fell on September 29th. Cleanup activities were carried out in Katzrin Park and Mikulov Park in Katzrin, as well as in Kiryat Yam and Kiryat Bialik, amongst many more. The Druze village of Julis also held a special environmental fair.
"We've been singing songs as we pick up garbage, it's actually a lot of fun. We came here the long way so we could clean up more places. There should be at least one more day like this!" said Reut and Rachel from Ulpana Gila Girls' School. The girls, together with their classmates, were cleaning up KKL-JNF's Katzrin Park, which is on the outskirts of the city.
This activity was a series of many on International Clean Up the World Day, which this year took place in Israel on Monday, September 29. "Clean Up the World" is an organization founded in 1993 in Australia that works under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the largest organization in the field of environmental protection in the world today. KKL-JNF joined the UNEP in 2001 and since then has been leading International Cleanup Day activities in Israel.
In Katzrin itself, the capital of the Golan Heights, the day began for students of the Gamla Elementary and Junior High School with a performance about the importance of protecting nature and keeping the environment clean. Yael Azran, a special education teacher at the school, said that "the children were very excited about the subject and really connected with it. Since then, we've all been on the streets of Katzrin, cleaning it up." Fifth graders Shaked, Yotam and Ron agreed: "Katzrin is in general a very clean city, but we found garbage under the trees. Yael told us that it's important to clean up, but even more important not to throw garbage in public places in the first place."
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Ahuva Bar-Lev
KKL-JNF – Information and Internet Department