Cultivating a Jewish Eco- Education Framework: The Toronto Heschel School’s Teaching and Learning Garden

Urban Farm DB summary

This study highlights the Toronto Heschel School's Teaching and Learning Garden, a Canadian Jewish day school program that fosters student learning on ecology and Jewish identity. Qualitative interviews with two educators and five alumni revealed that the Heschel program, like secular school gardens, implements experiential, interdisciplinary learning activities within a scientific ecological knowledge (SEK) framework. However, the Heschel program supplements these SEK activities with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) rooted in Judaic teachings, resulting in educational outcomes relevant to both universal applicability and Jewish identities.