Temple Ner Shalom

Project Title: Temple Ner Shalom Tree Planting

Project Description: Tu B’Shevat, literally the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat, marks an important day in the Jewish religious tradition.  According to Leviticus 19:23-25:  “When you come to the land and you plant any tree, you shall treat its fruit as forbidden; for three years it will be forbidden and not eaten. In the fourth year, all of its fruit shall be sanctified to praise the L-RD. In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit.“  A trees age is calculated by how many Tu B’Shevat’s it has lived through.

OneCoolEarth has joined with Temple Ner Shalom for to celebrate this day, donating trees for planting on the temple grounds.  Over 350 oaks, cypress, redwoods, and a variety of other native trees survive, providing windbreaks and privacy screens for the temple and surrounding facilities.

Project Status: ongoing

Updates:

Jan. 12th, 2010 – We returned to the site to celebrate Tu B’Shevat with the congregation and the Jewish sorority and fraternity by planting 75 new trees as the first phase of a project to restore a seasonal waterway that runs through the grounds, and to set the stage for the eventual creation of a Biblical plant garden.  The layout for plants was designed by Cal Poly Landscape Architecture students in collaboration with the congregation members.

Jan. 22nd, 2011 – The Sierra Student Coalition participated in a tour of the grounds led by John Belsher and helped to plant 51 live, tanbark, and valley oaks, as well as madrones and willow cuttings to stabilize an eroding arroyo.