Hi! Our names are Ariel and Lila, and we are sisters from Brookline, MA. In 2020, going into eighth grade, Lila was asked if she would be interested in joining a Jewish, youth-led environmental program organized by Adamah. Lila could not have been more excited to join; it was the perfect combination of her passions. As Lila eventually transitioned to college, Ariel was starting her first year of high school and her Adamah teen leadership journey. To us, the Adamah Youth Movement (formerly the Jewish Youth Climate Movement) represents the perfect intersection of Jewish identity, community, values, and environmentalism, which we first developed at our beloved Eden Village Camp. This movement gave us an outlet to take direct action through environmental Judaism year-round.
We have had the opportunity to grow alongside JYCM since the beginning. Being a part of this Jewish youth-led movement has molded our youth and future. Connecting with like-minded peers across the country has been a beyond fulfilling experience for both of us. For Lila, this looks like sustaining lifelong friendships originally cultivated there. For Ariel, being a part of this community brings new opportunities every year. At our bi-annual retreats, there are always new people to meet and long-lasting friendships to make. For both of us, it empowered us in our climate work, communal leadership, and Judaism. The supportive network of youth and our greater Jewish communities has allowed us to deeply engage with an issue our Jewish values have led us to care so extensively about.
Getting to see this Jewish teen environmental movement grow over the past six years has been truly the most exciting experience. Watching our work as youth have an impact on our communities and the larger climate movement has been monumental. As JYCM’s impact and influence has expanded, increasing our capacity to reach more communities has become essential. Building out our regional programming and immersive experiences will broaden the abundance of the best of what JYCM had to offer as we expand into the Adamah Youth Movement. We are excited to see our home-grown movement spread further through the country with ongoing support from Adamah and the entire Jewish community and can’t wait to see what this and the future generations of Adamah Youth Movement teen leaders will do!