Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Battir School Dedication

On November 18, 2013, a dedication ceremony was held for WRAP’s third project at the Battir Girls High School, serving 120 Arab students. This is WRAP’s first project in the West Bank and first cistern rain harvesting system.

The dedication ceremony celebrated the completion of the project in memory of WRAP’s Founding Member, Bob Cole, who passed away earlier this year. WRAP owes much of its success to Bob’s vision, energy, and commitment, and the Battir School cistern project was made possible largely by donations in Bob’s memory.

The cistern complements the school’s environmental education activities currently underway, and WRAP’s partner organization, Friends of the Earth Middle East, is actively involved within the school and larger community.

For more photos of Battir, visit:

http://www.wrapdc.org/battir-images-2013/

WRAP members with Battir students, administrators, and community leaders at the dedication ceremony

Click the image above for a video showing a Battir student presenting at the dedication ceremony

Afaq School Update

Since WRAP’s last visit, Afaq’s schoolyard has undergone major development. Complementing WRAP’s rainwater harvesting system, a number of hands-on environmental education activities connect a stage of visually interpretive diagrams, which include a compost site, multiple gardening plots, a greenhouse, and an outdoor covered classroom. Afaq is actively promoting and positioning itself as a model school for water conservation and resource sustainability. WRAP’s rainwater harvesting system is a central component of this model, valued greatly by the school’s leadership and children.

For more photos of Afaq, visit:

http://www.wrapdc.org/afaq-2013-gallery/

Rain catchment system supports new gardens in Afaq’s schoolyard.

Click the image above for a video of WRAP’s engineer describing the workings of Afaq’s rain barrel system.

Sur Baher Girls School Update

Sur Baher School, the site of WRAP’s pilot rain harvesting installation, continues to serve as a successful model for water conservation and environmental education. The school’s leadership remains a tireless advocate for environmental conservation within the Sur Baher Girls School and larger community, working with WRAP’s engineer to ensure the system is well maintained and water collection and usage reporting continues to be completed.

For more photos of Sur Baher, visit:

http://www.wrapdc.org/sur-baher-images-2013/

WRAP members with community partners and school leaders, pictured next to the rain harvesting system

WHAT'S AHEAD

Pairing Jewish and Arab Schools

The next project on WRAP’s horizon is a partnership that has been forged with Arava Institute’s Youth Environmental Education and Peace Initiative (YEEPI). YEEPI is the only school-centered network in Israel that advocates for peace-building by increasing trust between Jewish Israeli and Palestinian youth through the common goal of protecting their shared environment.

WRAP and YEEPI are piloting an effort to establish water stewardship as a key point of connection for partner schools (one Jewish, one Arab) while setting tangible tasks for their cooperation on environmental problems. WRAP and YEEPI are currently vetting and selecting the pilot schools based on shared environmental conditions and challenges. Once selected, WRAP would construct a rain barrel harvesting system at each school and YEEPI would be responsible for implementing a shared environmental curriculum between the two schools.

To learn more about our next effort, visit:

http://www.wrapdc.org/projects/whatsnext/

Help Us Reach Our Goal

We are currently raising funds to put our next project on the ground in 2014. Please consider donating to WRAP before the end of the year to make this vision a reality. Every penny of every dollar donated will go directly to our projects.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

STAY CONNECTED