’s history; It changed the public’s behavior through raising awareness, and proliferating environmental education.

The tiny country of Israel is home to an impressive variety of wild plants. Overall, Israel has close to 2,300 species of plants, including many medicinal plants such as wild marigold, sage and Palestinian oak. Dozens of these species are found only in Israel. For comparison’s sake, England, which is six times larger than Israel, has only 1,750 plant species.

According to a study of environmental campaigns in Israel, by the University of Haifa’s Benny Furst:

“The activities of nature protection organizations succeeded in fostering significant structural and cultural change, as they altered ways of thinking, values and collective behavior of a sizable sector in Israeli society. As it pertains to the attitude toward natural environmental resources, the significance of this change is of greater importance in light of the prior situation, in which picking wild plants was the accepted norm, and was not at all conceived as being a criminal offense.”

But Furst believes that this success cannot be maintained in future generations without continuing environmental educational. The results of a survey conducted in 2007,  demonstrated that half of Israeli young people said they were in the habit of illegally picking flowers.
Conversely, responses from older adults proved a statistical link between memories of the ‘60s-era campaign and their present-day wildflower-picking practices.

And in recent years, yet another danger to the wildflowers has arisen. Urbanization and construction threaten these species’ natural habitats, such as the wild Iris. According to the “Red Book,” a publication which documents species at risk, nearly one-fifth of plant species in Israel are currently in danger of extinction. Most of these plants grow in in areas where there are extensive development plans, such as in the Sharon region.

Read more about plants in Israel:

The Wild Winter Iris

The Most Effective PR Campaign in Israel’s History: Protecting Wildflowers

BioXplore Discovers Healing Plants in Israel

The post Israeli Wildflowers Show Environmental Education Can Inspire Change appeared first on Green Prophet.

Unleash your inner Thoreau, show the human side of sustainability and and win $10,000 for a creative nonfiction essay.

Have you been lucky enough to Dance at the Dead Sea but then couldn’t help but notice its destruction? Or you’ve have had the rare chance to travel and surf through unknown parts of Iran. Perhaps you are just a wanderer or quiet philosopher type who has a rare knack for seeing natural detail the rest of us miss. If you have a “green” eye, a corresponding “green” pen, and an ecologically-minded story to tell or have told you can submit it to a new contest for sustainability writing and win a cool $10,000.

Creative Nonfiction magazine with the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives at Arizona State University are looking for the best creative nonfiction essay on sustainability. The winning essay which will take home the prize will also be published in the magazine’s special “Human Face of Sustainability” issue.

The magazine and the Sustainability Solutions Fair, one of the programs within the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives at Arizona U, launched this competition to grow the conversion on sustainability within the individual as a writer, and to enlarge the conversation about sustainability as a whole around the planet.

“As we face daily reminders of environmental challenges across the globe, our work here is to advance knowledge about the existing and potential solutions of sustainability, so we’re thrilled to be partnering with Creative Nonfiction to raise awareness and thoughtful responses to these issues that affect every one of us,” says Patricia Reiter, director of the sustainability programs at Arizona University.

Before you sharpen your pencils, we suggest reading a great primer: American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau. I’ve been reading this book edited by Bill McKibben over the last year and it gives the best lessons on how to write on sustainability issues that are in line with the times. It inspires.

And you also have to know the basic entry requirements for the contest: According to the contest rules your entries should be personal essays or stories that illuminate and present the human side of environmental, economic, ethical, and/or social challenges related to the state of the planet and our future. They need to be true stories, backed up with facts and research if possible.

From the editor’s desk: “We seek essays on topics that range from global to local, from “big” (e.g., Resilience after natural disasters; New technology solutions vs. common sense; Energy harvesting) to “small” (e.g., Personal decisions about consumption; Reuse, recycle, up-cycle, bicycle?; Green, clean—what does it mean?; What can we learn from past generations?). Whatever the subject, we want to hear about it in an essay that blends facts and research with narrative—employing scenes, descriptions, etc.

“Your essay can channel Henry David Thoreau or Henry Ford, Rachel Carson or (a literary) Rush Limbaugh; but all essays must tell true stories and be factual and scientifically accurate,” editors note.

Creative Nonfiction founder and editor Lee Gutkind points out: “There are so many with an interest or stake in this timely and important issue: including nonfiction writers, environmentalists, engineers, and scientists. I’m eager to read through these submissions and see how a diversity of voices are exploring and contextualizing their ideas through narrative.”

In addition to the $10,000 prize, the winner will be invited to attend a special launch event hosted by Arizona University’s Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives. With a contest deadline at May 31 this year there is a little less than three months to get your work submitted.

An additional prize will go to an artist who is selected to illustrate the issue, so forward this call-out to your designer friends as well. Designers can win $3,500 but more importantly perhaps, have their work featured on the magazine’s website and inside the special edition on sustainability. Anything suited to a print format will be considered.

Complete submission guidelines are available at the Creation Nonfiction website here

The post Write for Sustainability and Win Creative Writing Contest appeared first on Green Prophet.

We birdwatchers sat in a covered safari wagon as lines of cranes criss-crossed the evening sky.  More and more cranes began to appear, and soon the air was full of  powerful-looking birds calling in hoarse, creaking voices.

Hundreds landed to roost in a field in front of us. We watched as the cranes stalked around on their long legs, making an ever-increasing ruckus with their anxious cries.

A red sunset glowed behind the mountains around the Agamon Hula Nature Park, and the mosquitoes came out in force. As night fell, the safari wagon swung around and away from the cranes’ “hotel.” All the birdwatchers sighed. It had been a glorious sight, and the end of several enchanted hours’ wildlife viewing.

Israel sits in the Afro-Syrian Rift, a bridge where three continents meet. We reported previously how over 500 million birds of 430 species fly through this land bottleneck on their twice-yearly migrations between Scandinavia and Eastern Europe to Africa. As a successful environment development program, the Hula Valley bird reserve is one of the world’s most important bird-watching sites. Surprises sometimes happen too, as when a rare frog, long considered extinct, appeared there.

Earlier at the Agamon Lake, we saw white pelicans crowded together like bathers amiably sharing a spa pool. The ladies among us cooed over a furry nutria that emerged from the reeds at the lake shore.

We were sadly disillusioned when our guide explained that nutrias are an introduced species that’s become an environmental pest. But they are food for predators such as eagles, wolves and jackals that hunt in the area. The area also shelters the last remaining herd of native water buffaloes.

The reserve, which is 11 kilometers long, is a combination of agricultural fields and lakes with reed beds. Our guide explained that the park sustains most of the migrating species, but some must be encouraged to feed within the limits of the reserve or they will destroy neighboring farmers’ crops. Tons of peanuts, corn, and seeds are distributed over designated fields, and the Agamon Lake is stocked with tilapia (see our comments on that here) to prevent heavy feeders like cranes from raiding agricultural fish ponds. Canals run through the grounds, intersected by bridges for pedestrians.

Dozens of mulberry trees provide shade and, in season, fruit for the birds to feast on.

The human species buzz around the trails on bikes or electric golf carts. No cars are allowed in the park.

Our guide told us of joint programs with Jordan relating to eco-tourism, bird conservation, and biological pest control using barn owls and kestrels to keep the vole and mouse population down.

“Birders,” people whose passion is observing, photographing, or writing about the birds, arrive in early winter, which is the peak of migration season.

One such birder, Tristam Reid, is so passionate that he raises funds for bird preservation through his extraordinary tattoos.

The Hula Valley Bird Festival, just finishing its second year, provides field trips, including a special sunrise trip,a  floating observatory from which to view water birds,

a bird-ringing workshop, night safaris and a “bird train” that stops at observation points where recorded explanations may be heard. There is a botanical garden for the herb-minded.  Visitors from abroad find accommodation in local hotels and B&Bs.

Over 500,000 visitors go over the grounds yearly, including children on school trips. The activities described above are available year around, with emphasis on different aspects of the reserve varying with the seasons.

For more information:

Agamon-Hula

Tel: +972-(0)4-6817-137

www.agamon-hula.co.il

See more on the Middle East’s feathered wildlife:

• Seed Money to Protect Mediterranean Basin Birds
• A Bonnet Full of Dead Birds in Lebanon
• Killing Birds for Pickled Dish in Cyprus
• Jerusalem’s Western Wall for Swifts

Top photo of cranes at Hula Valley via Wikimedia.All other photos by Miriam Kresh.

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