The program aims at reducing the environmental impacts of Jewish organizations in the New York area, generating meaningful responses to global climate change with strengthening Jewish life, and cultivating Jewish communal professionals to be leaders in environmental change through the placement of Greening Fellows at qualifying agencies.

HKC was a member of the initial group of agencies to receive a Greening Fellow.  In 2009, Jonathan Dubinsky worked as the fellow at the Alice N. Proskauer Campground on Long Island where in conjunction with Teva instituted a recycling and composting program for the entire 300+ acre site.

After the success of having a Greening Fellow at the Long Island site and the positive impact it had on making the entire camp a more environmentally friendly place, we have shifted our focus to the Mildred Goetz Campground in Pearl River.  Over the course of 18 months, our new Greening Fellow, Monica Ibacache, will work to make the campground a more eco-friendly place, as well as providing assistance to the constituent camps in carrying out environmental education.

This fellowship cycle began in the spring of 2011.  Over the summer, Monica worked with campground management, camp directors and nature specialists attached to the camps in setting up a composting and recycling program for the entire 95-acre site.  Working together, composting and recycling bins were purchased and distributed throughout the grounds, signs were posted, pick-up schedules were created, and the program was implemented.  Using the composting and recycling program as a starting point, Monica also worked on facilitating community education and commitment to treasuring our ecology and resources.
 
Throughout the off season and into summer 2012, Monica is working on creating an environmental education program that uses the indigenous ecology of the Pearl River site that will be available to the nature specialists and camp directors for their camp programming.  She is also undertaking an energy audit for the site and will continue of developing eco-friendly improvements for the facilities and camp operations.
 
 

Photo credits:
photos 1, 4, & 6 – HKC; photos 2-3 -Greening Fellow; photo 5 – Teva