Zahavah Sterling ’27 has found community and connection at Dickinson and around the world, studying abroad in Spain and Argentina during her junior year and helping build community through Jewish life and environmental initiatives on campus.
Adamah on Campus
Campus chapters lead Jewish transformative environmental and climate-focused community programming
Immersive experiences build community and center nature connection & collective action as key parts of this work
Fellowships train student leaders to build campus chapters and other professional development opportunities
In the wake of increasing climate disasters and anti-Semitism, young Jews know intimately the anxieties and challenges of growing up in a world rife with injustice and an uncertain future.
Adamah on Campus offers engagements opportunities for college students:
- Gain the skills, knowledge, resources, and networks necessary to lead Jewish transformative environmental and climate programming
- Participate in meaningful campus, regional, and immersive programming centered around Jewish environmental values, holiday celebrations, and actions
- Strengthen personal Jewish identity and build meaningful relationships with other Jewish and non-Jewish students through a shared connection with the earth
- Receive ongoing support from Adamah’s local and national staff team
A chapter might be built within a Hillel, an independent registered student organization or club, or something else! We know that every school is so different, so we will work with you to design and implement the best fit on your campus.
Connect with Us
FAQs
History of Adamah on Campus
Adamah on Campus has studied the best practices of successful social movements and has taken what we have learned from building the Jewish Youth Climate Movement (JYCM) in order to help students build Adamah on Campus from the ground up. We seek to take the parts most loved about JYCM and integrate them into Adamah on Campus in a way that best meets the desires and needs of college students.
After launching in 2023, Adamah quickly grew to 16 chapters, supported 50 student leaders, and reached 1500 individuals through campus-based programming in our first year. This year, we are excited to build on our first-year successes and pilot a Chapter Leaders Cohort as well as offer and/or support immersive experiences for our student leaders. Over the next 3 years, we seek to scale our programming to reach 100+ college campuses across the country, so that every Jewish student is empowered to bring their whole self to confront the challenges of this generation.
Chapters structure
Chapters create and lead a minimum of 2 programs per semester that integrate Jewish environmental and/or climate-focused content. Examples of programs include:
- Leading a Tu B’Shvat Seder or Eco-Shabbat
- Phone banking or letter writing
- Volunteering at a community garden
- Hosting a workshop or training
When designing programs, we encourage you to think about how to integrate relationship building (both between students and across campus), which could include collaborating with Jewish, interfaith, and/or non-Jewish campus partners.
Adamah Campus Chapters have 1 or 2 student chapter leaders and 1 chapter advisor (Hillel professional, professor, etc). Our expectation is that the chapter is primarily student run and the role of the advisor is to provide on the ground support as needed. Beyond this, the chapter structure is up to you and your chapter. You know your campus best, so while we can offer recommendations, we encourage you to structure your chapter in whatever way works best for you!
Our recommendation is to create a chapter student board of up to 5 students. This will help even out the workload and ensure teamwork and collaboration on all events. It will also create more buy-in across various stakeholders. Five is an effective board size because it is not too many schedules to work around, while still being large enough to run consistent programs and is small enough to ensure everyone has a meaningful role. The best boards involve a range of student years, skillsets, and networks on campus. For other campus specific questions about chapter structure, please work with your advisor.
Chapter without a Hillel
Yes! While most of them are, chapters do not need to be affiliated with an organization. The only requirement is having a campus advisor. This could be someone from Chabad, the Judaic Studies Department, the Chaplain’s Office, or someplace else. You also can work directly with the university to get official club or registered student organization status.
Additionally, we will do our best to connect you to other chapters in your region should you want to partner and expand your reach and impact. Our staff is here to support you through this process.
Get involved without your own chapter
Yes! Chapters are a far reaching and popular way to engage with us, but not the only way.
- You can get connected with our Adamah Core Impact Hubs (Baltimore, Atlanta, Detroit, NYC, and Los Angeles), almost all of which have Adamah on Campus staff present in to run targeted community programming.
- We host retreats, some regional, some national, so stay tuned about opportunities for immersive experiences with other college students.
- We often post internships, so we recommend keeping an eye out on the careers page, signing up for our newsletter, or being in touch with us if this is of interest.
- Increasingly, we host open, virtual events with guest speakers, workshops, campaign launches, etc.
- Follow us on Instagram and register for our monthly newsletter (link ) to get all the updates!
Adamah on Campus Chapter Leaders Cohort
The Adamah on Campus Chapter Leaders Cohort consists of 1-2 student leaders from every Adamah Campus chapter across the country. Students meet monthly. They run their local campus chapters, share resources and ideas, receive training and mentorship, serve as the connectors between their respective campuses, advisors, and Adamah, and more.
These students support the success of Adamah on Campus, and their voices, vision, and leadership drive the work we do. The board ensures that everything we do is centering student passions and needs and accurately reflects campus life.
Adamah Coalition members + Adamah on Campus chapter
Yes you can! You will receive support from both programs and from their designated staff persons. Joining the Coalition and submitting a climate action plan fulfills an Adamah on Campus programming requirement.
Similarly, you can include becoming an Adamah Campus chapter can be included in your organizations’ climate action plan. Please be sure to communicate with others in your organization about this overlap.
Join as chapter mid-semester
Yes! During an introductory meeting, students and Adamah staff can discuss the best plan of action based on time of year, foundation – aka precedent on the campus for this type of work, students ready to take on leadership, etc. We will work with you to determine when is the best fit to launch your chapter. As an example, if a prospective chapter reaches out in November, they will have the option to
- complete the program requirements by December like the other chapters or
- use the rest of the fall term to build interest, familiarize with resources, and then be held to running programs beginning in the spring term.
This is in an effort to be most inclusive to the range of academic calendars and school structures that we work with. Either way, chapters will receive access to our resources upon signing their agreement.
Financial support for chapters
Active Adamah on Campus chapters are able to apply for Mini-Grants to help plan more ambitious, wide-reaching programs. Grant amounts range from $50-300 with the option of applying for a larger amount, if necessary. These events should have a specific Jewish and environmental focus with clear learning objectives and action items.
Mini-grants can be used to bring in guest speakers, take your chapter off-campus for a service opportunity, host a larger educational event, and much more!
Next steps for campus professionals
Amazing! You can fill out the interest form or email us and our staff will be in touch with you to set up some time to meet and get to know your campus interests/student needs. From there, we will direct you to finding 1-2 interested students on your campus that we can loop into a meeting to get them onboarded and launched as a chapter.
Resources for Campus Professionals
Yes!
- We offer an amazing 6-week course for Jewish educators, called Shamati, a new initiative providing Jewish educators the tools to support young people grappling with climate change. Shamati integrates Jewish ancestral wisdom, tradition, text, and ritual to help Jewish professionals invest in the mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of Jewish youth experiencing a range of climate emotions., as well as building the resilience of educators themselves in these unprecedented times.
- We offer a quarterly Community of Practice in partnership with Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition and Hillel International about all the ways Hillels can connect with and utilize the resources from Adamah.
- Adamah staff are always present at the Hillel International Global Assembly and other Jewish professional conferences.
- We are open to leading virtual workshops, in person programs (location dependent), providing other resources, and more – let’s chat!
Sample Programs
Chapters are equipped with resources, templates, and trainings for running programs related to a wide variety of topics, including interfaith bridge building, land stewardship, climate action, sustainable Jewish holiday celebrations, direct service, environmental education, nature connection, community building, and more. These examples are only a few of the many student leaders have designed and facilitated for their campus communities!
The University of Michigan chapter hosts a Reverse Tashlich (Tikkun HaYam program) trash pickup for the High Holidays.
The Brown chapter hosts a zero waste Tu B’Shvat seder using the JYCM, teen-created haggadah and eating dried fruits.
The Towson chapter made beeswax candles for Hanukkah, part of a waste reduction effort across the Hillel and a finals de-stress activity.
Students from Princeton and Brown came together in NYC for a March Against Fossil Fuels, phone-banking, and post-carding.
The USC chapter hosted a thrift shop / clothing swap event to raise money to be donated to a local land trust.
Muhlenberg Hillel launched a composting initiative at Earth Shabbat, with discussion of Jewish values of environmental stewardship.
The Columbia/Barnard chapter came together for a trash pickup at Riverside Park in NYC for a text study on Bal Tashchit, the Jewish value of not wasting.
Dickinson hosted an interfaith seed-bomb making event and discussed native plants, Jewish laws of cultivation, and held a documentary screening and discussion.
Syracuse/ESF went to a farmers market to learn about local produce during Sukkot and discussed themes of the holiday as well as Jewish agricultural laws.
Testimonials
“I thought of myself as an environmentalist and as a Jew. And while I felt that these identities were compatible, I never realized that caring for the environment could be the most central pillar of my Jewish identity…I feel even more encouraged to dedicate my life to environmental action knowing that my ancestry and religion compel me to do so.”
Sammy L., UCLA
“I started an Adamah on Campus chapter during the spring of my junior year after identifying an AMAZING opportunity to tap into a gorgeous network of likeminded, like-hearted college students embodying Jewish Environmentalism. Since joining the team, I’ve received nothing but radically kind support with programming, recruitment, and community building to better root Muhlenberg Jewish Life in environmental values. This connection has also helped shape my own Judaism. I think Adamah is my Judaism!”
Maddie D., Muhlenberg
“I have not met a lot of people that are passionate about Judaism and the environment, so (the National Shabbaton), and Adamah on Campus as a whole opened my eyes to a community of people that share the same values as me. This retreat reminded me why I am working hard to unite Jewish people in their love and passion for the environment. It reignited my passion for Adamah and everything that it stands for. I can truly say that this retreat was life changing, and I can only hope that I get the opportunity to attend another one.”
Maya M., Claremont
“When I think back about my time in Adamah on campus there is one word that comes to mind for me and that is growth… Judaism’s teachings deeply care for and respect this planet that we all call home. Adamah has taught me as a leader how to foster this growth in other people to help push the climate action movement forward. Over these past two semesters as a chapter leader, I have learned how to connect traditional Jewish practice and holidays with my connection to the earth. Through Adamah on campus I was able to learn how to run successful programs which has allowed me to put this forward and run programs in other aspects like at work.”
Chloe (C) R., Towson
“Being an advisor has allowed me to support students in their interests, and Adamah provides amazing resources for us to thrive.”
Sofia L.-B., Program Director at Claremont Hillel & chapter advisor
“During my year at college, I felt like I was beginning to lose parts of my Judaism. Adamah and this Shabbaton reminded me why I love being Jewish.”
Noa S., Kent State
“The Shabbaton connected me to the most widespread Jewish community I have ever felt deeply a part of. People from all corners and centers of the country came together and instantly related over our shared love for the environment, and love for Judaism.”
Elijah J., Georgia Tech
Our Team
Marissa Fink
Adamah on Campus California Coordinator
Newport Beach, CA
Clara Camber
Adamah on Campus Southeast Coordinator, Adamah ATL Program Manager
Atlanta, GA
Upcoming Adamah on Campus Events
This is a private space for chapter leaders to find all the resources, directory, program inspiration and forms you’ll need. Please visit our members-only page here.
Active Adamah Campus Chapters
Sign up for the Adamah Campus Newsletter
Donate to Adamah on Campus!
Your gift supports our work to build a joyful, resilient generation of Jewish environmental leaders and cultivate vibrant Jewish campus-life in deep connection with the earth.
Stories, Impact and News
How Adamah on Campus has Impacted my College Experience
Throughout my college experience, I have always been drawn to my Hillel at University of Wisconsin-Madison for social and religious reasons. I originally got involved after participating in the Jewish Learning Fellowship 1.0 and Shabbat Hosting Lab. My instructor for Shabbat Hosting Lab came up to me and a friend that I knew from my overnight summer camp growing up and asked if we were interested in starting a chapter at Madison for an environmental Jewish club called Adamah on Campus.
Adamah on Campus: My Semester in Italy
This past semester I had the opportunity to study abroad in Perugia, Italy. Through the
Umbra Institute, I participated in a program called Food, Sustainability, and the Environment.
Liana’s Reflections as the Adamah ATL Hub Climate Action Intern
For the past six weeks, I’ve had the privilege of serving as the Adamah ATL Hub Climate Action Intern. I came into the internship fueled by Tikkun Olam, hoping to deepen my understanding of how Jewish values can inspire climate advocacy, while helping translate big ideas into actionable solutions. I quickly found those values reflected in Adamah ATL’s work.
Adamah Hosts First Midwest Campus Shabbaton
College students gather at Tamarack for a weekend of Jewish environmental learning.
A Semester at the Arava Institute
[May 20, 2025] Since February, I’ve had the honor to study at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Ketura, Israel. Here, I have had the opportunity to study with incredible peers and professors, and have made connections which will last far beyond the conclusion of the semester.