LOTEM Making Nature Accessible

LOTEM- Making Nature Accessible was establishjnflogoed in 1993 by Amos Ziv following a moving encounter with a group of visually impaired teenagers hiking in the Israeli countryside. Amos realized that in order to provide these hikers with special needs with the maximum benefit of activities in a rural environment, suitable guidance and more defined trails were essential. Amos enlisted the support of wounded IDF veteran Sorin Herscho, a hero of the 1976 rescue of hostages in Entebbe, who would become the chairman of LOTEM. Mission Today, LOTEM is the leading organization in Israel offering accessible hikes and educational nature activities around the country to children and adults with special needs. These include individuals with visual and hearing impairments, physical, intellectual and emotional challenges and children on the autism spectrum. They also include at risk youth and mothers and children residing in shelters for victims of domestic violence. With one center on an ecological farm in the picturesque Emek HaShalom (Valley of Peace) Nature Park near Yokneam and one in Jerusalem, LOTEM enables more than 30,000 participants to take part in nature activities every year. A JNF partner organization, LOTEM literally unlocks the door of nature to all.