A 22-member delegation, led by JNF-KKL Germany, embarked on a 10-day ‘Seed-to-Tree’ study tour. We accompanied the group on Tuesday, April 16 in the Negev, where they dedicated the Evian Grove in the German States Forest, and visited Yatir Forest.
While visiting KKL-JNF’s
nurseries, research centers and seed centers around Israel, the 22-strong delegation learned about the entire process of KKL-JNF tree planting, from the collection of seeds through to the final stage of planting a sapling in its new home.
A particularly moving highlight of the study tour was the dedication of a grove in the Negev’s
German States Forest by long-time KKL-JNF supporters
Ralf Arno and
Ksenia Wess. The couple dedicated the grove in commemoration of the tragic legacy of the Evian Refugee Conference.
At this conference, held in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains in 1938, representatives of 32 countries and dozens of humanitarian organizations met at the behest of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to discuss the increasing plight of Jewish refugees fleeing from Nazi persecution in Europe. At the end of the 8-day conference, no country was prepared to accept the refugees except the Dominican Republic, which was willing to take in only 800 Jews.
“There are no simple answers when considering the refugee situation but it is totally amoral to say that these human beings are a problem. The human beings are not a problem but are themselves a product of problems we created,” said Wess, noting that the jargon used today to discuss the worldwide refugee issue is similar to that used to discuss “the Jewish problem” during World War II. “The problem is our policies, which are creating their problems.”
Wess urged meaningful discussion on the issue of refugees and the finding of long-term solutions for them as a pose to short-term ones.
“I hope this grove will get some people to think,” he said.
In addition, Wess said that as a biologist, he refused to be passive in the face of global warming and climate change, and so felt the importance of planting trees as a positive action against these trends.
“KKL-JNF has an 80 percent success rate with
planting trees in the desert. I am convinced that there is no one else who can succeed like this so it is important to support KKL-JNF [in these endeavors],” said he concluded.
At the dedication ceremony
Judith Perl-Stasser, director of the German-speaking countries’ desk at KKL-JNF, explained that the blue, green and brown colors of the KKL-JNF flag represented the organization’s fields of activity:
water (including water reservoirs and river rehabilitation);
trees (including afforestation); and earth (including infrastructure, agriculture,
community development and
education).
“KKL-JNF provides for almost two-thirds of Israel’s agricultural water,” she said.
Participating in the mission were
Hans Dieter Roth and his wife
Ingrid, who have supported numerous KKL-JNF projects including a fire watchtower, picnic areas, water reservoirs, forest groves and educational projects. He said that as a Christian it was important for him to have roots in Israel.
“I am satisfied every time I am in Israel,” he said, adding that they feel that their projects here are making a difference. “We love the history, the nature and the people here.”
The German delegation also visited the
Yatir Forest to learn about KKL-JNF’s work in the arid Negev desert.
Keren Lehman of
JNF-KKL Germany, who was accompanying the group, explained the purpose of the Seed-to-Tree study tour: “The group has had the chance to see how KKL-JNF works from the whole process
from fruit, seed, to nursery and planting. This is what they donate money for, their main field of interest is in forestation and this has given them the chance to see how the whole process works,” she said.
Yatir Head Forester
Abed Abu-Alguian, a Bedouin Israeli, welcomed the group to Yatir and explained the history of the forest that KKL-JNF began in 1962, noting that all trees here were planted by hand. Abu-Alguian explained that the forest provides recreational spaces and green rings around urban communities around Beersheva and Arad. He listed the variety of trees that can be found here, including olive, carob, almond and oak.
Abu-Aguian pointed out the fire watchtower, which is active from mid-April until the first rains, in order to reduce the possibility of wildfire outbreaks. He said that new trees are irrigated for their first two years, after which they can survive on their own. The trees then receive a yearly pruning in order to reduce the spreading of fires.
“Fifty-five years ago this was all a desert, it was empty until KKL-JNF decided to come and plant a forest here,” he said, gesturing to the green forest covering the rolling hills. “Now you can see this beautiful forest, like you would see in Europe.”
Dr. Michael Sprintsin, director of the Geographic Information Systems Department of KKL-JNF’s Land Development Authority, led the delegation on a brief tour of
Yatir Forest’s research station. He described the various projects carried out here by different researchers using the most sophisticated meteorological instruments, to study the connection between forests, climate change and global warming.
“Everything is changing: the increase in temperature and the distribution of rain events and even the amounts of rain over the years. This process is happening all over the world. This trend will continue so there is some scientific preparation to study the trends and see what the interaction is between climate and the environment,” he said.
The research center is part of a network of 300 stations worldwide undertaking this kind of research, and is the only one in the Middle East.
KKL-JNF emissary to Germany
Johannes Guagnin, a forester by profession, said that he was delighted to be able to accompany the group and use his own knowledge to add to their experience.
“I was very proud to be able to show them the whole process involved in tree planting. I am very proud of the work KKL-JNF is doing,” he said.
Bettina Furchheim, who was on her first trip to Israel with KKL-JNF, said that though she had been to Israel a number of times before with Christian groups, this trip gave her a different perspective on Israel.
“Every day we learn something more and it is great,” she said. “We have seen how they have made a flowering garden from a desert. All this is not just for Christians, Muslims, Jews or Nabateans. This is a tradition of preserving nature for all people. We are putting all our efforts so we can combat climate change. This is our responsibility for our children and the next generation.”