In the aftermath of 10/7, SPNI supported communities across Israel living through shock, loss, trauma, and uncertainty. SPNI opened field schools and nature centers, offered steady compassion, and brought expertise directly to families who needed stability. Through shelter, support, and powerful moments in nature, SPNI helped remind people that they were not facing this alone.
This work continues today. Life in the long shadow of 10/7 means these forms of support are still urgently needed, and SPNI stands beside local communities through close partnership, intentional listening, and the ability of nature to help restore and heal. Every step is hands-on, responsive, and guided by what is needed most, for communities, for nature, and for life itself.
SPNI’s 10/7 Response
Crisis care and safe refuge for communities affected by 10/7.
Immediately after 10/7, SPNI provided free emergency housing, meals, and nature-based activities to more than 2,000 displaced families who fled their homes in the Gaza Envelope and northern Israel. Field schools became safe shelters, SPNI teams brought nature programs to evacuees housed in hotels, and educators created moments of calm, structure, and connection for children and adults living through trauma. SPNI also stepped in to support schools from devastated communities, offer temporary housing for reserve soldiers, and keep field schools open as places of refuge across the country. These efforts laid the groundwork for Nature Heals, which continues to bring relief and resilience through nature today.
Nature Heals
Eco-therapy to strengthen Israelis’ mental health.
As a result of the tragic October 7th attacks, the hostage crisis and the ongoing war, at least one in three Israelis are suffering from PTSD symptoms. The tightly knit community of Israel is intricately connected, and with over 1,200 deaths, sexual violence, and additional indescribable atrocities, everyone has been detrimentally affected in some capacity. The trauma has become contagious, passed through constant over exposure to the barbaric and deeply disturbing Hamas videos, news reports and social media. There is a clear need to provide therapeutic rehabilitation to large numbers of Israelis.
SPNI has launched a series of eco-therapy programs to help the high number of Israelis suffering trauma after October 7th. There are programs for all ages, families and individuals, and a special program for traumatized teens.
Restoration in the North and Western Negev
Bringing Life Back to War-Damaged Landscapes.
SPNI is leading a large-scale effort to restore the open spaces of the Northern Region and Western Negev, which were heavily damaged during the war. Together with regional authority clusters, Joint-ELKA, and local partners, SPNI is repairing ecosystems—from streams, forests, and wetlands in the north to fragile desert habitats in the Western Negev—while creating long-term master plans that ensure these landscapes can recover and thrive. This work not only rehabilitates nature, but also strengthens community resilience across Israel’s most vulnerable regions.