We often express our thoughts by using terms borrowed from nature. A bond with the land is clear but not inevitable, yet there is nothing that connects us to this country more than the land itself. This is precisely what Bracha Dochovitz and Esti Barak from Neot Hakikar are trying to convey and illustrate by creating an Ecological Park in Kikar Sdom, a bridge between people and nature. How simple it is to go back to our roots, and like our forefathers enslaved in Egypt, work with water, mud and straw. This is what our forefathers did - and this is what the citizens of Arad-Tamar and the visiting Partnership 2000 delegation did. Together they laid the "cornerstone" to the Ecological Park that will service the people of the Region and visitors. All the burdens of daily life will be left at the gate, while inside the visitors will be able to continue to partake in building the Ecological Park, giving expression to their inner emotions and sensations by inlaying nature's gems (colored stones, sticks and other readily available natural materials). Like the methodological sand bird, a park, full of life, will be reborn out of the dry desert land, holding within it flora and fauna, art and large crowds of children and visitors, each leaving something of themselves in this magical place. Together, all year round, we will make this park bloom.

Iyar 5762 - May 2002