WRAP is pleased to announce that it is now a member of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), a consortium of organizations focused on people-to-people coexistence and cooperation among Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, and Jews.  The organization works primarily in the U.S. to increase visibility and resources for members in the Middle East.  ALLMEP convenes events to bring together NGO leaders, policymakers, pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists, diplomats, private foundations, and the media to learn about and support grassroots peace efforts.

WRAP looks forward to joining the ALLMEP membership in working towards our shared goals.  To learn more about ALLMEP visit, http://www.allmep.org/.

WRAP’s Director of Operations and Education, Malcolm Siegel, PhD, MPH, presented a luncheon seminar on  Rainwater Harvesting in Environmental Education and Peacebuilding at the 2014 New Mexico Science Teachers Association/Environmental Education Association of New Mexico (NMSTA/EEANM) Conference. The talk explored how rainwater harvesting can be used in environmental education locally and in environmental peace building globally. Participants learned how these activities are being used to create bridges of communication between students in Israel and Palestine and were encouraged to share their experiences and ideas about how rainwater harvesting can be used as a focus for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities.

To see the conference presentation, visit http://bit.ly/1zuDDmc

The online tool “Save the Rain” enables users to calculate the amount of rain that can be collected from any rooftop based on annual rainfall data and surface area.  This innovative app, supported by ESRI, aims to increase awareness of rainwater saving potential globally by combining mapping tools with climate data. WRAP is excited to see other groups working to promote rainwater harvesting around the world.

Try out the tool here, www.save-the-rain.com.

The New York Times recently published an OpEd by Tom Friedman profiling EcoPeace Middle East, an organization that has partnered with WRAP on two rainwater harvesting projects.  The piece focuses on the water crisis in the Middle East and grassroots efforts to build trusting relationships and interdependencies to make progress on environmental and political challenges.

To read the full piece, click here.

WRAP will be participating in this year’s Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area (CFCNCA).

Through the campaign federal employees can donate to WRAP using our code: 88958.

Every penny of every dollar WRAP receives goes directly to our projects.  These projects impact hundreds of school children in the Middle East, help to conserve water, and educate students and communities on water and environmental stewardship.

In addition to providing schools with much needed water, our projects focus on building understanding between students across borders and cultures through a shared experience with water conservation.

WRAP has a number of exciting projects on the horizon including our first project in Jordan.  Learn more here.

The campaign will run until December 15th, 2014.

Federal employees can donate by visiting http://my.cfcnca.org/ and using WRAP’s code: 88958

Learn more about the Combined Federal Campaign here.

As part of the George Mason University Water Forum, WRAP’s Executive Director, Brendan McGinnis presented on October 7, 2014 about WRAP’s mission, progress, and latest efforts.  A video of his presentation is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5D-ADekrRI.

A team of students from American University’s 2013 Water, Cooperation, and Peace practicum recently returned from presenting at the August 11-15, 2014 International Peace Research Association (IPRA) Conference in Istanbul, Turkey.  The conference hosted 550 peace researchers from 94 countries and
explored a wide array of peacebuilding interests focused around the theme, “Uniting for Peace: Building Sustainable Peace Through Universal Values.”

WRAP was among the supporters of the Water, Cooperation, and Peace practicum from its outset, as the group set out to research, collect data, and conduct field studies at project sites within Israel and the Palestinian West Bank.  The students presented the results of this research, also captured in the group’s 2013 report, during the Water and Conflicts panel at the IPRA conference.

To view the presentation slides, visit http://bit.ly/1mMolYD.

To read more about the student’s experience at the conference, visit http://bit.ly/1vsq5FW.

WRAP’s Executive Director, Brendan McGinnis, will be presenting at George Mason University on October 7, 2014 as part of the Mason Water Forum.  His talk, “Addressing the Middle East Water Crisis One Drop at a Time,” will focus on WRAP’s latest efforts to bring rainwater harvesting to water scarce regions in the Middle East.  The event is free and open to the public.

For more details, click here.

Malcolm Siegel, WRAP Program Lead for Operations and Education, visited all of the schools supported by WRAP during May 2014. These included the 2 latest additions to the WRAP network: Tuba Zangaria Junior High School and Eynot Yarden High School on Kibbutz Amir. Work with these schools is done in collaboration with the Youth Environmental Education Peace Initiative (YEEPI) of the Arava Institute.

YEEPI staff (Liad Amir, Gonen Sagy), headmaster (Osama al Haib), science teacher (Boteena Rashdi) and students

Science teacher (Boteena Rashdi) and equipment box for the rain harvesting system

At the school in Tuba Zangaria, he met with the YEEPI teachers and coordinators (Liad Amir, Gone Sagy, Sana Omar), the school headmaster (Osama al Haib), a parent (Basher Heib) and the science teacher involved in the program (Boteena Rashdi) as well as a group of students involved in the program. The rainwater system provides water to the school toilets. It is operating successfully, and as part of the environmental education program, the students have planted a school garden. The students are encouraged to feel ownership in the program, and the teachers feel this is the best approach to reduce risks of vandalism and theft in the community. The principal, teachers, and parent that he met were very enthusiastic about the YEEPI program and the contribution that the WRAP rainwater harvesting system has made. The teachers and parents hope that their students can provide a bridge between the Arab and Jewish communities in the region; this is important because currently there is little direct contact between these two groups.

Liad Amir and rain barrel for toilets at Eynot Yarden Science Building

Hydroponics experiment conducted using collected rainwater

At the Eynot Yarden High School, Malcolm met with the school principal, Gadi Lahav, who is also very enthusiastic about the YEEPI program. The system has been installed and is successfully operating. The YEEPI program coordinator, Liad Amir, and intern, Alana Morris, are using the harvested rain water for a variety of purposes including aquaculture and hydroponics. Some of the rain harvesting barrels were put at the science building and used for toilets to allow the most students to see them. Harvested rainwater is used in the greenhouse for a variety of projects that take advantage of the purity of the rainwater. The projects are part of a larger effort to introduce students to different modes of production: sustainable farming using a variety of organic wastes including urine, standard organic farming, and industrial agriculture. Experiments are being conducted to evaluate how water without elements common in groundwater like fluoride affect the growth of algae.

Photos from a June 9th gathering of students at the Farm School in Lod, Israel to learn about agriculture, irrigation, and principles of water conservation.  WRAP partner, Sur Baher Girls School in East Jerusalem, was one of the participants that day.