Shoresh, a grassroots Jewish environmental organization based in Southern Ontario, is gearing up to welcome a new cohort of participants. After the successful launch of the Shoresh Outdoor School last year, the organization has received funding for the upcoming season.
The Shoresh Outdoor School is an extracurricular program for students and families between grades 1 and 8. According to the organization’s 2016 Year in Review, participants explore Jewish holidays, mitzvot and rituals through a blend of garden and nature-based activities.
The inspiration for this initiative came from a desire to “bridge Jewish learning with ecological awareness and environmental sustainability.” The eight-week program is based at Kavanah Garden, which is on the Lebovic Campus, beside the Schwartz/Reisman Centre in Vaughan, Ont., just north of Toronto. In a blog post, Juliana Isaac, Shoresh’s garden co-ordinator, said that the first year of the program “helped us learn about the mitzvah of Bal-Taschit: do not destroy that which can be used again.”
Shoresh was established in 2002 as Torat HaTeva by Alexandra Kuperman and Tuvia Aronson. The organization views environmental ethics as a core element of Jewish identity and runs educational programs to encourage such thinking. Linking Jewish texts with the experiences of the natural world, Shoresh seeks to “invest in the next generation of Jewish environmental leaders.”
Operating throughout the Greater Toronto Area, Shoresh has two primary campuses – Kavanah Garden and Bela Farm in Hillsburgh, Ont. Many of the activities that take place at the farm are designed to promote natural honey production and the expansion of its existing bee sanctuary.
The organization’s efforts are situated within a broader context of growing fears over environmental degradation. According to Shoresh’s website, its programming is tailored to respond to three “key challenges facing” the community: environmental crisis, continued concerns over poverty and hunger and broader Jewish disengagement. Incorporating Jewish concepts such as dayeinu (gratitude), tzedek tirdof (justice for all) and kehillah (community), among others, the organization seeks to pair Jewish learning with contemporary environmental issues.
The Shoresh Outdoor School is set to restart on Sept. 12 and continues into October. There is much excitement within the organization and high expectations amongst its staff.
The enthusiasm is shared by the student who take part in the program, as well. As one of last year’s participants said, “I liked learning things about Judaism like that every blade of grass has an angel beside it that says, ‘grow, grow, grow.’”