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The Flemington Jewish Community Center was one of the stops of the "Topsy Turvy Bus," part of the nation-wide tour to raise awareness of the newly launched Jewish Climate Change Campaign and promote environmentalism among the Jewish community.

On Nov. 18, the biodiesel-fueled bus, staffed by members of the organization Hazon, arrived at the FJCC to educate Hebrew school students about Judaism's message of caring for the environment.

"This is an exciting opportunity to bring an education program to Flemington that is traveling to schools around the country," said Karen Walsh, the education director of the FJCC Hebrew School who also teaches a class on Jewish environmentalism there.

The "Topsy Turvy Bus," a collaborative effort with Teva (tevalearningcenter.org), a Jewish environmental education group, started its tour outside the United Nations in October in conjunction with Jewish Social Action Month.

Last month, the bus, which is constructed out of two chasses fused together, began its three-month journey across the country. Outfitted with a rooftop garden for food, solar panels for electricity, worm-filled compost bins, as well as a human-powered bicycle generator, the vehicle's features help promote the environmental message it delivers to communities throughout the nation.

The bus has made stops at synagogues, Jewish schools, and other Jewish institutions across the country to deliver that message.

For Walsh, bringing this program and its message to the Hebrew School at the FJCC signaled how tending to the environment is very much a Jewish issue.

"This is a very hot topic in the secular world and there is a strong ethical and moral component that as people and as Jews, we need to start thinking about the environment," she said.

During its stop in Flemington, the educators accompanying the bus offered activities for Hebrew school students from 3rd to 8th grade, which included touring the bus, solar oven making, and lessons that connected energy conservation to the story of Hanukkah.

Walsh said that religious education can teach lessons that go beyond those taught in children's science classes in school.

"I think part of Hebrew school is not just about learning the prayers for one's bar mitzvah, it's also about learning to lead an ethical life," she said.

Following these activities, the program focused on the new Jewish Climate Change Campaign.

The Jewish Climate Change Campaign was launched at the recent Windsor Celebration, alongside similar campaigns by of other religious groups at the request of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, which, in partnership with the United Nations, seeks to advance sustainability efforts by the world's religions.

Over the past several years, the Flemington Jewish Community Center has been working on sustainability issues. The 6th grade curriculum, for example, has devoted some time to learning about the environmental tradition within Judaism and last year students hosted an environmental fair.

The Flemington Jewish Community Center has also created a "green team" that will explore and implement various energy-saving measures.

"Right now the Jewish Community Center is looking to get the Jewish community to take steps to make the community more sustainable," said Walsh.

"I think its important because the environment is important -- it's a way people can connect to Judaism and to the environment," said FJCC Rabbi Evan Jaffe, who said that the "Topsy Turvy Bus" helped expand his horizons about what Jews are doing to promote environmentalism.