Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Carmel Forest Day by Barbara and Elliott Rothman (Toronto, Canada)

Shalom,
Today we met wjth a JNF forester, Alon, in the Carmel Forest, the site of the Carmel Forest Fire in the fall of 2011. Much needs to be done to clear thousands of acres of burned brush and trees and CAARI was there to help - we schlepped, carried and piled the brush! We also discovered that we weren't the only volunteers as we met 5 men from the Czech Republic who came for 2 weeks to work in the forest. The other assistants were a herd of goats who come to the forest daily to eat the brush. CAARI worked for the morning and then visited the Memorial to honor the people who were killed during the fire. We also visited the Fire Station and met the fireman who were the first responders to the tragic fire. A presentation by CAARI participant, Mel Wasserman (survivor of 9/11) was made to the Fire Chief. It was extremely moving. We, who attended CAARI last year, remember stopping at this spot last year to recall the tradegy. Another amazing day with CAARI. Shalom, Barbara and Elliott Warmest Regards,