Language: Trilingual essays and captions in English, Hebrew, and Arabic
The artwork in this book forms a unique portrait of the Hula Valley, an important agricultural region in northern Israel. This area is located at the crossroads of Eurasia and Africa and is situated along the Great Rift Valley. It is an area rich in wetlands, woodlands, open fields and mountains, and is a critical stopover, breeding, and wintering site for more than 300 bird species, 20 of which are globally threatened. An estimated 500 million birds pass through here while migrating, which is why the Hula Valley is currently being proposed as the largest UNESCO World Heritage Transnational Serial Nomination.
The Israel Ornithological Center of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) teamed up with the International Artists for Nature Foundation (ANF) to produce this book. They brought together 34 artists from around the world to participate in two festivals held during the winter of 2008 and the spring of 2009. The reproductions of their works shows us the Hula Valley in all its splendour.
Edna Gorney lectures, researches, and writes on the interrelationships of society and environment. Edna teaches at the University of Haifa and at Lesley University, Israeli extension. She is also a poet.
Zev Labinger is an ecologist with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. He initiated and organised this ANF project and is one of the participating artists.