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| Volunteers planting trees at Biriya forest |
Volunteers planting at Biriya forest (Photo: Orly Dayan)
In the aftermath of the Second Lebanon War, Biriya forest near Kiryat Shmona was left charred and scarred. Yet, attempts of the men and women of KKL – JNF to revive the once green terrain are reinforced by hundreds of volunteers.
"Amazing response," says Eli Cohen who is in-charge of the Biriya forest rehabilitation campaign. "Volunteers of all walks of life and ages signed up. Children, students, high-tech executives, families and individuals arrive. All of them roll up their sleeves and leave a green mark," he proudly continues.
To help rehabilitate the forests - click here
With bright eyes Eli tells us about a couple of the volunteers he recently met. "One day a girl from Haifa arrived. For her Bat Mitzva gift, her parents took her entire schools and all the relatives to plant trees together."
Eli laughs when he recalls the group of security forces professionals who were scheduled to have lunch in one of the area's restaurants. "They enjoyed the work so much that they had the restaurant deliver the food here."
Another volunteer, a teenager, used his messenger and ICQ to enlist hundreds of teens to spend two days at the forest. "The education minister allowed students to miss a day of school, and North American Jewish communities sent money to help the teens travel to the north."
"It is important that people volunteer to plant trees," says Aviram Ztuk, KKL's manager of the Galilee and Golan Heights, "but it is as important that people visit, see the damage and understand the need to rehabilitate the forest."
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