Leadership, Education, & Community

Project Category: Leadership, Education, & Community

Litterless Lunches

Vancouver Talmud Torah

Vancouver, British Columbia

We aim to be a Litterless Lunch school starting next September 2023. We will be introducing our school community to the concept this year with a monthly Student & Staff Litterless Lunch. Students are encouraged to pack a lunch with as minimal waste as possible which encourages thoughtful and healthy choices (like fruits and vegetables), and avoiding single-use food items with its own package (often highly processed, high in sugar, and lacking nutrients). Any organic or plastic waste will be sent home in the child's lunch kit. We aim to do a cafeteria waste audit this year as well to ensure that our catering practices align with this litterless lunch vision.

Food Choices, Leadership, Education, & Community, Waste Prevention/Material Management

Danica Burpee
January 25, 2023

Climate Action Youth Forum

Richmond Jewish Day School

Richmond, British Columbia

We received a grant from Learning for a Sustainable Future for our grade 5 class to attend a Climate Action Youth Forum in February at Science World. The Youth Forum will engage students in local climate change issues, equip them with knowledge and skills needed to change, and empower them to take action. This Forum is designed to help students take on a curricular-connected, real- world climate Action Project that has a positive impact in their school and community.

Leadership, Education, & Community, The Natural Environment

Stacey Szeplabi
January 11, 2023

Jewish Learning Garden

Congregation Beth Israel

Vancouver, British Columbia

We have been working with two other organizations in the local Jewish community, Jewish Family Servicaes and Vancouver Talmud Torah, for at least two years now to create a major new project in the Jewish community on a piece of land that is part of the Beth Israel campus and currently leased long term to a local family foundation which has agreed to let it be used for a garden. It will provide Jewish environmental/sustainability/food/gardening education and experiences for clients of JFS, students/teachers/parents at VTT, and students/members/families. We are moving towards a start in the next couple of months for construction on the garden and it will be really beautiful and a great space for education and growing food for the community! -update February 2, 2023: we are putting into place the graden manager/educator who has been identified!

Food Choices, Leadership, Education, & Community, The Natural Environment

Adam Stein
January 6, 2023

WRSSJCC Frock Swap

White Rock South Surrey Jewish Community Centre

Surrey, British Columbia

Mingle, enjoy homemade baked goods and a closet refresh, the green way at the WRSSJCC rock Swap! It’s estimated residents in the greater Vancouver area throw out about 20,000 tonnes of textiles each year, which is equivalent to the weight of 44 T-shirts per person. Bring your washed + gently used women’s clothing to the JCC and/or take as much as you’d like (by donation) on Monday November 14th between 12:30-7:30pm! We will have refreshments, snacks and a mingle. Children welcome to play upstairs.

Energy & Water Conservation, Leadership, Education, & Community, The Natural Environment, Waste Prevention/Material Management

Helen Mann
November 14, 2022

(Farber Hebrew Day School) Waste Free Lunch Initiative

Young Israel of Southfield

Southfield, Michigan

All of the details are not finalized, but the project would entail education about single use plastic and waste prevention surrounding school lunch. We will examine a student's average lunch and the amount of waste that is produced. Then we will examine the alternatives and explore how we can implement those changes by doing a raffle of planet box lunch boxes and reusable silverware, etc. Then we will also share lunch ideas of what can be packed in the planet box.

Leadership, Education, & Community, Waste Prevention/Material Management

Jessica Faber
November 7, 2022

Greening the Negev

Adat Shalom Synagogue

Farmington Hills, Michigan

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.

Energy & Water Conservation, Food Choices, Leadership, Education, & Community, The Natural Environment, Waste Prevention/Material Management

Melissa Ser
October 31, 2022

Tu Bi’Shvat Sutainability Awareness Weekend

Congregation Schara Tzedeck

Vancouver, British Columbia

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.

Food Choices, Leadership, Education, & Community

Ariel Greene
October 19, 2022

Green Fund for Hillel Knesset

Hillel Day School

Farmington Hills, Michigan

The Hillel Knesset will be comprised of a group of 15 students from grades 3-8. The Knesset will identify areas that they would like to strengthen within the school community. They will be focusing on Hillel's Core Values, which include Tikkun Olam (and other Jewish values). Within this focus, students will identify ways that the Hillel community can become a more green and environmentally aware community. They will discuss and propose initiatives to pursue within the school and beyond. Ultimately, they will choose an initiative that aligns with this core value to enact this school year. The Green Fund (funding by this mini-grant) would allow these students to have the resources necessary to implement their initiative. Examples of initiatives might include:inviting a speaker to educate students and staff on environmental issues, improving our waste and recycling system, sponsoring a school-wide audit to identify areas of improvement, sponsoring an environmental program in the school, or other green initiatives that the students are passionate about.

Energy & Water Conservation, Food Choices, Leadership, Education, & Community, The Natural Environment, Waste Prevention/Material Management

Laura Pasek
September 30, 2022

Dor Hadash Detroit Sukkah

Dor Hadash

Detroit, Michigan

We will be building a community sukkah for Dor Hadash families. We will be using local materials for the sukkah structure, decorations, and for a lulav and etrog. We will also be tasting locally grown fruits and vegetables in our sukkot celebration. This will be a great way to observe the holiday and also explore and support our local food ecosystem in an interactive and delicious way. It would be great if we can get our food from a Detroit farm and have a farmer there to share information about the produce, the farming process, and what it's like to grow food in Detroit. The sukkah will be designed and built by a group of parent volunteers on the property of one of our parent/educators. The kids in our program will use gourds and other things from the farmer's market, as well as utilize recycled/upcycled materials for festive decorations. This will provide a great opportunity to talk about and practice sustainability in a creative way. We will have a program on October 9 to teach about the holiday. During Sukkot, it will be open for members of Dor Hadash and guests to strengthen our community, Jewish identity, and connection to the environment as we gather, eat, and celebrate together.

Food Choices, Leadership, Education, & Community, The Natural Environment

Zara Teicher
September 25, 2022

Departmental Environmental Impact Audits

Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver

Vancouver, British Columbia

We have representatives from each department on our green team and each department will be conducting an audit of their operations. The departments are Campaigns, Accounting, IT, Events, Foundations, Executive , Office Local Community Engagement, Israel Community Engagement, JWest Building Team, and Marketing. Some changes that have been made so far are: campaigns switching from paper to virtual thank you, switching to default electronic tax receipts, using to vegan, kosher caterers when available, and defaulting to dairy meals otherwise Each department that has event will have their own sustainability checklist.

Leadership, Education, & Community

Grace Miller-Day
September 21, 2022

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