A new and valuable project for Emek HaMa’ayanot was initiated by participants in the Mechina program’s third year. The decision was to create a new trail that would lead through the settlements, historical sites, springs, and cover the valley’s most charming and magical little corners. The trail is called “The Emek Trail.” Since then, it has served as a platform for numerous educational activities and is promoted in partnership with Chivruta, the Emek HaMa’ayanot Regional Council and The Emek HaMa’ayanot Economic Association, The Israel Nature and Parks Authority, The Drainage Authority, and The Israel Trails Committee. Despite extensive progress, it seems that the project’s potential has not yet been fully realized. To this end, Chivruta has established a new educational program called “On the Emek Trail.” The central aim of this program, which operates in agreement with the various Emek communities, is to create a joint narrative for children and youth comprising intriguing personal stories, as well as tales of the community and captivating accounts of the region at large. The program embodies the desire to inspire a deep, heartfelt connection between the local communities, especially between the children and youth, and instill a sense of belonging and pride in our magnificent Emek, to develop a flourishing community educationally and socially, through love for the Land, familiarity with the “other,” and bringing the communities on board with the project.

We see a need, but also a tremendous opportunity to promote the meeting of youth from the peripheral area with the physical and human landscapes surrounding them. Strengthening the sense of belonging in the community and the region constitutes a huge resource for developing meaningfulness, belonging, and commitment for the youth and their connection to the community, thereby mutually strengthening the growth and resilience of the community.

In practice, the goal is that every one of the children from the Emek, from kindergarten until the end of high school, will have experienced the entire trail, be it by hiking, volunteering, navigating, guiding groups, taking part in a Bar/Bat Mitzva trip, accommodating people with special needs, and more. The project can be adapted for each settlement according to the needs and abilities of the community.