Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
Falls Village, Connecticut
Jewish, Non-Denominational

Isabella Freedman rests on 450 acres of forested land and lush meadows in the foothills of the southern Berkshires. As fall home to the Teva Learning Center and year-round home for the Adamah Jewish Environmental Fellowship, the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center is a living model of what it looks like to steward the land based on Jewish environmental ethics. Guests at the retreat center's 11 lodges see signs posted throughout the center that explain the connection between environmental stewardship and the Jewish path.

In the early 1990s the agency began to open its doors year-round, and it became the primary retreat center for the Jewish communities of New York and New England. Each year, over 30 Jewish organizations, spanning the denominational spectrum, hold retreats at Isabella Freedman.

In 1994, they developed the Teva Learning Center, an innovative experiential learning program for Jewish elementary school students that integrates ecology, Jewish spirituality, and environmental activism. Each fall, Teva serves over 900 students from Jewish day schools throughout New England who come to Isabella Freedman for four-day programs.

In the spring of 2003, Isabella Freedman developed a new program called ADAMAH: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship. ADAMAH is a leadership training program for Jewish young adults (age 20-29), that teaches the vital connection between Judaism and environmental stewardship. Through a six-month residential program, Adamah Fellows live communally and engage in a hands-on curriculum that integrates organic agriculture and sustainable living skills, Jewish learning and living, leadership development, and community building. ADAMAH Fellows work together, learn together, spend Shabbat and celebrate Jewish holidays together, and plant and harvest together. The program strengthens participants' Jewish identity and commitment to tikkun olam through immersion in an ecologically sustainable, spiritually vibrant, and intergenerationally-connected Jewish community, while exposing countless others to a traditionally rooted yet entirely new way of Jewish living.

In addition, ADAMAH Fellows work with Isabella Freedman staff to develop specific retreat workshops for certain segments of the larger Jewish community. These may include curriculum workshops for Hebrew school teachers that bring gardening into the classroom, "green" facilities courses for Jewish facility managers, and a variety of other programs for children of all ages.

Kfar ADAMAH, the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center's new Teen Village, is home to Project ADAMAH. Project ADAMAH is a one to two week residential summer program for Jewish teens that integrates organic agriculture, community building, leadership training, and outdoor Jewish communal living. As with the fellowship program, participants spend their days working on the organic farm, participating in outdoor adventure activities, and partaking in a variety of projects that foster creative self expression.

Recognizing that environmental stewardship is a core Jewish value, Isabella Freedman is committed to operating its facility in ways that minimize its impact on the natural environment.

Conserve Energy and Water by:

• Upgrading all lighting throughout the facility to be as efficient as possible. From 2002-2003, electricity consumption fell by 20 percent despite growth in the facilities.
• Purchasing energy and water efficient models when replacing lights, toilets, and washing machines.
• Installing low-flow eco-sprayers in the kitchen.
• Turning off heat and air conditioning when buildings are vacant.
• Installing only low-e double pane windows when replacing windows.
• Installing motion sensors and timers on lights throughout the facility (turned off on Shabbat).
• Establishing a policy to change the sheets and towels every third day, except in the cases of a shorter retreat or a customer request.
• Washing laundry with phosphate-free detergents.
• Installing programmable thermostats in all new buildings and when replacing old thermostats.
• Installing new, more efficient furnaces with AFUE ratings of 90 or higher. Learn more about efficient furnaces.
• Harvesting rainwater for landscape irrigation.
• Purchasing new air conditioning units rated at least SEER 14.

Limit the Use of Toxic Chemicals by:

• Prohibiting the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides anywhere on the grounds.
• Painting all indoor spaces with low or no VOC paint.
• Using treated lumber for building projects that does not contain arsenic.
• Using laminated wood flooring with at least 35 percent FSC Certified wood content. Learn more about responsible forest products.

Prepare and Serve Food with the Environment
in Mind by:

• Purchasing produce from local organic growers whenever possible.
• Using herbs grown on site, eggs from on-site chicken coop, and honey from on-site bee hives when they are available.
• Composting all vegetable and fruit scraps.
• Using reusable utensils, flatware, and table settings and avoiding Styrofoam completely.
• Using cloth napkins or recycled paper napkins when disposables are necessary.

Reduce Waste by:

• Providing recycling bins in main meeting areas.
• Installing 100 percent recycled carpets in the newly renovated office.
• Separating the recyclable content from the waste collected daily from guest rooms.
• Using recycled paper and paper products in the office as well as in the public bathrooms.
• Having a local recycling vendor pick up bottles, cans, plastics, cardboard, and newspapers twice a week.
• Donating, when feasible, larger items such as furniture, tires, appliances, and bedding, rather than discarding them to the landfill.
• Training new staff on recycling policies.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself" is Judaism's core value. It's impossible to take this seriously and not embark on a path of social and environmental justice. Executive Director Adam Berman says, "We hope that endeavors here will serve as an example to the 10,000 guests who visit us each year, and to the larger Jewish community."

Contact: Adam Berman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Organization Website: www.isabellafreedman.org