The award was granted for the “Greywater Recycling Initiative“,an innovative, cross-sector collaboration of academia, government, business and third sector, aimed at making greywater recycling a reality in Israel’s urban areas.

Additional awards of excellence were granted for technological innovation, an educational environmental initative, an academic environmental program and a ‘green’ city.

The ceremony took place Tuesday evening, June 29 at The Israel Trade Fairs Center , Tel Aviv.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The idea of a “second-hand” fair kindled the imagination of the adults in the minyan and they approached the local council and the educational institutions in the village.  The head of the local council and its members were happy to cooperate: they gave the project their blessing and the staff of the various municipal departments played an active role in helping to put the event together.  The idea caught on not only in the congregation but outside as well, grabbing the interest of young and old, religious and secular Jews, as well as that of non-Jewish residents in the surrounding communities. Letters were distributed in the schools inviting families to contribute items, which were sorted by members of the student council and placed in boxes prepared by members of the minyan.  Even though it was the end of the school year, discussions were held in many classrooms about “giving” to others and about the importance of recycling.

The businesses and management of the commercial center also contributed, providing an empty store where the second-hand items were sorted and stored.  Members of “Beit Horesh,” a home for adults with special needs, were also involved in preparing the fair and joined members of the minyan and other helpers as the salespeople at the fair.

Minyan member Jacqueline Rotem offered the following comment: “The fair was a wonderful opportunity for all members of the minyan to be involved, including those who do not attend tefilot on a regular basis. It was also an opportunity for our community as a whole to demonstrate our commitment to recycling and concern for the environment.

The income from the fair will finance the Bar/Bat Mitzva program for Children with Special Needs of the Masorti Movement, which teaches children with special needs about Judaism and Israel. At the end of the educational program, the children are called up to the Torah and become Bnai Mitzva.  This Program is run nationally by the Masorti Movement with significant community involvement. One of the senior program teachers is a longtime member of the Masorti Family Minyan in Kfar Vradim.

Shomera For A Better Environment (otherwise known as Shomera) was founded in Jerusalem, with the goal of building a pro-active, healthy, sustainable society and environment. Eleven years of innovative environmental-social programming, have solidified Shomera’s reputation as an Israeli NGO with an ‘entrepreneurial spirit’. The organization, while relatively small in size, is large in impact. Our vision and pioneering programs, have set trends and led by example.

A Synergetic Approach: Direct Action and Education

Founded in 1998 as a grassroots effort with the goal of preserving the Jerusalem Forest – the primary ‘green lung’ and natural retreat of Jerusalemites – Shomera has evolved into a comprehensive environmental organization with a synergetic approach of combining action and implementation with educational and community work.

Broad Outreach

New populations have been brought into the environmental fold as Shomera reaches out to Israelis from all walks of life, encouraging and educating towards a healthy and sustainable society. We are proud to have engaged in environmental activity a multiplicity of individuals and communities – from children to senior citizens, from those with secular backgrounds to the ultra-orthodox, varying ethnic groups and
religions, people with special needs – both physical and emotional, as well as youth-at-risk.

Shomera is a dynamic, creative organization with a proven track record and a significant agenda.

Shomera’s multi-faceted approach to enhancing environmental-social sustainability includes advocacy, environmental education, community programming and sustainable resource management.  To achieve some of its goals, Shomera initiates and promotes multi-sector collaborations with academia, business and government.

Shomera has launched pioneering initiatives in the areas of natural resource conservation, combating climate change, experiential environmental educational programming, integrating Jewish precepts into environmental education and practice, organic gardening, horticulture therapy and more. Many of these initiatives have been emulated by other organizations and have been incorporated into environmental activity conducted nationwide.

Some achievements: The early years

• Innovative advocacy, successfully preserving coveted sites and precious forest land.
• Creating Israel’s first “community forest”.
• Establishing Israel’s first permaculture and organic gardening center for the public.
• Pioneering environmental activity in religious and ultra-orthodox communities.
• Award winning work in horticulture therapy with special needs individuals.

New directions:

• Launching a multi-sector collaboration with academia, government and business, designed to create a precedent for the mainstreaming of regulated greywater recycling in the Israeli public sector.
• Founding member and only NGO in Israel’s first consortium of energy and security services and technologies, formed with the objective of “greening” buildings and contributing to Israel’s environment, economy and image.

Recognition

For its initiatives and contribution, Shomera has been granted a variety of awards including the ’Life and Environment Green Globe Award’ in 2008 for excellence in environmental activity.

Concern regarding Israel’s ability to provide adequate levels of potable water is high on the national agenda. Dwindling resources coupled with growing and ongoing demand have led to Israel’s current water shortage crisis.

Israel recycles black waters (sewage water) at unprecedented levels, which service the agricultural sector. The recycling of greywater, the relatively clean waste water from baths, sinks, washing machines and the like within the public and private sectors in Israel has not been permitted or promoted on a broad scale. This has been largely due to the concern by the Ministry of Health regarding its ability to control the level of water purity, which, if unsuccessfully managed, could have grave implications for public health.

The mikveh, typically an institution which is a small to moderate consumer of water, serves as a pilot site which will set precedents for both small and large consumers of water. The objective of the pilot is to successfully meet all predefined targets set by the Ministry of Health for levels of water purification and thus, be eligible to receive authorization from the Ministry of Health to advance from the pilot phase to that of implementation. Once this has been achieved, the recycled waters will be designated for reuse in the flushing of toilets and irrigation of open spaces, which, in a full-scale recycling operation, entails a potential savings of 40% of potable water consumption.

This precedent of an authorized greywater recycling project will facilitate future, decentralized initiatives within the public and business sectors – to incorporate greywater recycling into their existing or planned facilities.