Hebrew High in Denver and Boulder embarked on a new adventure this school year by working with the Cottonwood Institute to offer a new Eco-Judaism in Action class based on our successful Community Adventure Program curriculum.

The Eco-Judaism in Action class is a unique after school experience designed for adventurous Jewish youth who want to practice outdoor skills, discuss and debate local environmental issues, and develop deeper friendships with their classmates while exploring their Jewish faith. Students have been going on hikes, building their leadership skills, gearing up for a spring “Shabbat Under the Stars” camping trip, and soon they will give back to their community by creating a student-directed Tikkun Olam eco-service project.

The Boulder and Denver groups headed out on a beautiful fall day on October 18, 2009 and discovered not only ways to change the world, but how to survive and thrive in it. Although only a day long, their hikes were action packed. Throughout the day they hiked and discussed nature awareness skills, survival priorities, and environmental issues and their connection to them.  The group talked about prayer and what it meant to them and ways to make it more meaningful. They even had time for reflection and journaling in which Hebrew High Boulder student, Alex Young, crafted this insightful poem:

Wind.
Always there,
Rushing
Through the pines.
Sometimes fast, powerful, loud.
Sometimes slow, gentle, soft.
Rustling the brown grasses,
Swaying the dried flowers.
Young trees bend
With fierce winds,
Ancient trees firmly hold their ground.
Short grasses don’t rustle,
They are silent.
Wind,
Always there.

• To view pictures of the Hebrew High Boulder day hike, Click Here.
• To view pictures of the Hebrew High Denver day hike, Click Here.