Great things are growing in Jerusalem's botanical gardens
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Sometimes, people have an inaccurate idea of what it's like in the Holy Land. They remember movies and painting that depict the whole area as an arid desert, a place of sand, sun, and heat. While it's true that the area certainly contains its share of those conditions, they aren't the whole story. There is also a staggering richness of ecological diversity to explore in Israel. It's a place where beautiful things can grow when they're treated right.
Nowhere is that more evident today than in Social and Environmental Hub at the Jerusalem botanical gardens. A social activism movement where gardening initiatives are helping to cultivate healthy communities as well as plants. The initiative operates under the maxim "plants grow people” and seeks to connect various social-environmental programs together under one organization to maximize their collective effectiveness.
The gardens are supported by various Jerusalem nonprofits, serving interests as diverse as adults with mental illness, veterans with PTSD, and Holocaust survivors. Gardens are tended to by people of all walks of life with the goal to make each garden self-sustaining, a way of generating both meaning and income for the people involved.
Speaking to ISRAEL21c, co-founder Lior Gottesman explained the project.
"I’m really passionate about connecting the environment and people in a sustainable way... A lot of people, when they think about green issues, imagine tree-hugging hippies. For me it has to do with social justice and social inclusion, food security and other super important issues in cities.”
As we know all too well at C4i, food insecurity is a major issue facing an enormous number of Israeli citizens. One-fourth of the population live beneath the poverty line and an estimated 18% of Israelis face the terrifying prospect of not knowing where their next meal will come from everyday. While income disparity and deep-rooted economic issues lie at the heart of these problems and must be addressed, it is community initiatives such as these that are making the difference in the interim. Directly assisting the most vulnerable of Israel's children on an immediate basis.
While self-sustainability and nurturing profitable gardens is the structural goal of the initiative, that is only one piece of the puzzle. The other goal is to help the people doing the growing themselves. To collect those living in risky or insecure conditions and give them structure, purpose, and a sense of accomplishment.
One of the earlier success stories from the program includes the Kaima hydroponic greenhouse. The garden is notable for producing high-quality organic greens, while being staffed by high-school dropouts and other youths on the margins of Jerusalem's social safety net. The garden provides teens, many from troubled backgrounds or recently landed immigrants, with a way to earn an honest hourly wage and feel a measure of responsibility and trust. The idea is to rebuild their confidence in themselves through so called "farm therapy” reaching out to the disenfranchised and showing them that there is a place for them in their community.
The results so far have been stunning. Not only is the Kaima hydroponic greenhouse already 50% self-sustaining (and climbing), but the effects on the participants have exceeded expectations. 80% of the teens who work with the program go back to school within a few months. That is a real, positive impact in the lives of kids that might have otherwise gone down a self-defeating track.
The Jerusalem botanical gardens plan to replicate that success in other initiatives, providing funding, administrative support, and training to dozens of separate small scale projects. The idea is to provide networking opportunities and a foundation that will allow small initiatives to grow faster and larger than they could have on their own.
The ongoing success of the Jerusalem botanical gardens is just another example that community action works. By joining together, combining our efforts, and helping people establish resources they can use to help themselves, we can feed the hungry, help the needy, and protect the vulnerable. When we all pitch in, we all grow together.
