HEALTH & WELLNESS, PAGES 18-27 FERTILE START BACK TO WORK EBOLA BATTLE
The Jewish Fertility Foundation’s growth leads it to hire a full-time executive. Page 18
The author of “The Fifth Trimester” offers advice for new moms on the job. Page 20
A CDC exhibit honors the heroic efforts that stopped the deadly virus in 2016. Page 26
Atlanta VOL. XCII NO. 28
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
JULY 21, 2017 | 27 TAMMUZ 5777
Johns Creek Teen Wins $36K Tikkun Olam Award By Sarah Moosazadeh sarah@atljewishtimes.com Evan Barnard’s enthusiasm for nature began at a young age in the woods near his Johns Creek home. Now his passion for the outdoors has helped him become one of 15 recipients nationwide of the 2017 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, recognizing teens who strive to solve global issues within their communities through social change. After repairing a vandalized Braille trail at a nature conservancy in Rome, Ga., Barnard, now 19 and a freshman ecology major at the University of Georgia, launched Nature for All, which pairs visually impaired youths with volunteers to share experiences in nature. In addition to providing trails, the organization increases outdoor access for the visually impaired by promoting inclusivity. Barnard, the son of Cathy and David Barnard, also has created a separate website, Nature for the Blind, to link visually impaired people around the world with outdoor opportunities. The website has attracted users in more than 40 countries and 45 states the past six months, Barnard said. The site has been translated into 37 languages and features over 200 nature trails and sensory gardens in 35 countries. Nature trails for the visually impaired emphasize sensory experiences
Photos courtesy of Evan Barnard
Evan Barnard (front) helps visually impaired students make their way along the Whispering Woods Braille Trail in Buford during his third Global Youth Service Day in April 2015. Read more about Barnard at atlantajewishtimes.com.
and provide large-print signs, Barnard said. At the Rome nature conservancy, Barnard and volunteers restored a broken guide and replaced 15 aluminum Braille signs and a guide rope that assists visually impaired visitors along the trail. “I’ve always grown up outdoors and never really understood what a privilege it is to enjoy nature until I visited the Braille trail in Rome,” said Barnard, who has worked with the Georgia Council for the Blind for eight years. “The visually
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impaired are so incredibly able despite their disability and really determined to make their voice known.” After Barnard repaired the nature trail in Rome, he mended the Whispering Woods Braille Trail in Buford. Home Depot donated the lumber and hardware, and volunteers from the company helped build and install signposts and platforms. The Teen Tikkun Olam Awards include a $36,000 prize, which Barnard plans to use for his education. He hopes
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to be a teacher or work for a nonprofit in environmental policy after college. “The award is a huge honor, but it is also a validation of the importance and potential of the work I do. It allows me to carry the tradition of tikkun olam, which started when I first visited the nature trail for my bar mitzvah project,” said Barnard, who attended Congregation Dor Tamid. “It’s important to me to help my community, and it is for that reason I selected my project to help people.” ■
EYE-OPENER
College professors from Emory, UGA and Vanderbilt discuss how less than two weeks in Israel during June educated them on the nation and created valuable career connections. Page 15