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The Council for a Beautiful Israel ascribes great importance to instilling environmental preservation and beautification values within the ranks of the Israeli Defense Force – Israel's most prominent organization.
As the soldiers of today are the citizens of tomorrow, CBI sees environmental education within the armed forces as both influential and effective in introducing core values, which the soldiers will carry with them throughout their lives.
CBI’s IDF-oriented program – a unique experience with added value
The Center for Environmental Education in Tel Aviv hosts added-value educational activities for IDF soldiers and officers on a regular basis. CBI activities are extended to all military units, positions and ranks. The educational department at The Council for a Beautiful Israel has created a special, tailor-made program meant to address several key issues, such as the climate crisis, water and waste management, open space conservation and sustainability while focusing on the unique environmental challenges faced by the IDF, such as ground and water pollution caused by the bases' old drainage systems, and damage to open spaces and wildlife in military training zones.
The program is lead by senior CBI counselors and academic professionals, and is geared to trigger curiosity and raise awareness to a wide range of environmental issues – especially regarding the soldiers' work and life on IDF bases– through actions and teamwork.
This project began as a pilot program launched in 2007. The great enthusiasm with which the program was met within the armed forces soon turned it into a permanent and fruitful feature of the CBI Center.
The program's tremendous success led to the IDF choosing CBI, via a tender, as its official environmental educator, expanding CBI’s educational activity to numerous IDF bases.
The Beautiful IDF Base in a Beautiful Israel Competition
The collaboration between CBI and IDF started long before the educational program, in 1981 when The Beautiful IDF Base in a Beautiful Israel competition was founded. The aim of this initiative was, and still is, to improve the aesthetics of IDF bases in order to improve the military service experience, and to reduce the IDF's environmental impact. Through the years, this competition became a focus of attention and activity within the Israel Defense Force. The competition's success is evident by the vast improvement in the physical conditions on military bases, which, in turn, improves soldiers, officers and commanders' quality of life, service and motivation.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi commended The Council for a Beautiful Israel on its competition and promised to increase the investment in environmental education within the IDF.
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