The people behind the tours

This week's article is one of a kind and I particularly like it, firstly because it deals with the people behind the tours, residents of the city from all its neighborhoods who volunteer to lead tours in Haifa's wadis, spurs and trails, and secondly because it was written together - just like what we do in nature.

14 tours in the Haifa wadis

This coming October, we are offering 14 tours in the Haifa wadis, in the many branches and trails that the participants in this article will lead. You are welcome to join our tours, get to know the nature near the house and the people who do nature.

A new community in the city

Inbal Chen Bargav, teacher, attorney, director of the "For Haifa" club on Facebook and voluntarily writes a column on nature issues in this magazine:

'For Haifa' is a community initiative that started in 2020 in the midst of the distance limit that was imposed on us during the Corona period. In order to deal with the professional and emotional burden of educating students through Zoom, I went out on light breaks to walk the paths near the house and found blooming nature and also many people who shared with me the same feeling of enlightenment that nature provides.

I added to our group other people with the same common denominator and together we created a new community in the city that leads voluntary tours and gives its members a sense of belonging while doing something meaningful. As a teacher and educator, I treat our tours as a means of promoting environmental education and values ​​of sustainability and preserving nature that the local authority has failed to address.

fire restoration

Naama Tesler, an ecologist and expert in forest restoration after a fire, worked in the restoration of the 2016 fire and leads tours in Wadi Achoza and Givat Oranim:

What makes me participate in the project is mainly the knowledge that Haifa has so much to give and so few people know about it. During the fire reconstruction period, I realized that the residents did not know enough what was happening under their noses and I realized how much potential this city has... (I knew this before, the project mainly sharpened it for me).

The thought that such an expensive and complex restoration project took place in Haifa and few knew about it was strange to me. I decided to join the tour project in order to expose the public to the complex process of reconstruction after the fire, as well as to promote public participation in everything related to preserving the integrity and urban nature against another similar event.

From Germany to Bat Galim

Tal Kizman, Mort Derech, a resident of Bat Galim who will lead a tour of the Stella Maris trail this October:

For me, Haifa is a lovely project that connects a variety of people to the nearby nature. Especially in Haifa we have nature at our doorstep with Mount Carmel and its wadis. When I returned to Israel during the Corona period, I traveled every week to Stella Maris by myself until I met Inbal's groups of travelers. I met lovely people there and I am in regular contact with some of them. Hope that new people will join "For Haifa" who like to go out on weekends and travel together. 

The Stella Maris route is known to most Haifa residents and is widely traveled. Nevertheless, this time we will receive guidance at the beginning of the route from the operators of the Association for Haifa History and I will also explain about sites along the route such as Eliyahu Cave and Bat Galim. The most important thing for me personally is to create a balance between nature and urbanism.

Retirees in the field

Oded Ullman, a retired civil engineer who has since been busier than ever, will lead a tour this October to the Ehud Trail:

I live on Ehud Street and the path I discovered thanks to the group starts right below my house. I go down in my free time, prune, clean, build wooden furniture on the "cheap" under the mulberry tree just like the young boys who were looking for their own corner during the corona. I enjoy the activity in nature, on the way I also do some fitness, neighborhood and family trips.

Today we already have a WhatsApp account where we update the neighbors about Shabbat reception under the strawberry tree, meetings and strawberry picking. Inbal and I contacted the management of Ehud School to create regular tours of the river by teachers with students, we hope that the program will start already this year.

Butterflies: Nature's thermometer

Israel Parr, manages the 'National Butterfly Monitoring Program' project and leads lecture tours and introductions to the Carmel butterflies:

It is a unique experience to see and hear the voices of admiration and wonder at the wonderful phenomena and features in the world of butterflies, heard about by the audience joining the tour. Curiosity and questions from all ages and a thirst to hear and know more and more are the spirit in the sail of the lectures. Today, with the increasing recognition of the human damage that led to the climate crisis, questions of concern and how butterflies recognize the approach of danger are also multiplying.

The residents are the true asset of the city

Avi Albaum is a member of the board of directors of the 'Yerok Belev Association' and guides tours in Givat Aizim in Ramat Begin:

Haifa is blessed with mountains and seas, forests, valleys and spurs and fine human capital. We see the people through the project - those who volunteer to lead and those who come to enjoy nature, the fine nature that the city is blessed with. People from all over the city and beyond, of all ages, come and go, get to know each other through their feet, ask questions and get interested. Pick up a piece of paper, a disposable cup and leave behind a clean nature, for them it is worth coming again and again.

Local is the best

Audrey Langer, tour guide and teacher of ecology and environmental education in schools in Haifa, leads tours of all Haifa trails:

I like to wander in nature, especially near the house and discover all the good things in the world. The corona virus came and made us all aware of the nearby open spaces and the importance of preserving them for mental well-being. In Corona, we cultivated a path near our house, pruned it, controlled it and invited friends and the public to walk along the path of the well in Wadi Vardia. A trip near the house does not require a special vacation, you can integrate it into your routine and luckily, there are many wadis in Haifa so you can enjoy a variety of urban currency.

Rescue the Goat Hill

Assaf Ben Levy, chairman of the Green at Heart association and legal advisor to the Society for the Protection of Nature, will lead a tour to the Goat Hill in Ramat Begin in October:

This is a unique project where residents lead nature tours for the general public, several times a year, every year. Thanks to this project, I got to know wonderful people who hold Haifa's nature dear to their hearts and want to preserve it. It is important to remember that although Haifa has a rich and unique nature, much of it is threatened by destructive development plans, sewage, waste, the culture of invasive species and more.

Increasing awareness of these threats is essential to deal with them, and the tours are a way to connect the public to nature directly and engage them in the issue. I hope that thanks to the tours we will be able to improve the state of nature in Haifa and preserve it in the future as well.

The nature teacher

Ehud Sabirsky, science and biology teacher and tour leader on all the paths of Carmel:

I was born in the Bat Galim neighborhood of old, among chrysanthemum fields and puddles in the winter. I spent my youth in the "Meshotetti BeCarmel" tribal hut near the old Technion, and I led campers along the beloved Carmel paths. After finishing my academic studies, I returned to the cities of Haifa, to the green landscapes and Luadit. I am a science and biology teacher, I taught for many years at "Reali Matos", but - in my soul I am a nature teacher. As part of my work at the Pinchas Cohen "Biological Institute", I guide students around the city to get to know urban nature. We go out with definers, magnifiers and reflectors and reveal with the students the visible and hidden world around the school, in the groves and on the beach. 

During the corona virus, I got to know the lovely group founded by Inbal, "For Haifa", and today I am a member of the team of volunteer residents who lead tours. There is no other city like Haifa that has, in almost every neighborhood, a wadi that descends under the house. During the Corona period it was lovely, to walk the 1000 meters into the green. To the silence, the chirping of the birds and the smell of the leaves. By leading the volunteer tours, I hope to bring more audiences closer to nature, to increase the Facebook community of "For Haifa" and to show them more magical corners of the city, which in my opinion is the most beautiful in the world.

And a word to our politicians and public representatives: nature is Haifa's most unique and precious resource. Don't allow the contractors to take over every green plot, and don't let them build wadis. This way we, our children and our grandchildren will be able to enjoy the beauty of Haifa.

green lungs

Tali Moab, historian, tour guide and environmental activist, will lead the tour to Nahal HaGivori this October:

I was born in Haifa and lived all my life near Wadi Sheikh. I remember how as children our playground was to go down to Woody. From every yard it was possible to go down to the gorge and public staircases between the houses made it possible to go down. Although the path was not marked, those who wanted to run went down to the spring or to the sea through Bostan Kiat.

Over the years Huadi was replaced by private living space, schools went on an annual trip to all parts of the country and a generation of nature lovers arose who were mostly not connected to their surroundings. The routes were abandoned to youth movements and few hikers frequented Hoadith. The corona virus has returned Huadiot to its greatness and I am happy to be a partner in a project in which we remind the residents that our nature is close here, right next to the house.

Therapeutic gardening and ecotherapy

Michal Kogan, a student of therapeutic gardening and ecotherapy and an interior architect, is active in the community garden of Ramat Alon and leads tours in Wadi Ben Dor Wadi Shanak:

The Ramat Alon forest is my second home. As a resident of Ramat Alon, I often go out with my dog, friends and family.
As someone who was born in Neve Sha'anan, the forest near the Technion was a childhood landscape where we walked as children in the "Immigrant Camps" youth movement and held night time. Today, I live in the Ramat Alon neighborhood and the forest for me is my sane place. The place where I manage to break away from the busy routine of life, to relax , to see nature in all its glory, the birds and butterflies, the trees and the vegetation that changes its appearance throughout the seasons.

During the corona virus, we cultivated the forest and in cooperation with the Green in the Heart association we made the paths in it accessible so that today the forest is an integral part of the recreation of the residents and children of the neighborhood.

With the help of the connection to Enbal and all the "nature guards near their home" in the other neighborhoods in Haifa, we were able to bring many residents from Haifa and the surrounding area closer to this beauty and raise awareness of the importance of preserving nature in the city. Being in the open spaces has a decisive effect on a person's mental and physical health, so for example gardening treatment allows patients to reach both peace and empowerment. Strengthen cognitive abilities, sharpen the senses and improve the quality of life.

Head and tail for travelers

Daniel Perag, a resident of West Carmel, an environmental activist and accompanies the project's tours:

It is a privilege to live above Wadi Lotem, to wake up and fall asleep to its sounds. To study its complex life, the life of plants, animals and winged animals which is their home. It is a privilege to try to keep it from filth, fire and real estate pollution. In the enterprise tours that I accompany, I like to be a collector... head and tail of the group of travelers.

The green path

Liran Dan, coordinator of the new Einstein Garden, previously led urban rides, a social and environmental activist and in October will lead a tour of the Einstein Trail:

I live in an estate neighborhood and from there you can walk to many nature trails, but unfortunately nature has been damaged and our open space is decreasing due to the construction of neighborhoods and buildings. It is important to me to lead the route along the green path to the Einstein Garden in order to make the nature that is right at the doorstep accessible and familiar to more Haifa residents. In the fire that happened in 2016, part of the path was damaged, but it was restored afterwards.

The path itself is used by the residents of the area for recreation, sports and relaxation. In its continuation, it connects to the new community garden established next to the school, therefore its uniqueness in creating a sequence of an urban nature trail with a community garden within the urban space.

It is my privilege to be part of leading tours in the Haifa wadis and to be a partner in the project.

Please note: the tour leaders are not certified tour guides and they work voluntarily for the community. It is the full responsibility of the travelers to verify the degree of difficulty of the route, the route of the route, to bring appropriate equipment and to exercise their best judgment while walking.