In 2014, the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion's (HUC-JIR) New York campus rolled out their Gendler Grapevine Project: the Greening Initiative. The HUC-JIR Green Team worked over the summer to prepare the school for the physical as well as cultural changes necessary for successful implementation of the Greening Initiative. Modeling the program [...]

Camp Solomon Schechter's Gendler Grapevine Project, the Teva Learning Center, has become an integral part of their summer camp program, and it continues to provide a successful forum to discuss connections between Judaism and the environment while also allowing the camp to be more environmentally sustainable. The creation of the Center in 2013 served as [...]

We are excited to start the new year with the roll out of our second round of Gendler Grapevine Project initiatives. Our rabbinical school projects range in scope and approach, but they all have the same goal: to impart a deep understanding and appreciation for Judaism's connections with the environment and social justice. These connections are [...]

Last year a small group of friends and family gathered in the beautiful Berkshire mountains to celebrate Rabbi Gendler's 85th birthday and to formally kick off the Gendler Grapevine Project. Friends and family gather to celebrate Everett's 85th birthday In the first year of the project, we helped 5,000 kids at Jewish summer camps [...]

This post originally appeared May 9, 2014, on Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's blog. By Rabbi Everett Gendler Thirty six years ago, when Jimmy Carter was president, he established a number of regional Solar Energy Centers to encourage the use of sun-fueled electricity. Attracted to the idea of plugging our temple Eternal Light directly [...]

Camp Solomon Schechter applied for a Gendler Grapevine Project grant with the goal of expanding its Teva Learning Center (TLC) activities by providing a solid, sustainable, organic agricultural curriculum. Camp Solomon Schechter completed this project by securing support from four different funding sources (including the Gendler Grapevine Project). The TLC includes an organic, sustainable garden [...]

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 [...]

Ramah in the Rockies is a Colorado-based camp that is deeply committed to reducing their carbon footprint. In 2012, they designed and installed an innovative solar hot water system. Using commercial grade 500-gallon drinking-water bladders and a solar hot box, the 2012 system already successfully increased the water temperature of 45 degrees to upwards of [...]

Marks Jewish Community House (JCH) is located in Brooklyn, NY, with a woodland campus on Staten Island. The Gendler Grapevine Project helped Marks JCH initiate environmental programming through their project “Green and Me.” Through “Green and Me,” over day and overnight campers were taught about the connection between Judaism and the environment via engaging activities [...]

Many of us know that simple changes, such as using energy efficient light bulbs and adding weather stripping to doors can improve a building’s energy efficiency. Camp Young Judaea at Sprout Lake focused on their water consumption and how they could, with a one-time investment, dramatically reduce their resource use. Sprout Lake's toilets were old [...]