Teens Go Green

Ofir Munin participated in the Teen Greening Fellowship program in Israel and Jenna Shapiro joined the project in Manhattan.

This past year, Jenna Shapiro and seven other teens in Manhattan conducted more than 40 energy audits in the homes of New Yorkers to help foster more energy-efficient practices.

In Jerusalem, Ofir Munin was one of nine teens who convinced school administrators to place cisterns on the roofs of three local high schools. The cisterns collect rainwater that is recycled to flush toilets.

Raising awareness in Manhattan and addressing the water crisis in Israel are ways teens in the Teen Greening Fellowship program are helping to protect the planet’s resources — and, in the process, develop deeper connections to Judaism and learn about Jewish life in both Israel and New York.

The Teen Greening Fellowship, a collaboration between the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan and Ginot Ha’ir, a community center in Jerusalem, is part of the Global Connections Initiative made possible through the support of UJA-Federation’s Commission on the Jewish People in conjunction with the Jewish Agency for Israel.

“The environment has always been important to me, and I wanted to find a group that could come up with ideas about greening initiatives,” Jenna says about why she wanted to participate in the fellowship.

For Ofir, the project is important because “in Israel, the lack of water is an acute problem, and every year when there is not enough rain, we fear that there will not be enough drinking water.” He adds, “If I can contribute something to the improvement of the situation, I’m glad to do it.”

The Teen Greening Fellowship includes an exchange that allows New York and Israeli teens to host one another in their homes and learn about the environmental issues each community faces, as well as see what it’s like to be a Jewish teen in each country.

Part of the program includes studying Jewish texts and caring for the land. “Some Jews believe that God will take care of everything,” Jenna says about what she learned from her study sessions. “But the texts we studied taught us that it is our responsibility to take care of the world.”