ASHEVILLE – An environmental education program for children at the Asheville Jewish Community Center is the recipient of a major grant from The Covenant Foundation, officials announced Thursday.

The $20,000 grant will create the Jewish Children’s Gardening Curriculum, a structured environmental activity and learning program using a children’s garden at the JCC as a classroom and laboratory.

JCC officials said it is critical concern for the environment be instilled in children from an early age. The new initiative will do that with hands-on projects integrating “green” Jewish values.

“As Jews, we are compelled to teach our children important environmental Judaic values, such as Bal Tashit (“Do Not Destroy”), L’ovda U’l’shomra (“To Work and Keep the Land”), Shomrei Adamah (“Guardian of the Earth”), and Tikkun Olam (“Repair of the World”),” said Heather Whitaker Goldstein, JCC executive director. “As we become more aware of earth’s changing resources, we must ensure that our children understand our interdependence with the natural environment and prepare them to protect and conserve the natural resources they will inherit.

The curriculum itself will engage children as young as 2 in planting, growing, nurturing and harvesting projects. It will increase children’s knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the cycles of nature and how these relate to Jewish values, beliefs and holidays.

While an informal children’s activity program has existed in the educational garden since it was planted in 2007, no formal and comprehensive curriculum exists to utilize the space and make it relevant to children of all ages.

The grant to the Asheville Jewish Community Center is one of 16, totaling $1.4 million, just announced by the New York-based Covenant Foundation as part of its mission to support, advance and recognize excellence and impact in Jewish educational settings.

The Covenant Foundation is a program of the Crown Family Foundation and the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA).

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