LOTEM, Integrated Nature Studies has been offering educational activities in nature to children and adults with special needs for almost 18 years. Participants include the blind and visually impaired, deaf and hearing impaired, physically and intellectually challenged, and emotionally disturbed. They also include women and children in threat of physical and/or emotional abuse. LOTEM  presently serves more than 7,000 children and adults with special needs every year. With the opening of its new Jerusalem center, this number will increase greatly over the coming years.

The establishment of a Jerusalem branch of LOTEM had been a longtime dream of Amos Ziv, LOTEM’s founder and director. “A branch of LOTEM in Jerusalem, will allow us to expand our activities tremendously,” Amos said. “Not only will we be able to take people with special needs on accessible tours of Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, we will also be able to take special-needs participants who live in Jerusalem and surrounding areas out into nature.”

Amos now dreams about making the Old City of Jerusalem more accessible. His ideas include the purchase of small electric cars which will be able to carry the elderly and physically-disabled from Jaffe Gate to the Jewish quarter and to the Western Wall. Anyone who has walked this route, knows just how difficult it can be. Another project which he is presently developing  is called  “Touching the Kotel”, a program which will help special-needs participants understand the importance of the Western Wall to Jews throughout the ages. Men, women and children  will be able to feel the stones,  leave personal notes among the cracks, and utter the prayers which are their hearts.

“The opening of the Jerusalem branch will offer LOTEM the opportunity to provide outings in nature for special-needs participants from Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh and  the Negev. I have no doubt that the expansion of our services to these areas will be a tremendous success,” said Sorin Hershcu, LOTEM’s chairman of the board, who was seriously wounded during the IDF rescue of hostages in Entebbe in 1976. As a quadripelegic, he became involved with LOTEM in order to help others experience and enjoy the beauty of the Land of Israel.

Jerusalem lies forever in the heart of the Jewish People. It is with great pride that LOTEM has established a center which will serve special-needs populations in the heart of our great nation. With the help of LOTEM’s partners around the world, LOTEM hopes to expand its activities and make Jerusalem more accessible for people of all ages and abilities.

LOTEM, Integrated Nature Studies is a not-for-profit organization which offers educational activities in nature to people with special needs. LOTEM’s target population includes children and adults who are visually and hearing impaired, physically and intellectually challenged, and emotionally disturbed. It also includes women and children in danger of physical and emotional abuse.

Ruach Tova, or the Good Spirit Organization, was responsible for sending the volunteers to the farm as part of an initiative called Good Deeds Day. During the day, 70,000 participants took part in 1,000 different projects throughout the country. The 18 people working at LOTEM’s ecological farm consisted of a group of 9 special needs teenagers, 6 volunteers from QualiTest and 3 volunteers from Marvell Semiconductor Israel Ltd., which is located in Yokneam. In addition to its volunteer work, Marvell has been funding programs at LOTEM for the past three years.

Remaining in good spirits throughout the day, the volunteers planted flowers, painted buildings and helped to clean out hidden corners of the farm. All the necessary equipment was generously donated by Ruach Tova.

This was truly a day of special deeds – carried out by 18 very special people – for the benefit of thousands of children and adults with special needs.

Our thanks to all those who helped to make this day possible.

The program includes four outings – one during each season of the year. Through hikes and workshops, participants are exposed to the wondrous changes that occur in nature – the shedding of leaves in the autumn, the gushing waters of winter, the blossoming of flowers and plants every spring, and the nature that flourishes even in the heat of summer. Depending on the season of the year, participants have the opportunity to produce olive oil in LOTEM’s olive press, bake their own bread over an open fire, or make wine by treading on grapes in LOTEM’s accessible wine-press. Through active participation in both hikes and workshops, women and children are offered the opportunity to experience nature, while healing both their bodies and their souls.

Rachel Ziv, director of the Women’s Crisis Shelter in Haifa, wrote after the November outing, “I have no doubt that the women and children of our shelter gained much from their excursions with LOTEM, above and beyond what we originally thought they would gain. They gained mother-child quality time, familiarity and contact with nature – animal vegetable and mineral – the understanding that one may enjoy the world around them – trees, earth, water, air – which are free to all of us and that children love so much, and many positive experiences to refill their and their children’s drained batteries.”

On that last hike, one of the women closed her eyes, let the wind and the sun caress her face and said: “This is so good.” She kept that smile on her face the whole day, and took pictures of her children in every natural nook and cranny she could find, to save these moments of happiness for the rest of their lives.

An 11-year-old boy told me, every few minutes, “We should do this kind of stuff all the time!”, saying it from the bottom of his heart.

It is our belief that Mother Nature increases the quality of participants’ lives, providing mothers and children with the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company in the shelter that only nature can provide. Most of all, it helps mothers and children realize that the world around them, the source of fear and cynicism, can be a place of renewal, sustenance and trust.

Israelis are known for their love of nature. However, for 10% of the Israeli population, a casual walk in the countryside is not a possibility. People with physical, mental and emotional disabilities find it difficult to enjoy out-of-door activities due to lack of physical accessibility or explanations suitable to their individual needs. The majority spend their time within the four walls of institutions, with few extracurricular activities to enrich their lives.

In response to the overwhelming need to expose all people to the wonders of nature, LOTEM, Integrated Nature Studies has created programming which enables special needs populations to take part in specially designed activities every year. These include men, women and children who are visually and hearing impaired, physically and mentally challenged, emotionally disturbed, and at risk of physical or emotional abuse. LOTEM’s participants are made up of groups of all ages – from children in special kindergartens to residents of homes for the aged. Our participants are Jews, Christians, Moslems and Druze, as well as integrated groups which have been organized according to need rather than religion or race. LOTEM serves all socio-economic groups. Participants come from schools, assisted living apartments, and institutions located across the country – from northern border villages to small development towns. By opening its doors to all special needs populations, LOTEM enables approximately 5,000 visitors each year to enjoy the glories of nature in a suitable and accessible environment.

Lotem

The day’s activities were organized by LOTEM’s leadership team, which is specifically trained to work with special needs populations. It began with a hike along LOTEM’s accessible nature trail in Nachal Hashofet and on suitable paths in Emek Hashalom. Throughout the hike, LOTEM’s guides spoke about the natural beauty of the land of Israel, as well as about the rights and obligations of Israeli citizenship, in a language suitable to the children’s special needs.

The ceremony itself took place at LOTEM’s ecological farm in Emek Hashalom. The children, who were dressed in blue and white, participated in the ceremony through readings, songs and dances. “It is important to give to one’s country rather than remain a burden to it,” a mentally challenged teenager read. This is truly a lesson for citizens everywhere in the world

The ceremony concluded with the Prayer for Peace.