The spring season brings hikers back to the water sources: the special springs that invite you to take a dip in them, and the streams that allow you to walk next to them and sometimes inside them, provided that the water is not too deep and not polluted.
This coming weekend (May 19-21), the Society for the Protection of Nature opens the "Carnival in the River", a full weekend of community activities, tours and special trips - all in streams and wadis around the country. The festival is being held for the third year Local authorities, regional councils and environmental organizations.The trips are of varying difficulty levels, and require pre-registration on the website of the Society for the Protection of Nature.
The purpose of the festival is to expose less familiar streams to the public, and to reveal familiar streams from other and special angles.
Another goal is to mention the importance of streams as a functioning ecosystem, and to engage the public in influencing decision makers, to promote a bill aimed at minimizing pollution in streams.
Shikma River estuary,
"The conservation and restoration of the streams will not only allow them to be a healthy ecosystem for a variety of wildlife and plants, but will be a real resilience against floods and floods," explains Dana Tabachnik, director of the river restoration unit at the Society for the Protection of Nature.
"An ecologically healthy river knows how to contain extreme rainfall events, thus protecting Israeli residents from flood hazards."
A stream for everyone who demands it
As part of the carnival, experiential activities will take place alongside many streams in the country, from south to north.
Some of the activities will take place in well-known streams such as Hayarkon, Banias, Kaziv and Taninim, and others will take place in charming streams that we have written about here in the past - such as Nahal Tzipori, Nahal Zahav in Kiryat Shmona, Nahal Rosh Pina and Nahal Ein Bokek.
Alongside these, we found in the list even lesser known streams that will be exposed to the public during the festival.
Here are some of them:
Nahaila River The
Nahayala was inaugurated a few months ago as a new and fascinating hiking trail between Mount Hermon and the Galilee.
It is actually a basaltic valley, where river channels flow through shallow water, which combines history from the biblical period, through the period of immigration to the Yom Kippur War - so IDF forces repulsed the tanks of the Syrian army.
After 40 years without water, flowed in October 2013 Water to the Nuhayela Channel as part of the Nature and Parks Authority's rehabilitation project, in collaboration with the Kinneret Drainage and Streams Authority. Lives for many species of wildlife, large basalt stones, mustard flowers and also thorny asparagus which is a rare shrub that grows only here.
Nahal Saadia, Photo: Omri Selner - The Society for the Protection of Nature
Nahal Saadia
Nahal Saadia is also a hidden and ancient river that was forgotten by the public and neglected for many years, in the city of Haifa.
The stream is one of the tributaries of the Kishon River.
It flows at the foot of the Carmel and passes through the heart of Haifa Bay.
Several springs flow along the course of the creek, and are responsible for the water flowing in it.
The largest spring between them is Ein Saadia (Iyun al-Saada), hence the name of the stream.
About two years ago, in 2020, a public struggle began in the city to save the creek after it was polluted following the discharge of sewage.
The fight was successful, and around the creek an interesting ecosystem developed that included fish, herons and magellans, alongside turtles, frogs, crabs and a huge variety of flora.
During the festival, there will be environmental operating stations for the whole family in the river, and tours of a three-kilometer route of easy difficulty, along with explanations of the history and the variety of animals and plants.
Salvadora
River A stream whose channel descends the cliff of the replicas in the Dead Sea area, from a height of 400 meters, to the estuary of the Dead Sea.
The lower part of the stream is on the north side and there springs a tiny spring, next to which grows the great Salvadora bush.
The spring is visited by desert songbirds such as Chinese roses and desert gibbons, and other species such as the desert trumpet, black-tailed godwit, dwarf squirrel and desert lark.
The route is about 4.5 km long and is of medium-difficult level, and is suitable for hikers aged 12 and over.
During the festival, birding tours will take place under the guidance of the Jerusalem Birding Research Station. Of the creek.
It is not recommended to walk in it on particularly hot days.
Saadia River,
Nahal Shikma
Nahal Shikma begins in the Hebron Mountains and empties into the pristine Zikim Beach, south of Ashkelon.
The estuary is abundant in the groundwater that accumulates in it, creating the illusion of a wild oasis.
The trip, under the guidance of Sde Shikamim School, begins at the Shikma Dam, which is part of the infiltration water plant in the area, and continues along the north bank of the stream until it empties into the Mediterranean Sea.
It passes through golden sand dunes and acacia trees, pastoral coveted corners and the remains of orchards, and even reaches the "Blue Lagoons" area.
Although immersion in them is forbidden, but if you want to get wet anyway - you can immerse in Zikim Beach where the trip ends.
The route is about three km at a light to medium level, and is suitable for families.
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