Fifth Graders Experience Outdoor Education at Chesapeake Teva
May 28, 2014 by
Fifth-grade students from JPDS-NC just returned from Chesapeake Teva, a four-day, three-night outdoor education program where Jewish students from different schools learn about the environment and how Judaism connects to nature. At Teva, students go on long hikes through the beautiful nature and learn about different topics that connect Judaism to nature, including ecology, togetherness, awareness, and responsibility. Students earn one bead for learning about each of these topics and related Jewish values, and by doing different activities and embracing the experience. The last bead you can get is the Earth bead. To get this bead, you have to change something in your life to help the environment. For example, you can start composting and recycling at home. Through many exciting programs, we experienced what it is like to be a shomer/shomeret adamah (keeper of the Earth).
Teva believes in outdoor education, which is a new and fun experience for most students. We learned about p’solet (wasted food), including the resources that go into making your food. After every meal, staff and students weigh how much food was not eaten, or wasted at that meal. Fifth-grader Adam Cohen said, “Teva was a terrific experience. I learned what poison ivy looks like and how to identify it.” Chesapeake Teva is a very meaningful experience where Jewish students learn a lot about the Earth and how to keep it clean and not waste resources.
