Israel in Your Backyard

Israel in Your Backyard. University of Florida. , , In the 2008-2009 school year, UF Hillel set out on a mission to educate students at the University of Florida about a side of Israel rarely seen by creating a yearlong initiative to educate students about Israel’s contributions to the environmental movement. The year began with a recycling party demonstrating the importance of recycling in our society, continuing with workshops conducted by Awesome Edible Landscapes and having Michael Granoff from “Better Place” address students about the possible use of alternate technology to power vehicles. During these programs, UF Hillel, along with other environmental groups on campus, spent time in the Turlington area to educate students, faculty, and administration about how Israel has changed our environmental world. These events included things such as planting your own pots and a CFL light bulb exchange. , The culmination of the initiative is the creation of this garden. The goal of the garden is to show students firsthand the Israeli technology being used in their own backyard. With the help of Israel Campus Coalition Israel Advocacy Grant Project and support by the AVI CHAI Foundation, we were able to make this dream a reality. Students in a UF Landscape Design course were charged with an assignment to create their vision of the garden that stands before you. The garden includes native Israeli plants such as the pomegranate and fig tree and utilizes Israeli technology such as the drip irrigation. This garden is a small footprint of Israel’s long path of continually improving how we live with the environment.