Our Achievements: 2020
There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic, with all its restrictions, has brought great attention to urban nature. The regulations that forced us to remain within 100 m of our homes during the first lockdown, and 1,000 m during the following lockdowns, caused all of us to truly understand the importance and value of nature in our cities.
Many of us discovered what is (or isn’t…) close to our homes, and the importance of accessibility to nature, particularly in urban areas.
In order share information about local nature sites and make it publicly accessible, we launched an interactive map that can be used to find places for exploring, at a distance of up to 1,000 m from your home, including thousands of nature sites and streams throughout the country. You can type your address on the map and discover possible walking areas, or peruse the map without inputting a specific location, and find all the nature sites in an area. The map was created from information prepared and collected as part of our urban nature fieldwork of over more than a decade.
The map also received impressive exposure in the media. Haven’t seen the map yet or checked what’s within 1,000 m of your home? Click on the link and find out - https://www.teva.org.il/Stop_Initiatives
During 2020, the urban nature unit focused on assisting local municipalities and public action committees in promoting the establishment of urban nature sites. The unit’s staff worked to promote Zimri Stream Park in Jerusalem, a second “Gazelle Valley” in the capital, as well as a number of programs on sustainable urban runoff with Arim Urban Development Company Ltd.
During the year, a large number of urban nature surveys were performed; the most high profile were the Ein Kerem Basin survey for the Jerusalem Municipality and the Upper Kidron Basin survey for the Dead Sea Drainage Authority. Another important component was intensive publicity on the importance of natural infrastructure in the urban environment during a pandemic.
In 2021, the unit focused on a new call for proposals from the Ministry for Environmental Protection, for large-scale mapping of the natural infrastructures and hazards in cities and regional councils. The call for proposals will provide accessible information for sustainable urban planning and management to moderate the environmental impacts of development, in cities and throughout Israel in general.