Hi You All, I wanted to pass along the following email that I received from Hamazon, a Jewish organization that deals with hunger. If any Mosaic members decide to participate, please let us know.

    walking softly,
    gabe

Hello! If you could please share the following posting with anyone you know who might be interested, it would be greatly appreciated! HAZON'S FIRST EVER CROSS-COUNTRY JEWISH ENVIRONMENTAL BIKE RIDE is a group of people who will cycle across the country and teach Jewish environmental ethics, raise money for tzedakah (charity), celebrate and learn. People from all walks of life interested in participating are welcome. The ten-week ride is from early June to late August, and will cover 3,600 miles from Seattle, WA to Washington, DC. Riders are encouraged to participate in the ride in whatever way possible, even if they cannot bike the entire way.

For more information, contact:
Janice Simpsohn,
Hazon The Bike Ride,
25 West 45th Street, Ste. 1400,
New York, NY 10036.
Phone:(212) 391-1443.
Fax: (212) 840-1514.
Email:

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Dear friends:

There is still time to register for COEJL's Mark and Sharon Bloome Leadership Institute--but space is limited.

March 30 - April 2, 2000

Malibu, California

You can learn more about and register for the Institute at www.coejl.org.

Following is a press release describing the Institute.

Jewish Environmentalists to Gather for 4th Annual and Largest Ever Leadership Institute

New York - Each year for the past four years, Jewish environmentalists have gathered together at the Leadership Institute of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). And every year, the numbers grow. What started as a conference of 50 people in 1997 will draw over 200 activists to

Malibu, California in March, 2000.

Participants come from across the spectrum of Jewish life and observance-including Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox Jews as well as secular Zionists, unaffiliated Jews, and individuals involved in "Jewish Renewal" congregations. Those already registered come from 25 U.S. states and Canadian provinces, as well as Israel and England.

This year's Mark and Sharon Bloome Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute will train activists how to involve synagogues, schools, Hillels, camps, JCCs, and other Jewish institutions, as well as unaffiliated Jews, in addressing local environmental challenges-from protecting open space and reducing air pollution to building environmental justice coalitions and supporting urban forestation. -- MORE --

The faculty includes:

· Adam Werbach, the first Jewish and youngest ever national president of the Sierra Club.

· Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL).

· Michael Ableman, founder of the Center for Urban Agriculture.

· Dr. Devra Davis, one of the world's leading environmental health scientists.

· Rabbi Arthur Waskow, author of numerous books on Judaism and ecology and Jewish Renewal leader.

· Heather Booth, one of the nation's leading community organizers and veteran of many environmental and social justice battles.

· Andy Lipkis, founder of TreePeople, the largest environmental education organization in the U.S. and a pioneer of the urban forestry movement.

The program will include panels on The Promise of Jewish Environmentalism, Urban Ecology, Environmental Health, Climate Change, and The Future of Food. This year, intensive skills-building seminars will be offered on Jewish Ritual and Political Action, Community Organizing, Community Ecology, and Jewish Environmental Education. Shabbat will be observed through both traditional and non-traditional services as well as Shabbat walks consisting of hiking, meditation, prayer, and singing.

The Institute is named for COEJL founders and supporters Mark and Sharon Bloome of Seattle, Washington, who are also founders of the Northwest Jewish Environmental Project, COEJL's largest regional affiliate. COEJL now claims 12 regional affiliates-and another half dozen are in formation. These groups organize programs and action for hundreds of local Jewish institutions and thousands of individuals. Immediately preceding the Institute, 30 regional leaders will gather for a special day of intensive training.

Immediately following the Institute, COEJL's Board of Trustees will meet. In addition to some of the nation's most prominent Jewish leaders, COEJL's Board includes popular author and Harvard paleontologist Stephan Jay Gould and Environmental Defense Fund executive director Fred Krupp.

To register for the Institute, see www.coejl.org or call 212.684.6950, ext.

210.

# # #

COEJL
www.coejl.org
443 Park Avenue South, 11th floor
New York, NY 10016
212.684.6950, ext. 213
212.686.1353 (fax)

Daniel Ziskin (2/1/2000)

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The COEJL conference to take place in Malibu, CA will be awesome. There are some incredible people who will be there including a fellow named Andy who has a story you wouldn't believe. It started 18 years ago when he forced the state of CA to give him thousands of saplings they were going to destroy. His interest in planting trees came from his Jewish camp experience. Today, he runs a multi-million dollar enterprise of planting trees throughout LA. And, he has a credible plan for correcting LA's serious social problems through water reclamation.

And he's only one of the presenters. Also, having helped the camp where the conference is taking place to establish a Jewish nature center, I've had the opportunity to hike the area and it's incredible -- very much like parts of Israel. It's filled with sage, fennel and all sorts of great smelling brush -- coyotes -- great birds - beautiful sunsets from Torah Point -- and it's only a few miles from the ocean and one of the best areas of tidal pools in the nation.

I'm looking forward to leading a few workshops myself and to taking others. This is definitely a conference that I highly recommend. It'd be great to have a strong Mosaic presence there as well.

walking softly,