{"id":3299,"date":"2020-09-14T07:42:01","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T07:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/?p=3299"},"modified":"2020-11-03T13:07:36","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T13:07:36","slug":"a-new-israeli-initiative-aims-to-protect-urban-wild-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/en\/animal_plants\/a-new-israeli-initiative-aims-to-protect-urban-wild-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"A new Israeli initiative aims to protect urban wild plants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Urban wild plants in Israel\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e5AyY2RxZfY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One day,\nwhen Alex Ringer from Nesher, a city in the north of Israel, went out for his\nmorning walk, a couple of neighbors stopped him and drew his attention to some\nwords written in chalk on the ground, appearing to indicate the name of a plant\ngrowing next to the sidewalk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;They\nasked me: \u2018Alex, have you seen these markings before? Do you know who did that?\u2019&#8221;,\nRinger says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ringer told\nhis neighbors that he was responsible for the writings and also that he is one\nof the dozens of nature lovers who currently tag wild plants throughout Israel\nand document their sightings in the Facebook group &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/YoterMeassavimShotim\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">More than Weeds<\/a>.&#8221; Ringer set up the group to\nraise awareness about the importance of urban wild plants and wildlife and\nintroduce residents to the colorful nature around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\n75-year-old Ringer may not be a botanist, but plants have always been a part of\nhis life. &#8220;I studied biology in high school, and I was a master in\nidentifying plants,&#8221; he says. &#8220;I enjoyed looking up all the details\nthat make up the plant in a book called &#8216;The Identification Book for the Plants\nof the Land of Israel&#8217;. That was long before all the apps, websites, WhatsApp,\nand Facebook groups for plant identification.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ringer sees\ngreat importance in preserving urban wild plants, often referred to as\n&#8220;weeds,&#8221; or &#8220;nuisances,&#8221; unwelcome in gardens and public\nspaces. &#8220;My backyard contains all the wild plants of the area, which I\nconsider a continuation of nature,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Wild plants have a role\nto play in the city,&#8221; Ringer says. &#8220;Some nectar-producing plants are\nused by bees and other pollinating insects.&#8221; In fact, many wild plants\nprovide larger amounts of pollen and nectar than a few fully-grown garden\nplants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;There are also trees like buckthorn, whose fruits provide food for birds.&#8221; In winter, animals like insects and snails, which live inside the sidewalks and walls, can eat the plants&#8217; roots, and when they thrive,&nbsp; animals that feed on them, like birds and hedgehogs also benefit from the plants. On top of this, of course, you have the aesthetic value of the flowering plants in the city streets.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05e7\u05d5\u05d8\u05d1-\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05d9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05e7\u05d5\u05d8\u05d1-\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05d9.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05e7\u05d5\u05d8\u05d1-\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05d9-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05e7\u05d5\u05d8\u05d1-\u05de\u05e6\u05d5\u05d9-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption><em>Alex Ringer and dozens of nature lovers currently tag wild plants throughout Israel and document their sightings in the Facebook group &#8220;More than Weeds.&#8221; (Tribulus Terrestris)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Tagging\nplants across Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ringer was\ninspired to create a wild plant labeling project in Israel when he read about\nsimilar initiatives in other countries. The idea first developed in France,\nwhere a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecologie.gouv.fr\/lutte-contre-pollutions-leau#e3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">state-imposed\nban<\/a>&nbsp;on the use\nof herbicides and pests in public areas prompted an increase in wildflower\nawareness. French botanist Boris Fresco started the movement when he decided to\ntag the plants on the streets of the city of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brut.media\/fr\/entertainment\/toulouse-ce-botaniste-trace-a-la-craie-le-nom-des-plantes-sauvages-f1bbaded-03d9-4f27-9f66-f7bbea25df31\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Toulouse<\/a>. A video of him labeling plants\nacross the city has garnered over 7 million views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From there, the phenomenon spread to other cities in Europe, most notably to London. A post uploaded on&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/edarcherthinks\/status\/1247569369292570625\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>&nbsp;that included photos of chalk-marked plants in London received over 125,000 likes and was shared more than 20,000 times. The initiative is being promoted in London by Sophie Gil, a French botanist, and resident of the city. Gil has received special permission to label street plants, although it is prohibited by British law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"893\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05d8\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05d8\u05e8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05d8\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05d8\u05e8.png 893w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05d8\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05d8\u05e8-300x210.png 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05d8\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05d8\u05e8-768x538.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 893px) 100vw, 893px\" \/><figcaption><em>Ringer was inspired to create a wild plant labeling project in Israel when he read about similar initiatives in other countries<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Nature in the city<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ringer shared\nan&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2020\/may\/01\/not-just-weeds-how-rebel-botanists-are-using-graffiti-to-name-forgotten-flora-aoe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">article<\/a>&nbsp;about\nthe global phenomenon in the Facebook group &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/botanicalovers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Botany for Lovers of Wild Plants of Israel<\/a>.&#8221;\nWhen his post received hundreds of likes, comments, and shares, he decided to\nimport the initiative to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I went out to the parking lot near my house, where a fig tree grew\nin a crack between the sidewalk and a stone wall,&#8221; Ringer says. &#8220;I\ndiscovered it many years ago. The tree grows and grows, and the municipality\nkeeps coming back, pruning, tearing, and abusing it. This tree was given the\nfirst tag.&#8221; The picture of the tagged tree serves as the profile picture\nfor the Facebook group he created. Ringer also approached Gil and agreed to\nname the group after the&nbsp; London\ninitiative, &#8220;More than Weeds.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, the\ngroup is publishing photographs of wild plants with their name written in chalk\nnext to them on a daily basis. Apart from Ringer, several dozen people from all\nover Israel post pictures in the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ringer\nhopes the initiative he is leading will contribute to raising public awareness\nof wild plants. In a poll conducted by a British polling company, only 6\npercent of participants aged 16-24 were able to correctly identify a violet.\nSeventy percent of respondents in the same survey expressed a desire to know\nhow to identify more wildflowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We\nwant to connect people to urban nature, and show them that cities also offer fascinating\nflora,&#8221; says Ringer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The goal is to enhance the knowledge of pedestrians, and to convey the message that these plants are not &#8216;weeds&#8217;, but plants that have value and importance.&#8221;&nbsp; According to Ringer, knowing the plants will encourage residents to preserve them. &#8220;People will look at the photos and ask themselves, &#8216;How come I never noticed how beautiful that plant actually is?'&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05db\u05ea\u05dc\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05db\u05ea\u05dc\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4-1.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05db\u05ea\u05dc\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/\u05db\u05ea\u05dc\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4-1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption><em>&#8220;We want to connect people to urban nature, and show them that cities also offer fascinating flora,&#8221; says Ringer. (Parietaria Judaica &#8211; or pellitory of the wall<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>&#8220;There\nis no greater satisfaction than this&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does\nthe future hold for the &#8220;More than just Weeds&#8221; initiative?\n&#8220;First of all, I would like to increase the number of members and\nencourage more people to take part in the initiative,&#8221; Ringer says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later,\nRinger is interested in giving tours, where participants will label wild plants\nthemselves. He is currently looking for a botanist to assist him in the guided\ntours and contribute some professional knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I\nwould also like to contact local authorities to make them aware of the\nimportance of preserving wild plants across the city. That is, if they have to\nprune or uproot a plant, they would know how to do it carefully, refraining\nfrom the use of environmentally harmful substances, and cause the least harm,\n&#8221; says Ringer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ringer\ncalls on the residents Israel wherever they may live, to go out and label wild\nplants in their neighborhoods, including those who don&#8217;t know the first thing\nabout plants. &#8220;Go for a stroll down a street, equipped with your\ncuriosity,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThen, if\nyou do not know the name &#8211; take a picture, and ask someone in a WhatsApp group\nthat deals with the subject or in a Facebook group like ours,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou can also go to the website &#8216;Flora of Israel Online&#8217; and look up any details about the plant you found, like which family it belongs to when it blooms and what fruit it bears. The next time you pass by the plant, you can write the name next to it, take a photo, and upload it to the group. I think there is no greater satisfaction than that, &#8220;he concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This ZAVIT article was also published in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/opinion\/israeli-initiative-aims-to-protect-urban-wild-plants-642229\">The Jerusalem Post <\/a>on 09\/13\/2020.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One day, when Alex Ringer from Nesher, a city in the north of Israel, went out for his morning walk, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":3320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"post-meta-fields":{"_edit_lock":["1604408856:11"],"_thumbnail_id":["3320"],"_edit_last":["11"],"subtitle":["Have you recently come across some strange words written in chalk on the sidewalk? Most likely, this is not a children's game, but a new initiative aiming to raise awareness about the importance of wild plants in the urban environment \u2013 and it is gaining momentum."],"_subtitle":["field_59d3d36ea7fe1"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"],"_oembed_f4a05e5d8ca61a309d74529550ab09f0":["<iframe title=\"Urban wild plants in Israel\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e5AyY2RxZfY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>"],"_oembed_time_f4a05e5d8ca61a309d74529550ab09f0":["1600069321"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3299"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3546,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3299\/revisions\/3546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}