14 February - Nitzana Youth Village

A main focus of the CAARI 2017 Program is Israel's Youth.  Over the past few weeks, we have visited Alexander Muss High School and saw the value of spending a semester in Israel, we spent time in the Hand in Hand School in the north where Christian, Muslim and Jewish elementary school children learn in the same school,  We visited the Peres Center where Arab and Jewish children join in soccer games and worked along with pre-army age students in the JNF forests and saw the work the JNF does with Aleh Negev and protection for children of Sderot.
Today we spent time in an amazing youth village where students from all over Israel learn in an educational center that fosters environmentalism and ecology.  Nitzana is located along the border with Egypt,  You drive and drive and don't see much more than desert, small kibbutzim and small farms.  Those of us from the city - said - who lives here?  Pioneers, those who love the land and have a passion for farming.  Although, today we did see fields of solar panels and mirrors - new environmental technology,

Our guides from the school were articulate and knowledgeable about their subjects.  We learned about recycling and reusing materials.  We walked about the campus in amazement and appreciation of what is being done at this school. There is a small room that is filled with a donor's private collection from stamps to butterflies! Then Noa took us to the solar garden and explained all the features
of solar power.

We lunched in the student  cafeteria - delicious lunch!

After lunch on to a local farm!
CAARI 2017