On Monday, December 3, Israel observed the UN-established International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Under the banner ‘Accessibility for All’, KKL-JNF held special events all over the country. In central Israel, over 400 visitors with special needs enjoyed a special day in nature at the accessible Ilanot arboretum and visitors center.
Over four hundred people with special needs responded to a KKL-JNF invitation and arrived at the Ilanot Forest visitor’s center in Emek Hefer on Monday, December 3, 2018, to enjoy a special day in nature. The event coincided with the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which pledges to “leave no one behind”.
Under the watchful eyes of Tovit Shapira, Director of the Ilanot Forest Visitor’s Center, KKL-JNF volunteers met the guests as they alighted from their busses and led them to the various activities on site, which included accessible walks in the forest, arts and crafts workshops, educational programs and games.
Some of the volunteers were KKL-JNF employees who took a day off work to help out, and others were KKL-JNF retirees who felt it important to take part in the event. One retiree was Menahem Gilo, who said he would not miss such an occasion.
“This type of activity is a mitzvah, a divine calling.”
School-aged children congregated at the handcraft tables, where they worked with natural ingredients such as pinecones, seeds, and bits of wood to create their pieces. The more senior guests preferred walking along the accessible paths to see the forest and enjoy the outdoors, while many of the teens lingered at the visitors’ center where they watched a film about nature and wildlife or rode a stationary bicycle while wearing virtual reality glasses. The groups rotated from one activity to the next.
Etti Zehavi, the principal of Chen HaShomron Special Education School in Revava, said that she was surprised and delighted by the welcome they received.
“It’s wonderful to see how happy the children are. Last night they lit the first Hanukkah candle and today they are out in nature. In their minds, this is all connected with celebrating the holiday and it’s magical. I see it on their faces. It does not happen often.”
Twenty-eight participants arrived from Beit Eyal, which is a home in Kfar Yona for young adults on the autism spectrum. They spent most of their visit wandering around the Ilanot botanical forest garden looking at the exotic trees and feeling them where possible. KKL-JNF guide Yigal Chen led the youngsters through the site and explained:
“Seven hundred and fifty species of trees grow in the arboretum, which was originally planted by the Ministry of Agriculture for research in the 1950s and was later taken over by KKL-JNF. Today the site is accessible to all, with two and a half kilometers of trails that are wheelchair and stroller friendly.”
Yigal stopped at many of the trees and explained what is special about each one. He showed them the information signs that give the name and origin of each tree species. At a group of giant eucalyptus trees, he described how their roots grow very deep to enable the tree to withstand adverse weather conditions. He asked a group of boys use their combined strength to try to push over one of the trees.
Navah Patik, the employment director at Beit Eyal, said that she was sorry that the day was so short.
“One does not need to be a specialist to see how happy they are. These outings in nature are so important for our residents, and reality is such that we only manage one or two trips a year.”
Another group arrived from Beit Eckstein, which is a Tel Aviv organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with Asperger’s Syndrome. While standing with them inside a ring of trees known as the ‘Casuarina Circle’, their teacher Yariv Katz said that excursions in nature are character building and stimulating.
“They are so excited. Look how happy they are.”
Meirav Davidian of the KKL-JNF Accessibility Department said that
accessibility has always been high on KKL-JNF’s agenda.
“Since 2011 KKL-JNF inaugurated over 300 accessible sites nature sites around the country for people in wheelchairs and the physically challenged. We constructed special paths, seating and even provide guides where necessary. A few years ago, this very site won the Israel Accessibility Award. Today’s KKL-JNF program and others like it are provided without any cost whatsoever for the visitors. We supply everything including transport.”
KKL-JNF’s
Dudu Ashkenazi, who is in charge of special education activities, was continually moving from one group of visitors to the next, making sure that everything was happening as planned. He said that the feeling he wants to give each participant is that he or she is just as important as anyone else is.
“KKL-JNF is an organization with a heart. Everyone has special needs. No one is perfect. Our accessible routes are also for mothers and fathers who come with their baby carriages. A baby carriage also has special needs.”
Ashkenazi said that KKL-JNF activities are today less tree-oriented and more community focused, and the organization is investing more and more of its resources in social issues in order to make sure that everyone has equal opportunities. He said that he expects this trend not only to continue but to escalate.
“In this way, visitors to our sites learn that the forest is a complex ecosystem where everything and everyone has a rightful place.”