This year has brought profound pain to our communities. It was a most difficult year not just in Palestine but globally. Everyday, our hearts are heavy with the weight of the genocide in the Gaza Strip, watching the systematic destruction of life, the environment (ecocide), and the very future of our people. Here in the West Bank, we have faced our own immense challenges. Unemployment reaching 50%, movement restricted with 1,250 gates and checkpoints installed just this year, and ongoing loss of life and property. Yet, in the face of this darkness, we have chosen to keep digging, keep planting, and keep building. We believe that caring for our land is a profound act of resistance and a way to hold onto hope.
Despite everything 2025 has thrown at us, your support has allowed us to achieve things that felt impossible a year ago. We publish about two research papers a month, thousands benefit from our facilities and programs (with 4–5 events every week), and we are in the final stages of opening the Palestine Museum of Natural History at the new building. It is becoming a beautiful reality. A place where our children can learn about their heritage and the resilience of nature. This year, we also successfully established a seed bank. These seeds are our promise that life will return and flourish. We worked hard to document the environmental impact of the war as well as to develop and implement plans of restoration and renewal.
To see the faces and stories behind this work:
A short video about our work https://youtu.be/qt8OTGoS198
View our daily updates on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH
10-Year booklet https://www.palestinenature.org/annual-reports/10-Years-PIBS.pdf
Visit ushttp://palestinenature.org/visit
We are deeply grateful for your generous contributions of time, money, and resources. Truly, you are the reason we can keep our doors open and our spirits high. You remind us that we are not alone.
Donate: https://www.palestinenature.org/donations/
Volunteer: https://www.palestinenature.org/volunteer/
You can also email us at PIBS@bethlehem.edu or info@palestinenature.org
Joyful holidays to you and yours, and wishing you peace, safety, and a more just and sustainable world (for people and all living things) in the coming year.
With warmth and gratitude,
The Team at the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability: Jessie, Amal, Sara, Johan, Zena, Victor, Mohammed, Saleh, Mazin, and the many volunteers (and soon to expand our team)
Bethlehem University
Bethlehem, Palestine
http://palestinenature.org
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH
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