DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .
From the website of the Palestine Museum of Natural History
You are invited to join Global Friends of Bethlehem University (BU) Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) and Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS). We are excited to announce this 2016 initiative so fill out this form http://goo.gl/forms/Z7nmOGFC9i (if you have difficulty email us at info@palestinenature.org) to tell us your location and a bit on your background so that we can connect you with other friends of BU-PMNH/PIBS in your country. We will send you more information about HOW YOU can become part of such a global network.
For now let us explain WHY doing so is important.
Frame from video about museum
PMNH/PIBS team members and volunteers work locally and globally to protect our environment, educate people around the world on environmental threats in Palestine (such as effect of apartheid wall, industrial and other Israeli colonial activities), and implement programs of environmental and agricultural sustainability on the ground especially in marginalized Palestinian areas. With limited resources and time, we have already achieved much:
– Published many research papers on areas from environmental health to biodiversity
– Held over 20 workshops on areas ranging from permaculture to cancer
– Over 1000 students visited us either in the science festival programs held at the museum or outside
– We developed our museum and its botanical garden in terms of infrastructure, human resource, and volunteers. This includes a wetland ecosystem, an aviary, a green house, three aquaponic systems, beginnings of an exhibit hall, a local tree garden, and more.
– Implemented projects of recycling, up-cycling, composting, green walls, and other permaculture projects.
– Developed projects for transfer of technology in our experimental garden to farmers and potential farmers.
– Undertook outreach and partnerships with hundreds of local, regional, and global entities (governments, schools, universities, NGOs, etc.) and had several hundred internationals visit the museum grounds (Prof. Qumsiyeh also traveled to five countries promoting the museum work and discussing potential collaborations during invited speaking tours). Several join projects are already underway as a result.
The museum (palestinenature.org) and its botanical garden are also important in providing young people with options, directions, and a new way of looking at themselves and their environment (empowerment and nature conservation). We now have an integrated system for research and education to address areas in need in Palestine: healthcare, environment, and agriculture (especially permaculture). We have dozens of volunteers but we can accelerate our progress with YOUR help and accomplish much more. So fill out this form http://goo.gl/forms/Z7nmOGFC9i (if you have difficulty email us at info@palestinenature.org) to tell us you can help from your location (any and all countries including Palestine). Tentative name is “Network for Palestine Nature” (your suggestions on name would be appreciated).