In an effort to protect the environment around her hometown, a 12-year-old Highland Park girl is planting trees in Israel.

Belle Gabel-Frank, as her bat mitzva project, asked synagogues in and around the borough to buy enough trees through the Jewish National Fund to offset their own annual carbon dioxide production.

"Actually, my idea was to get synagogues nationally to erase their carbon impact by buying trees," said Belle, who will become bat mitzva Dec. 8 at Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick. "A lot of people have been interested in this. I guess they never heard of anyone doing anything like this, and I've been getting a lot of support."

Belle plans to buy 100 trees — enough to offset a year's worth of carbon dioxide production from Anshe Emeth — on behalf of her own synagogue. The plan is for people at other shuls to purchase their own trees.

As she began her project, one of the people Belle contacted was Rabbi Eric Lankin, JNF's chief of institutional advancement and education and a Highland Park resident. He informed her the organization was already working on its GoNeutral-An Environmental Movement for Tomorrow project.

The campaign, unveiled Aug. 30, seeks to educate individuals about their personal impact on the environment and provide tools to help them halt climate change (see sidebar).

"Our Jewish tradition reminds us of our responsibility for the Earth," said Lankin, who said Belle was one of the first in the nation to participate in the GoNeutral campaign.

"I look forward to working with Belle," he said. "She is a tremendous example of youth leadership."

Rabbi Bennett Miller of Anshe Emeth also praised his young congregant's project.

"It's a mitzva extended in lots of ways," he said. "She's dealing with ecology. She's connecting to Israel. What better way to connect with God's earth?"

Belle, the daughter of Highland Park Mayor Meryl Frank and energy and public utilities consultant Steve Gabel, said she got the idea for her project after discussing her concern about global warming with her mother.

"She's very into the tree community thing, and that kind of inspired me and got me interested," said Belle. She also had her interest piqued by a global warming program presented at school.

She sent out information to all area synagogues and has spoken with a representative from each of the five shuls in Highland Park. She has also has received an invitation from Andrew Getraer, director of Rutgers Hillel in New Brunswick, to address the student group about her tree project.

Gayle Brill-Mittler, a past president of the Highland Park Conservative Temple-Congregation Anshe Emeth, said her synagogue may be interested in participating. Moreover, she liked the project so much that as national assistant chair of the Social Action/Public Policy Committee of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, she planned on bringing it up at its next meeting.

"I'd be delighted to see if there was something we could do to help Belle," said Brill-Mittler. "I think it is wonderful that Belle, or any of our young people, could find a way to bring greater awareness to issues of our environment and tikun olam in a very Jewish way. It reinforces my faith in the worldliness of our youth."

The temple, part of which was destroyed by fire in August 2006, is incorporating many "green" environmental features into its new facilities.

Belle said she hopes to branch out to synagogues outside the area and state over time in the hopes of encouraging them also to go green.

It is not the young environmentalist's first foray into raising money to help others. Several years ago she joined with her older sister, Eve, to form the Belleve Company. The sisters made earrings that were sold to benefit the Tikva Children's Home in Odessa, Ukraine.

She also had the example of older brother, Eli, who collected supplies for a Jewish medical center in Vilna as his mitzva project and oldest brother, Gabriel, who collected sports equipment for a community center in Jamaica.

Each child was also taken by Frank and Gabel to see firsthand how their efforts helped those in need in Vilna, Odessa, and Jamaica. The family plans a trip in October to Israel, where Belle will tour JNF facilities and plant trees.

Belle said she hoped to donate 20 percent of her bat mitzva gifts to charity.

"We have a deal in our family that our children must donate 10 percent of their gifts, although I'm thrilled Belle wants to give 20 percent," said Frank. "She is so thoughtful about these things. She became a vegetarian three years ago, and no one else in our family is a vegetarian. She gave this a lot of thought."

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