As a dedicated partner of Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, Oseh Shalom plays a vital role in our shared mission to restore the sacred watershed of the Chesapeake Bay. Their on-the-ground efforts demonstrate how faith communities can significantly improve water quality, showing that congregations like Oseh Shalom are the heart of environmental change—making our work possible and our Bay healthier, one action at a time.

Oseh Shalom's Green Team has taken many actions over the last couple of years. With the support of their faith leaders Rabbis Daria and Josh Jacobs-Velde whose connection to nature through a passionate commitment to Judaism has guided the team to transform their campus into a living testament of faith by planting over 100 trees, nurturing native and biblical gardens, and creating habitats that sustain pollinators and wildlife. The Green Team members include some key folks that have made many of these projects a success such as Gary Magnus, Sue Burger, Linda Bergofsky and Linda Solomon who all care and maintain the trees and gardens that provide members a deeper connection to the natural world around them.

With support from IPC’s Tree Planting Action Kit, Oseh Shalom was equipped with both spiritual grounding and practical knowledge to plan a tree-planting event that strengthens their community and the ecosystem. The kit outlines the many benefits of native trees—like improving air and water quality, providing wildlife habitat, and capturing carbon—and walks Green Teams through site preparation, proper planting techniques, and follow-up care. It also includes resources for choosing native Maryland species, spiritual reflections, and educational tools to inspire deeper reverence for the trees planted.

Their rain gardens, sustained in part thanks to IPC’s Rain Garden Maintenance and Blessing Action Kit, go beyond beautification. They serve as functioning green infrastructure, slowing and filtering stormwater runoff that would otherwise carry pollutants into our streams and rivers. The maintenance kit reimagines routine tasks—like weeding, inspecting drainage inlets, mulching, and pruning—as spiritual practices. With prayerful reflections, seasonal care guidelines, and practical step-by-step instructions, the kit helps congregations view their environmental restoration work not as chores, but as sacred acts of stewardship and love.

By restoring the land and embracing natural water systems, Oseh Shalom honors the sacredness of the Earth while actively protecting the health of our shared Chesapeake Bay watershed. These projects are not one-time efforts—they require ongoing commitment, and Oseh Shalom’s team has risen to the challenge with grace and dedication.

You can learn more about the congregation’s efforts and their recent tree planting by watching our Sacred Roots: Trees For Sacred Places Learning Lab—view the recording HERE.

As Earth Month continues and Passover unfolds, Oseh Shalom’s commitment to environmental stewardship offers a timely reflection on renewal, liberation, and shared responsibility. Just as Passover invites us to remember the journey to freedom and our sacred duty to care for one another, Oseh Shalom’s efforts to heal the land and protect our waterways embody that call to action—restoring what has been harmed and renewing what sustains us all. Their commitment serves as a powerful reminder that caring for creation is not just seasonal—it’s a sacred, year-round practice rooted in faith, love, and the shared responsibility to protect our planet and precious waterways.