Many of Baltimore’s Jewish organizations belong to Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, which consists of hundreds of synagogues, community organizations and other Jewish institutions that have pledged their commitment to operate more sustainably and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a worldwide effort, with partners from across the United States pledging to join the coalition, along with synagogues in Canada and the United Kingdom.
But what about closer to home?
The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore recently launched the Baltimore Environmental Sustainability Network, which focuses on eco-friendly practices and volunteering in the area. Founded and chaired by Associated CFO Mark Smolarz, Adamah Baltimore Climate Action Coordinator Sam Sobel and Baltimore Board of Rabbis President Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, BESN launched in March and aims to educate Jewish community members about Jewish views on climate activism and how they can clean up and preserve the area’s native wildlife.
While Sobel wrote about the BESN and its mission in June, the BESN held its first community event on Sept. 13 at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. Greg Strella, Baltimore County’s chief sustainability officer and the former director of stewardship at Pearlstone, spoke to the crowd about some of the county’s recent eco-friendly projects and how individuals can start becoming more environmentally conscious in their daily lives.
“Rosh Hashanah is just a few weeks away, and it’s time that we start thinking about our lives, society and community. We have to think about what is going well, but also what needs to change — what needs to change about us personally, what needs to change communally and what needs to change globally,” said Adamah CEO Jakir Manela, who also spoke at the inaugural event.
According to Sobel, Smolarz came up with the idea for BESN because he was inspired by the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition. Smolarz, Sobel and Cardin all had prior experience with sustainability work, so he told the latter two about it and invited them to create it with him.
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Article by Jillian Diamond.