The Dudaim-Ramot Forest lies north of the Ramot Neighborhood in Beer Sheva. KKL-JNF began planting the forest in the late 1980s and now it endows the city of Beer Sheva, and in particular the residents of the Ramot Neighborhood, with a green open space replete with trees and shade, colorful seasonal wildflowers, spectacular lookout points and archaeological sites.
The planting of the forest was made possible thanks to assistance from the Friends of KKL-JNF in The Netherlands. It is being cultivated and maintained through engagement with the local community in the Ramot Neighborhood.
As part of its Community Forest initiative, KKL-JNF seeks to engage the local residents in Ramot with the life of the forest adjoining their neighborhood. It is a win-win situation. The residents benefit from a green environment close to home and they assist KKL-JNF in preserving the natural monuments and landscapes that form an integral part of the forest. KKL-JNF, together with the local residents and community center in Ramot, have set up several steering committees, online public engagement groups functioning in “round table” mode, in an effort to attend to various issues concerning the residents’ well-being.
The committees recruit volunteers and organize social activities. Some of the committee members guide tours of the forest on a voluntary basis, introducing participants to the forest’s flora and fauna.
One of the outcomes of this public engagement and the round table sessions has been the installation of benches and picnic tables in the forest recreation areas. A footpath has also been built. All this has been made possible through the help of the community and the KKL-JNF employees’ children.
Ornit Ginat, KKL-JNF Southern Region Engagement Coordinator: “As a KKL-JNF employee leading the Community Forests initiatives in the Negev Highlands and Arava, this is for me a historic moment - the construction of recreation areas benefitting the general public in Ramot Forest. This project, which is the work of the KKL-JNF employees, their children, and the Community Forest Trustees is for us a great source of excitement. We have worked closely with Ravit Cohen, Ramot’s Community Space manager and with Avi Marciano - Community Forest Focal Point, and the staff of the Sporting Ramot Area. This has been a hectic week of implementing the outcomes of the public engagement”.
Ronit Ivgi, Urban Sustainability Manager in the Beer Sheva Municipality: “The Ramot Community Forest in Beer Sheva is a key model of community-environment engagement. It is a groundbreaking, unique model bonding between the city residents and a welcoming open, green space accessible to any and all visitors. It brings us closer to natural monuments and heritage sites in the forest through structured work funded by KKL-JNF and through collaboration with the Kivunim NGO and the Municipality. KKL-JNF is a key partner of the Beer Sheva Municipality in the development of the Ramot Forest - not only within the community forest context, but also in the context of advancing a master plan, which will include footpaths and bicycle trails, transforming the forest into an open natural space facilitating recreational activities for the entire region”.
Photograph - KKL JNF