Feb 9 - Part 2 - Negev Day - Besor Region and Visit to Sderot - JNF Playground

Continued... Negev Day!
Time for lunch which we ate at Kibbutz Gvulot and then on to the Besor Region.  Here JNF build a series of reservoirs for the area farmers who are now growing much of the citrus that used to grow in the center of the country.  Amazing what now grows in the desert.  The water supplied for these very large reservoirs is treated sewage water and water from the flooded Besor River.  The Regional JNF representative met us at the lookout point and explained what we were seeing and also talked about the impact of living in this area during the past summer.

by Rosalie Whitehill

"...We ate lunch at a Kibbutz Gvulot.....and after visiting the Besor River reservoir sites, we were treated to a great tour of the We ate lunch at a Kibbbutz Gvulot.....and after visiting the Besor River reservoir sites, we were treated to a great tour of the S'derot indoor playground, built by JNF of the U.S., ....It includes, among many play areas 4 safe rooms, an indoor soccer court, a computer room, a  climbing wall and a charming, colorful safe room where young kids can have birthday parties....(something people are afraid to do in their homes, with small safe rooms).  The safe room for teenagers can show films, videos and even has the rotating sparkle balls on the ceiling so the room can be turned into a disco.  The people who run the program there are obviously so dedicated to the young people they serve....and I always get a lump in my throat at this very special place..........Before we headed back to Tel Aviv, we stopped at an overlook where we could see the city of Gaza....about 40 km from S'derot...and from whence had come most of the rockets rained down on the city.  Our guide said it would be a few years before Hamas could rebuild its strength and send rockets again.....another lump in the throat!!

One of the best parts of the trip for me was to see from our bus as we traveled, how green the land was......as far as the eye could see.....and I remember when everything south of Tel Aviv was brownish desert.  Israel is a miracle!!! "

Enjoy the pictures!  

Monday 9 Feb - Negev Day - Part 1 - JNF R& D Center

There are days that we take a 'break' from our community service and spend the day touring the country- so many place to see that tourists don't usually visit!  
Today, we went south - to the Negev and visited the communities located near the Gaza border, who bore much of the burden of the summer conflict.  It was a 'glorious' day - sun shining and the temperatures were just right!  The planted wheat fields were green and about 12 inches high - benefiting from the recent rains. The red and yellow wild flowers were lovely to see along the highway and open spaces. It looked like spring had arrived in the Negev!  
Ben Gurion would be proud to see the 'desert blooming' in so many ways! 


Our first stop was the Research and Development Center at Sde Nitzan.  We were greeted byone of the employees, Leana, who  welcomed us the some samples of the Center - cherry tomatoes and sweet strawberries!  She  described the research that this being done to help the farmers produce better crops for market.  We visited the hot house for zucchini, strawberries, and the beautiful, colorful peonies and wild irises.  

View by Marcia Bercov

"The  CAARI group went south to the Negev for a day of touring.  This area in the south of the country receives a minimal amount of rainfall each year, making it a true desert environment, in contrast to the fertile coastal plain and northern part of the country.

David Ben Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel, said that the future of the country lies in the Negev.  Hard to picture the desolate landscape being used for much of anything.

Over the years, with the large population growth in and around Tel Aviv, much of the land used for farming was lost to housing.  Orange groves disappeared.

Well, it's hard to imagine growing anything in a place with no water and no soil, just sand.  But in the Negev Desert at Sde Nitzan that's what's happening.  This is the location of one of the Jewish National Fund's Research and Development Stations.  Researchers experiment with different growing conditions for various crops in order to help local farmers.  All of this information is made available at no cost to anyone in Israel or any other place.  Water for agriculture comes from treated waste water, purified in water treatment plants.  About 80% of the country's water is recycled, an amazing figure.

Getting back to the strawberries and tomatoes, when the CAARI group arrived at Sde Nitzan the table was set with bowls of freshly picked strawberries and baskets of different varieties of cherry tomatoes.  All delicious!

Then our guide Leanna, originally from South Africa, took us on a tour of some of the greenhouses or net houses.  She showed us the first one, filled with everyone's favourite summer vegetable zucchini.  As always, the researchers found a better way to grow them."

See Part 2 for the rest of our day!  

new way to grow strawberries! Much easier to pick!