LATITUDE: 31°18'48"N / LONGITUDE: 34°56'34"E, October 9, 2011. The Meitar Forest, an extension of the Yatir Forest, although non-contiguous with it. The forest, which the JNF began planting in the 1980s, is a green belt meant to create a barrier between the affluent Jewish suburb of Meitar and the Bedouin township of Ḥūra. The hiking trails and bike paths within the new forest are woven throughout the site. The forest is north of the so-called aridity line that marks the threshold of the desert. Below this line, a method known as “savannization” is employed: a mixture of sparsely scattered acacia or eucalyptus trees with bushes and grass between, as found in the savannah region, with irrigation coming from long terraces that collect rainwater, optimizing the water retention. Above it, however, the plantation system consists of rows of Aleppo pine, the most commonly planted tree in Israel., from the series Desert Bloom Artist: Fazal Sheikh (American, born 1965)