Wednesday (June 23) we spent most of the day with Palestinian Israelis. A professor shared with us different challenges and projects near Palestinian villages in the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee. We saw a valley that is wonderful land, but has been made dryer by climate change. The land has become so cut up during multiple generations of inheritances that people now own only a small plot. The professor is trying to get everyone to patch the land back up and do something productive with it; sadly, political and social tensions make the project seem unlikely to be carried out.
On a more optimistic note, they have developed a really cool building that won an award from the UN for being so environmentally-friendly. The building is an environmental teaching site for students. Field trips come regularly to learn about composting, recycling, and environmentally-smart construction. Older students have independent projects at the school.
A large courtyard circulates air beautifully – and, because it doesn’t have a roof, doesn’t count as part of the building square footage and isn’t taxed. Classroom windows and roofs are placed appropriately to avoid heating and receive cooling. Large desert coolers (fans that use water and insulation) do a wonderful job of air conditioning without much cost. Solar panels help provide energy. A nearby water treatment plant uses a variety of techniques to recycle water.
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