The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County is preparing for a revolution. And not just any revolution. HANC Eimatai Emissaries are leading the school on a mission to change the way students interact with their local environment and the larger global environment. The Eimatai Emissaries recognize that HANC students value giving back to those who give to them. HANC students understand that the world shares a responsibility to the future. So, the Eimatai Emissaries have instituted a new environmental initiative dubbed, “Another Kind of Green.” After all, “Im lo achshav, eimatai?”- if not now, when?
We live in a non-renewable world. Every day, valuable resources that are taken from the Earth are wasted. If nothing is done to preserve the precious materials we are so generously blessed with, we will be left with nothing. Only 27 percent of newspapers in the United States are recycled, and 500,000 trees must be cut down to produce each week’s Sunday newspaper. It is easy to think that we, as students, are powerless and cannot attack this problem. The HANC Eimatai representatives have decided to break free of this way of thinking and actively fight to save the environment. We may not be able to drastically alter our lifestyles to go entirely “green”. Yet, we can take the first steps in the right direction to save our planet and our futures. Therefore, HANC is launching its first environmental initiative: “Another Kind of Green”. We hope to diminish the amount of renewable products wasted through a school-wide recycling program in coalition with local sanitation departments. Remember, seventeen trees are saved for every ton of paper recycled! By starting small, we hope to spread our initiative to other schools.
The recycling campaign represents one facet of HANC’s efforts to preserve the global environment. We recognize another environment in need of protection. A city close to our hearts and constantly on our minds: HANC’s sister city: Sderot.Sderot, an Israeli settlement, lies one kilometer from the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun. Since the beginning of the Second Intifada, Sderot has been under constant rocket fire from Qassam rockets launched by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. These rockets have caused death and injuries, as well as significant damage to homes and property. In May, 2007, a significant increase in shelling from Gaza prompted the temporary evacuation of thousands of residents from their homes. We seek to aid those in need in Sderot by preserving and rebuilding their precious environment.
The devastating damage is occurring across an ocean, yet HANC students empathize with the residents of their sister city. The HANC Eimatai Emissaries seek to intensify the bond between HANC and Sderot by collecting money to support rebuilding and beautification efforts. To connect with rebuilding efforts overseas, display unity with Sderot and deeply root a sense of environmental appreciation in HANC, students will take part in planting a garden on school grounds. Through their initiative, HANC students hope to emerge into the future as leaders and pioneers with the goal of helping the environment and global community.
