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Mission & History

 

Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs (formerly The Jewish Nature Centre of Canada: Torat HaTeva) was established in 2002 to lead the Jewish environmental movement in the Greater Toronto Area. Through educational programs and grassroots initiatives, rooted in Jewish social and environmental values, Shoresh’s mission is to build a more connected and ecologically sustainable Jewish community.

 

 

In 2009, Shoresh established the Kavanah Garden, an organic educational garden that models Jewish agricultural laws and environmental ethics, as its flagship programming space. Located at the Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus in Vaughan, Ontario, the Kavanah Garden features over 100 varieties of organic vegetables, herbs, fruits, and wildflowers; havdallah spice garden; raised wheelchair-accessible garden beds; educational signage in both Hebrew and English; outdoor kitchen; guided nature trail; compost demonstration site, and more!

 

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Staff

Risa Alyson Cooper
Executive Director

 

Risa is an ardent educator, environmentalist, and urban homesteader!  She completed her B.A. Honours at Queen’s University in Comparative Religious Studies, and her M.A. at the Centre for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto, focusing on Contemporary Jewish Environmental Ethics.  Upon graduating, Risa moved to rural Connecticut where she worked as a Jewish environmental educator at the Teva Learning Centre for three years.  She then transitioned into small-scale organic farming as a member of the Adamah Jewish Farming Fellowship where she grew vegetables on a four-acre farm, worked in a raw goat-milk dairy, and dabbled in the art of fermentation. 

 

In 2008, Risa returned to her native Toronto to work as the Director of Shoresh and to establish the Kavanah Garden, bringing together her experience in Jewish outdoor education with her love for Canadian soil and the plants and people that it sustains.  Risa believes that growing food sustainably is an expression of her deeply-rooted Jewish ethics.  Her favourite vegetable is the beet.

 

 

 

Sabrina Malach
Director of Outreach and Development  

 

 

Sabrina comes to Shoresh with six of years of experience working and volunteering in the Jewish Food Movement. She participated in the Adamah Fellowship in 2005, graduated from the Eco-Activist Beit Midrash in Jerusalem in 2006 and worked as the program assistant for Hazon from 2006-2007.  Upon returning to Toronto, she helped to create and grew food for the Tikkun Adamah CSA.  Sabrina is thrilled to be working as the Director of Outreach and Development for Shoresh and looks forward to helping the organization grow and develop new relationships with organizations and individuals.

 

 

Rachel Rosenbluth

Jewish Environmental Educator


 

Rachel Rosenbluth is a permaculture enthusiast who is committed to Jewish environmental education. She graduated from Mcgill University with a double major in World Religion and International Development Studies (Environment and agriculture focus). She worked as a senior staff at Camp Solelim, and lived in Israel for a year. She has had valuable experiences doing environmental field research in East Africa and volunteering on sustainable agriculture farms in Israel and in Kenya, where she developed an interest in spiritual, personal and community development. She is passionate about Tikkun Olam, and sees Jewish gardening as a holistic way to better the current food systems, promote environmental sustainability, and contribute to a just world.  

     

     

Daniel Joseph

Jewish Environmental Educator


 

Daniel is a lover of sustainability and spirituality. Pursuing a path of balance led him to study both business and philosophy at McMaster University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2009. He loves to try new foods and bake delectable delights that all can enjoy! He is interested in living a holistic healthy lifestyle, from physical health to spiritual health, and is perpetually exploring the relationships between humans, the earth, and the divine. He has worked as a socially responsible investment analyst, where he examined social and environmental issues affecting various natural resource sectors. Daniel is soooo excited to engage and learn from the amazing Shoresh community. When you see him at the garden, give him a high five! 


 

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Interns

 

Interested in being a 2011 Kavanah Garden Intern?  Click here for more information. 

 

2010 Interns

 

2009 Interns

 

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Board of Directors

 

Michael Schecter (President, Director)
Andrea Most (Vice-President, Director)
Ilyse Glickman (Treasurer, Director)
Aaron Levy (Secretary, Director)
Len Koffman (Director)
Alexandra Kuperman (Founder, Director)

 

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Partners and Donors

Shoresh thanks all of the organizations, foundations, corporations, and government departments that have supported us over the past several years. 

 

We would also like to acknowledge with gratitude the significant contributions made by all of our individual donors, and the very generous in-kind support we have received from individuals and community partners.

 

 

Shoresh is a participant in the Social Entrepreneurship Pilot Project of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

 

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