Here are the eggs from some local chickens.

The Kayamut Sustainability Circle in Silver, Spring, MD was formed in 2010, and led by a team of local Torah-based Jewish environmentalists who met regularly to learn about community opportunities for environmental action.

Over three years, members met local chickens, explored invasive plants, experimented with composting, learned what’s recyclable in Montgomery County, and much, much more.

Andrew Gohn presents to Kayamut about wind power in Maryland.

We’re most proud of the work done on the Maryland Offshore Wind Power campaign, where our shared activism and concern influenced Delegate Ben Kramer to support wind power in Maryland, leading to the passage of the bill in 2013. Our activism was even mentioned in the Washington Post!

In 2014, we concluded hosting our regular events and created a new “Kayamut” listserv on YahooGroups to continue the conversation.   Although Kayamut will no longer be hosting regular events, happily, the values of Torah based environmentalism are alive and well in our community. Members of the Silver Spring community are actively involved in pursuing environmental education in our schools and green solutions to our modern challenges.

Learning about invasive plants.

Just to name a few examples:

• The Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy has solar panels and a new children’s garden, and the Jewish Primary Day School features a green team with some of our community members as participants.
• On Tu b’Shevat, our community hosted quite a few local programs related to protecting the environment through a Jewish lens.
• The Kemp Mill Synagogue hosted an “Earth Day” lunch last month, including a speaker about climate change.
• We hope that these expressions of Torah-based environmentalism will continue to emerge and receive your support throughout our community. If you have your own ideas of how to bring it alive, we encourage you to jump in and implement them!

Lag B’Omer Night Hike.

Some files and links from our history are below.

Why we created the Sustainability Circle

• Community is the Missing Piece

Eileen Kao’s presentation about recycling in Montgomery County on June 18, 2012.

• Presentation
• Watch portions of Eileen’s presentation

Anton Goodman on Sustainability in Israel (2013)

• Open dropbox folder to download audio and three photos of the event

Learning about local CSA opportunities.

Tu b’Shevat in Silver Spring (February 2012)

• Mysticism and Making a Difference

Victoria Rothenberg’s presentation on Food Storage

• Food Storage Presentation to the Kayamut Circle (download word document)

Reuven Walder’s Presentation on Energy Efficiency (2011)

• Energy Efficiency: The Whole Home Approach

Evonne Marzouk spoke on behalf of Kayamut at a Town Hall meeting on Wind Power in November 2011

• In Support of Off-Shore Wind Power in Maryland

Presentation by Anton Goodman.

Steps we can take to improve our air quality

• Tips to improve local air quality (download word document)

Audio presentations on Rain Barrels (information for Montgomery County, MD) and Energy Efficiency (Rabbi Gedalia Walls, Reuven Walder)

• Open dropbox folder with WMA files