For Man is like a Tree of the Field
Hadash Ba’emek
10/22017
Uri Dvash
Forester Erez Moshe manages forested areas that cover about 55 thousand dunams in the area around Beit Shean, Afula, Gilboa, Harod Valley and the communities between them. In an interview with Hadash Ba’emek, he speaks about current challenges, his connection to the forest and the area’s flagship project – the rehabilitation of the Gilboa Forests.
Over the coming weekend, traditional tree planting ceremonies will be held on Tu Bishvat, the holiday of the trees. Tu Bishvat is also an important and significant holiday for Erez Moshe, who manages KKL-JNF forested areas that cover no less than 55 thousand dunams in the area around Beit Shean, Afula, Gilboa, Harod Valley and the communities between them.
“I care about each and every seedling”
Moshe, who is 50 years old, lives in Kfar Zeitim and has been working for KKL-JNF for the past three decades. Over the last eight years, he has been responsible for forests in the Lower Galilee and Gilboa. His flagship project, which he says will be a change-catalyzer, is the renewal of Gilboa Forest. This forest covers an area of about 24,000 dunams that was planted by KKL-JNF at the beginning of the 1960s. Due to the forest’s age, the conifers (Calabrian pines), have begun to collapse after growing old and basically reaching the end of their road. It is possible to see the signs of old age on the trees, which have begun to dry out and fall on the ground one after another. In light of the circumstances and tests that were conducted, KKL-JNF’s professional staff decided three years ago to renew the forest and rehabilitate it as part of a special project, for which millions of shekels and a great deal of manpower were allotted. Within this framework, various innovations are initiated, including cutting down degenerated areas and planting new, native Israeli forest trees, including carobs, oak and more. KKL-JNF explained that in this way, the disappearance of the forest will be prevented.
Erez Moshe is responsible for this green and challenging project. “Here,” Moshe says as he looks out over the Gilboa landscape, “is my first home. I give my all to this place, because I know that what I’m doing is important. I care about each and every seedling, and the second I see that something is not in order, I immediately take care of the seedling and then come back a few days later to make sure that it’s recovered.”
Ninety-six percent rate of tree survival
In order to protect the forest in the most efficient manner, about 10,000 dunams need to be restored immediately. Almost every day, KKL-JNF staff plant about 12,000 seedlings on 300 dunam parcels. “It’s not simple,” Moshe says about the challenging work process. “The job is very complex, nothing is left to chance. There is a whole discipline of forest management, and the present-day plan has changed since the 1960s. Today we are mainly planting forest trees like oaks, olives and Calabrian pines, which are like Aleppo pines. In the upper section of the forest, we are planting average height trees so as not to obstruct the breathtaking view of the Gilboa, and on the mountain slopes, taller pine trees. It needs to be understood that the process is structured with a lot of forethought. We don’t just plant trees and think we’re finished with the process. We are rather just beginning a long process, during which we go from one seedling to another and irrigate them all summer long. We are talking about a lot of KKL-JNF staff who take part in this work. I am very happy to say that so far, we have a 96% success rate in terms of seedling survival, so we’re moving in the right direction.”
In anticipation of Tu Bishvat, Moshe says that the most visited time of the year in the Gilboa forests is springtime, when the iris blossoms. This coming Tu Bishvat, about 1,600 tree planters will be coming to the Gilboa to take part in forest renewal and to plant new seedlings. “We of course are more than happy to receive them,” Moshe says. “A lot of people love the forests and want to volunteer and help, and it’s really wonderful.”