Gesher Green

So far, Gesher Green has helped establish the following features at the school:

Outdoor Learning Stations

At Gesher we have six outdoor learning centers that are currently in different stages of development. Our Kabbalat Shabbat, Havdalah and Chaggim garden was planted in October 2007 and, in the future, we hope to harvest wheat for our own challah, as well as herbs for Havdalah and flowers for Shabbat. Other learning stations such as Mayim Chayim Wetlands, Shirat Ha'Ahsavim Meadow, are currently in use by students and the Meadow is specifically going to be planted with a native butterfly garden in May 2009. The Adam Etz Hasadeh Forest, Eretz Yisrael Porachat Israel Garden and L'Ovda U'l'Shomra Habitat Restoration area are other learning stations that we have at Gesher.

Composting Program

Our seventh grade students began the school year by visiting each classroom and teaching about the importance of recycling and composting. At the end of each lunch period, each student and faculty member now carries his or her "waste" products to the 7th grade center. There they have the opportunity to recycle plastic, cans, cardboard and paper from their left over lunches as well as put certain uneaten food in a compost collection bin. The compost created will be used in our own gardens.

Recycling Program

In addition to our lunch room recycling program, Gesher collects paper for recycling from each classroom. We recognize that we had to remove many trees from the property where our building now stands, and we are attempting to try and save as many trees as possible by recycling.

Teva Tuesdays in Middle School

Each Tuesday, after our Middle School Tfillot, the middle school students have an opportunity to learn about a specific environmental issue or do a work project. Some topics we have covered are: investigating their own footprint on the earth as well as the footprint of our school on the local habitat, factory farming, The Story of Stuff; tracing what we own from raw materials. Some projects we have worked on: labels for trees, solar ovens made from pizza boxes.

Holiday Programming

Each Judaic holiday celebration at Gesher this year contains an environmental curricular piece. These programs range from daylong events for some of the more environmental Jewish holidays such as Tu B’shevat and Lag Ba’Omer to one period enrichment activities for holidays such as Sukkot and Pesach.

Sixth Grade Teva Trip: "Bring It Back To School" Project

Our 6th grade students spend four days each spring at TEVA, a Judaic environmental retreat, learning and experiencing Jewish outdoor environmental education. Each class designs and then implements a "Bring It Back To Our School" project for the following year.

Seasonal Nature Walks

An informal learning opportunity offered to Gesher families on weekends as a way to experience the wonder of nature at our campus.