Building energy Audit
The team will gather information on the shuls main energy usages, look into what building improvements have been made in the past, and make suggestions about ways to lower the carbon footprint of the shul.
Update Waste Sinage
Waste is not going into the correct places much of the time. We will rearrange the bins (where and in what order people encounter them) and make new, clear (and hopefully encouraging) signage.
Lox-free Kiddush
In an effort to reduce our community's purchasing and consumption of animal-based food and increase our plant-based food offerings, we have eliminated smoked salmon as a standard item offered during our weekly Kiddush offerings.
Green Kiddush
We are using cloth table cloths, compostable paper plates, compostable silverware, bamboo napkins, compostable cups. We must spend extra money to launder the table cloths every week and money for the premium cost of compostable products.
Recycling Station
We have updated our recycling station and included accepting Hard to Recycle cosmetic containers. We are now getting the rod out. Some signage still needs to be done
Greening the Negev
As a component of our immersive Israel playscape (grant through Hermelin-Davidson), we are building out a full size greenhouse and using drip irrigation and other conservation methods to teach about bringing greenery and food production to the Negev desert. Right now we are in the planning and development phases, and would like to use the funding to develop the curriculum and purchase supplies for this part of the project. However, due to such things as permits and board approvals along the way, it will likely not be functional until early next year.
Tree Planting with City of Surrey
Members of the WRSSJCC were invited to participate in a tree planting event organized by the City of Surrey's ReLeaf program, focused on renewing Surrey's urban forest.
Recycling and composting program
3. We have conducted a complete revamp and reimplementation of the recycling and composting programs in place. This includes more accessible bin placement, but more significantly an active education program to ensure wastes are being properly directed. This had resulted in a significant reduction of waste going to landfill, which is now being diverted to composting or recycling facilities. We have also obtained additional recycling bins to spread around the building to encourage recycling as opposed to throwing everything in the trash.
Tu Bi’Shvat Sutainability Awareness Weekend
We are planning on hosting a locally sourced vegan Shabbat dinner for the community that will be followed by a panel discussion on what we as both individuals and a community can do to make our lives eco-friendlier and more sustainable. We hope to have the Rabbi include something environment focused in his Shabbat drasha and potentially changing kiddush for the week to include more local products. We are also contemplating several other ideas to incorporate in the weekend.