Camp JCA Shalom used their Gendler Grapevine grant to fund a staff fellowship position called the Gendler Grapevine Fellow. The fellow’s primary focus was to infuse Jewish environmental education into all aspects of the summer program. Working with all the specialty areas (e.g., bunk programming, dining hall practices, evening Judaic programs, farm/garden programs, camp culture, health services, support services), the fellow focused on developing innovative and creative programs and activities that imparted the connection between Judaism and nature to the campers and staff.
Camp JCA Shalom Gendler Grapevine Fellow, Jonathan Strunin
To do so, the fellow created new all-camp programs such as Earth Day; expanded the environmental educational programming in the farm, outdoor cooking, and animal center programs; and worked with the unit heads to integrate Jewish environmental education into unit and cabin programming.
Camp JCA Shalom encourages others to replicate this model, as they believe the Gendler Grapevine Fellowship program can be reproduced at other camps.
To learn more about the project and read a step-by-step guide on how you can replicate it, click here.
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