Among the decision makers in Israel, and large sections of the public – open spaces are perceived as empty spaces that have not been built on yet. But this is not so, open spaces are an essential element in the ecological system that we live in.

Open spaces provide natural areas and food sources for a variety of animals, while maintaining the local, biological balance. There are open spaces that constitute ecological corridors for the livelihood and passage of wildlife and even vegetation. In the face of the trends of urban sprawl and monstrous construction, we must be on guard and protect open spaces from the various planning institutions.

Over the years we have led several campaigns in this matter:

• The Struggle Against the Trans-Israel Highway:

Green Course was established on the background of the struggle against the Trans-Israel Highway. At the end of 1999, we stepped up the level of the struggle following the start of construction, and by 2003, we were still involved in the struggle at various levels. Indeed, we did not succeed in preventing the construction of the Trans-Israel Highway, but we succeeded in changing the distorted transportation perception that sanctifies the private vehicle at the expense of public transportation and other means of transport. In addition, it was one of the most unifying and educating struggles of the environmental movement and it led to the establishment of Green Course.

What differentiates us from other entities that joined in the struggle, left the struggle, came back or despaired along the way, is that we did not give up and did not let the movement fall. What was missing? Direct action against bulldozers, going into offices, blocking roads. But more than anything – close and vigorous community work with the residents.

• The Struggle Against the Safdie Plan:

In 1998, an extensive plan was submitted to build 20 thousand residential units on top of natural resources west of Jerusalem, which was named the Safdie Plan. The plan endangered unique natural life including deer, forests and historical and heritage sites. In addition, the plan could have weakened the center of Jerusalem and increased dependence on the private vehicle.

The collaboration of Green Course in the campaign started in 2004, when activists from the Givat Ram Cell had students and residents sign objections to the Safdie Plan. Soon a record number of over 16,000 objections were sent to the Minister of the Interior at the time, Avraham Poraz, who decided to halt promotion of the plan and reexamine it.

Following the protest, in August 2005, a committee on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior was appointed that listened to the arguments of the objectors. However, it was decided to continue promoting the plan. Green Course activists did not despair and towards the final decision at the Nation Council for Planning and Construction, there were demonstrations, educational days, conferences and other creative actions that were designed to show the decision makers that Jerusalem was against the terrifying plan.

In October 2006, the Council convened, and it seemed that this time they would reach a final decision. We acted on all fronts: a protest tent was erected in front of the Ministry of the Interior with original presentations such as a funeral ceremony for the hills of Jerusalem, which caught the eye of the media. On the morning of the decision, one of the biggest environmental protests ever seen in our district at that time, was held, with over 800 people participating. In the face of such widespread opposition, the decision about the fate of the plan was delayed and after several months the Council Members decided by a landslide majority, to take the Safdie Plan off the table and to recommend adding residential units on the existing land reserves in the city.

The Jerusalem hills and the residents of the city, breathed a sigh of relief.

• The Struggle Against Quarrying in the Sands of Samar:

The Sands of Samar are the largest sand dunes in the Arava, an area of open natural space that contains a variety of insects, reptiles and rodents, some of them unique to these areas. One day, a group of private entrepreneurs decided that they were interested in quarrying the sands for the construction industry in Eilat. This with total disregard for the uniqueness of the dunes, of the fact that the sand would only provide building material to build houses for a few years, and that there are other, more economical options to obtain building materials than the natural sand.

In 2010, the activity cell and the Arava Institute, together with the Healthy Environment in the Arava Organization and residents of the area, worked to cancel the quarrying and to declare Samar Sands an official nature reserve. True, we did not succeed in completely preventing quarrying, but we succeeded in bringing about the approval of a new nature reserve at the north end of the sands and significantly reducing the scope of land that was intended for quarrying.

• Saving Nahal Ein Zahav

For over a decade, the waters of Nahal Ein Zahav, which flows at the heart of Kiryat Shmona, were pumped by the Water Authority. Some of the water was supplied to Neviot, a company which bottled the natural resource and sold it. The amount of water gradually decreased until the stream dried up completely, which badly damaged the rare ecological systems that exist in it.

Subsequently, the Water Authority pledged in March 2010, that within a few months they would stop pumping water from the stream and would pump from a water reserve near Kibbutz Yuval in the Upper Galilee. The Water Authority’s decision to stop pumping water from Ein Zahav spring within a few months, will allow the residents of the city to again enjoy the stream, which belongs to the public.

The pledge was fulfilled only after the Tel Hai Cell of Green Course got involved, which led to the recruitment of residents, whose participation in the struggle and production of a large, widely reported protest opposite Neviot factories, in collaboration with the association Kisme Teva VeNof (the charms of nature and the landscape) won them the Green Globe Award.