Temple Beth Israel to host environmental justice symposium; white paper to result
January 27, 2022, Waltham, MA The Social Justice and Program Committees of Temple Beth Israel are excited to announce:
Caring for Trees to Care for Our World
An environmental justice symposium
Three 90-minute sessions on Sunday, February 27, 2022–morning, afternoon and evening–will feature fourteen expert speakers discussing problems or issues related to environmental justice, and solutions involving trees–a lynchpin to the health and sustainability of our environment. Their topics will range from contemporary work in which they are engaged, to religious, philosophic or historic knowledge and expertise. A resulting white paper will explore the problems and solutions to make recommendations for an environmental justice platform focused on caring for our trees in order to better care for our world.
Registration is free and provides access to all sessions with the ability to come and go throughout.
The Agenda* (times shown in Eastern time zone):
Morning–10:00-11:30 am
- Kristin Ace, Shade Tree Commission of Morristown, NJ
- William Doyle, Waltham MA Conservation Commission
- Ernest Ruzicka, Landscape Architecture Degree from Temple University
- Lance Ebel, Newleaf Environmental (land management)
- Brad Baker, White Oak Consulting (landscape design and horticultural education)
Afternoon–1:00-2:30 pm
- Cydney Abnet, Wellesley College student
- Adam Green, Park Ranger, Waltham MA Recreation Department
- George Darcy, Waltham MA City Council
- David Meshoulam, Speak for the Trees-Boston
- Jonathan Paz, Waltham MA City Council
Evening–5:00-6:30 pm
- Rabbi David Finkelstein, Temple Beth Israel, Waltham, MA
- Arthur Warsoff, Tree Utah
- Rabbi Katy Allen, Jewish Climate Action Network-MA
- Shamu Sadeh, Managing Director of Education at Isabella Freedman, Hazon–the Jewish Lab for Sustainability
*Agenda subject to change
Pre-registration is required and free; an $18 donation* is optional. Registrants will receive an advance copy of the white paper before it is released to the general public.
Members of the media wishing to cover the event are encouraged register for the Zoom link without selecting the payment link. Interviews can be arranged with Temple Beth Israel leaders who organized the event, including Brad Baker who also is one of the expert panelists.
Please link here to go our registration page.
*Proceeds will be restricted to use for Temple Beth Israel’s programming and work in environmental justice and broader social justice issues, except as noted below. TBI wants to ensure that all members of our community can attend any events requiring a fee. The Mark Frydenberg Event Participation Fund makes this possible. Upon registering, you can choose to pay the standard fee or a lower amount. If you register online and choose a lower amount, simply note “Event Participation Fund” in the explanation. If you are able to pay above the requested fee, you are welcome to do so and the extra amount will be a donation to the fund. The fee you choose remains private. The fund was renamed to honor Mark Frydenberg upon the completion of his six years of service as board president, in recognition of the unprecedented progress TBI made in accessibility and inclusion under his leadership.
Thank you to our sponsors (list may be incomplete):
