Rooted in Teamwork

Jew Crew, SPARE team up for Jewish holiday celebrating nature

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Jew Crew

Jew Crew members beautify Branham for Tu B’Shivat on Wednesday.

Ava Stark and Jiyoon Choi

Jew Crew and SPARE teamed up on Wednesday to celebrate Tu’BiShvat, the Jewish holiday honoring environmentalism.

At Wednesday’s weekly SPARE meeting, Jew Crew club officials shared a presentation about the connection between Judaism and the environment.

The presentation also touched on the antisemitic roots behind the major companies responsible for outputting tons of emissions into the atmosphere. For example, a Nazi oil refinery was said to be built by the father of the Koch brothers — a pair who have helped fund many right-leaning political movements.

For senior Hannah Null, the vice president of Jew Crew, the Tu’BiShvat holiday helps people prioritize their land for future generations.

“It’s a reminder that we should be taking care of the environment and working with it and not against it,” she said.

Jew Crew member senior Hannah Null information shares information about the holiday at the SPARE beautification. (Ava Stark)

Null’s family often plant trees in their yards to celebrate it. By collaborating with other clubs like SPARE, Jew Crew officials say that they hope people can learn more about the importance of the environment through SPARE beautification days and recycling events.

“I do think it’s good that we’re collaborating so more people can go and help clean the campus and parks while also learning about our holiday,” Null said.

Senior Jada Morrison, SPARE’s recycling coordinator, said that seeing the links between environmentalism and Judaism helped broaden her perspective on the global need for more environmental efforts.

“It’s nice to see people educating others about it because it’s important different cultures and learn more about environmentalism,” Morrison said.

SPARE hosts volunteer events every Tuesday or Wednesday B day after school in J101.