Many of Baltimore’s Jewish organizations belong to Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, which consists of hundreds of synagogues, community organizations and other Jewish institutions that have pledged their commitment to operate more sustainably and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a worldwide effort, with partners from across the United States pledging to join the coalition, along with synagogues in Canada and the United Kingdom.
But what about closer to home?
The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore recently launched the Baltimore Environmental Sustainability Network, which focuses on eco-friendly practices and volunteering in the area. Founded and chaired by Associated CFO Mark Smolarz, Adamah Baltimore Climate Action Coordinator Sam Sobel and Baltimore Board of Rabbis President Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, BESN launched in March and aims to educate Jewish community members about Jewish views on climate activism and how they can clean up and preserve the area’s native wildlife.
While Sobel wrote about the BESN and its mission in June, the BESN held its first community event on Sept. 13 at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. Greg Strella, Baltimore County’s chief sustainability officer and the former director of stewardship at Pearlstone, spoke to the crowd about some of the county’s recent eco-friendly projects and how individuals can start becoming more environmentally conscious in their daily lives.
“Rosh Hashanah is just a few weeks away, and it’s time that we start thinking about our lives, society and community. We have to think about what is going well, but also what needs to change — what needs to change about us personally, what needs to change communally and what needs to change globally,” said Adamah CEO Jakir Manela, who also spoke at the inaugural event.
According to Sobel, Smolarz came up with the idea for BESN because he was inspired by the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition. Smolarz, Sobel and Cardin all had prior experience with sustainability work, so he told the latter two about it and invited them to create it with him.
In the months since BESN’s creation, its planning committee has grown to 20 members and they have started to put together volunteer programs and upcoming events.
The Associated has a long history of promoting green practices. Manela added that The Associated started one of the area’s first green loan funds over a decade ago, which continues to support energy efficiency initiatives and renewable energy efforts. It was part of what inspired Adamah leadership to start the organization’s Climate Action Fund, which supports Jewish organizations across the country in affording infrastructure that reduces their carbon footprints.
Strella has a great deal of experience in the sustainability field. In addition to his previous work at Pearlstone, he was also on the board of the Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. Now, he works on a much larger scale, overseeing sustainability-related projects on the federal level.
“My role within the Baltimore County administration is to help sustainability scale and accelerate for the government and for residents. When I’m working on that, I draw strength from the fact that across the globe, thousands and thousands of communities have been doing this same thing,” Strella said at the inaugural event.
He introduced several of the sustainability programs and projects that Maryland’s government has introduced. These included the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, which set a goal for the state to operate at a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions level by 2045; and the EmPOWER Maryland Low Income Energy Efficiency Program, which helps local households reduce their energy usage. In 2023, construction started on a new Deer Park Elementary School building, which is planned to be the state’s first-ever net-zero school.
Strella added that while it can be all too easy to fall victim to pessimism when it comes to climate change and the current state of the environment, there are people all over the world working towards sustainability, including in Baltimore.
“I think we have to trust that sustainability — while it’s not a linear path, plan or strategy — is infectious,” he said. “It’s something that we can continue to do for so long. It’s something that can teach us things that we don’t know yet. Whatever it is that gets you outside, that gets you involved, that makes you feel alive … that’s good. That’s the best you can do.”
