- info@beshvilei.co.il
The ‘Beshvilei Haifa’ group, in collaboration with the ‘Mediterranean Trails Research Center’ of Haifa’s University and Professor Noga Collins-Kreiner, the center’s director, is currently leading a professional survey examining the feasibility of establishing a hiking trail system in Haifa’s wadis.
The survey evaluates various aspects of the wadis, including ecology, points of interest, archaeology, and local history, alongside opportunities for domestic and international tourism and local economic possibilities. It emphasizes community integration and connectivity to the city’s neighborhoods. The survey is coordinated by ecologist Dr. Naama Tesler, a longtime active member of ‘Beshvilei Haifa.’
Butterfly monitoring communities consist of volunteers who go out into the local natural areas to track butterflies appearing within a defined territory. The citizen monitoring project is led by Israel Pe’err, a longtime member of the ‘Beshvilei Haifa’ group, who developed apps for butterfly identification and a dynamic database for butterfly sighting reports submitted by monitoring communities.
In collaboration with the ‘Beshvilei Haifa’ group, we established the Haifa Butterfly Monitoring Community, which meets every few months in the Carmel area. Its members report on butterfly presence within this geographical region.
Collaboration with the Social Incubator at the Technion and with Ms. Ronit Piso, the incubator’s director, led to a final project by third-year students in the Faculty of Data Science. They created a technological product for the ‘Beshvilei Haifa’ group to make all hiking routes and trails in the Haifa wadis accessible. These are the trails we have been exploring in recent years. The final product allows anyone interested to find the trail’s location on a map, accessibility information, route characteristics, and points of interest along the way. The website is currently in pilot mode .
The Haifa Urban Trail, initiated by Guy Shahar, features twenty-one separate walking segments within the city that also connect to form a 70 km “urban trek.” Ehud Savirsky and Tali Moav, tour guides and leading activists with the ‘Beshvilei Haifa’ group, help participants rediscover their love for the city of Haifa. The guided tours are detailed and include explanations about local architecture, city monuments, Haifa’s history, and the history of the Jewish settlement.
In 2024, the forum was established, with the ‘Beshvilei Haifa’ group among its founders. The forum is led by Ms. Penina Madan, coordinator of the community garden in Nave Shaa’nan beighborhood, and a longtime social and environmental activist. The Haifa and Bay Area Nature and Environment Forum brings together environmental organizations active in Haifa and its surroundings. The forum’s goal is to improve urban quality of life in the region, preserve connection and access to urban nature, promote a healthy environment, and foster collaboration based on professional understanding to address environmental injustices.
An exciting collaboration with Radio Kol HaGalil HaElyon, led by Zohar Lider, chief producer, and tour guide Yaniv Safrai, both from Kibbutz Lehavot HaBashan. Together, we reached out to residents of the Upper Galilee (from Kfar Baruch to Metula), who chose for us their favorite nearby trail, one they miss dearly.
During October 2024, we posted daily on the ‘Beshvieli Haifa’ Facebook group the walking trails of Galilee residents displaced from their homes due to the war with Hezbollah. This touching project sparked great interest and helped support local northern businesses in the abandoned areas.
Two exhibitions that celebrated the wadis of Haifa took place over the past two years, showcasing the nature close to home through an artistic lens.
The “Wadi” exhibition at the Haifa Museum, curated by Dan Hendel, featured works by local and international artists and included documentation by ‘Beshvilei Haifa’ activists in the field. The exhibition aimed to show that the wadis are both a physical landscape and a mental space, emphasizing that their preservation is vital for Haifa and the Carmel communities.
Another exhibition, “Through the Wadi, I Saw the World,” by artist Odin Shadmi, was created in collaboration with ‘Beshvilei Haifa’ activists who introduced the artist to Nahal HaGiborim. Together, they observed the wadi’s seasonal changes, culminating in an innovative and captivating digital exhibition.
Want to hike with us on the trails?
