Groener cares about his religion. He also cares about the environment. And thanks to an ongoing initiative in the Jewish community, those two aspects of his life are now one.

“Judaism is probably the biggest part of my identity and I love being able to be active and work towards this goal of preserving the environment through a Jewish lens,” said the Ladue Horton Watkins High School senior who attends services at Bais Abraham.

That’s possible through the Jewish Environmental Initiative’s teen group, a band of committed young Jews who are working to make the world a more sustainable place. Now in its fourth year, the organization boasts nine members.

“We’re not a huge group but the students who are involved are really committed and we’ve grown it a little every year,” said Gail Weschler, director of domestic issues/social justice for the Jewish Community Relations Council. “There is definitely interest.”

Beginning as an effort to plant a tree for every Jew in the area, JEI has been running since the late 1990s and now includes a variety of events and efforts from special seders to the Planet Jewish blog to Project Noah, which sends various environmental resource materials to schools and synagogues during the week the story of Noah is read from the Torah.

Susan Mlynarczyk, chair of JEI, said the teen group was a natural extension of the larger effort.

“We’ve found that there is so much interest among younger people because they are really pleased that the Jewish community is involved with the environment,” she said.

Mlynarczyk said that was evident even in her own life.

“My kids drove me crazy with their attempts to make my house more environmentally green,” she laughed. “I finally just gave up and got with the program. Now, I’m environmental, too.”

Shira Feen, a Young Israel congregant from University City, got involved with the teen group through her older brother who was one of the earliest members. Three years later, the 15-year-old Block Yeshiva junior said the initiative is valuable and has both taught her and allowed her to teach others.

“I wanted to help the Jewish community and be eco-friendly,” she said.

She also believes it casts the community in a good light which counters what she feels are negative views of Jews in the media.

“It was important to show the world the greater good of the Jewish people and that we care about the world,” she said.

Aitan began getting involved in JCRC his freshman year and soon found himself in the teen group. He said he really enjoyed being a part of the teens’ efforts to educate congregations on the dangers of Styrofoam.

“I think we actually made a difference in several synagogues and convinced them to change,” he said.

He also liked the presentations to Sunday school classes on environmental issues.

“I really love being able to speak in front of people and know that they want to listen. That’s always one of my favorite parts,” said the 16-year-old. “Even if not all of them are interested, some of them learn something from what I said and will take something away from it.”

Shira Siegel, an 11th grader at Block, said she was looking forward to the upcoming April cleanup effort the teens will undertake along the Mississippi River.

“It’s really important to help with the environment and I think it’s important to educate people because some don’t know,” said the 16-year-old Young Israel congregant who is now in her third year with the initiative.

Other events undertaken by the teens have included a native Missouri plant sale at which a rain barrel was raffled off.

Parents are also pleased with their children’s involvement.

“My wife and I feel strongly that our children need to have an appreciation for the impact that human beings have on their environment,” said Eli Feen, father of Shira Feen. “As Orthodox Jewish parents, we feel very strongly that the world is a place that God gave us and it is our responsibility to take care of it. That’s a fundamental responsibility that humans have.”

Beverley Oskowitz, mother of Aitan Groener, said the family is very committed to the outdoors and her son feels passionately about being a healing influence and about interconnection with the environment.

“Aitan believes as a human being that we should leave places better than we found them and he’s been brought up to see things holistically,” she said.

She said the teens’ link to JEI has helped raise everyone’s awareness.

“So many of the parents are grateful for having JCRC help our children develop a responsible consciousness of their concern for the world,” she said.