The introduction of the Jestermester mini-term to the Emma Willard School curriculum this spring provided a time for many in the Emma community to revel in teaching and learning more about how each person’s choices impact the planet. You could see threads of this passion for conservation both in the descriptions of the experiences as they were presented and in the photos on display after the groups returned to Mount Ida. Some Jestermester experiences stayed right here in Troy, like one focused on sewing for sustainability, or ventured right up the road to the slopes of Lake Placid. Others traveled to tropical rainforests in Guadeloupe or to the clean streets of Singapore.

 

Are the Winter Olympics Melting?

This compelling question, along with the promise of a week packed with winter sports activities, inspired Science Instructor Megan Labbate and English Instructor Mary Hunter to design a Jestermester experience that would take a dozen students to Lake Placid, New York, the home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Little did they know that this particular year, snow would be so non-existent as to seemingly offer an easy answer to their central question.

“Obviously, our theme of the Winter Olympics melting was in our faces because on day two, we tried to go skiing, and the bottom was slush,” Ms. Labbate shares. “When we wanted to go Nordic skiing, it was not possible. We went on a hike instead.” Although they created a fun time in spite of the lack of snow, the group had really looked forward to a time of cold-weather activity. The irony of this year’s unseasonably warm winter was not lost on this group of learners.

Dr. Jay Curt Stager, a professor in the Natural Sciences Department at Paul Smith’s College, was invited to share his concerns and hopes for the future of climate change research. “What really stood out with Dr. Stager was that he was a critic,” Ms. Hunter shares, regarding the professor’s early observations related to climate change. Dr. Stager told the students that he wanted to see the facts—wanted people to prove to him that climate change was a human-created event, not just the regular cycles of the planet’s environment. After this experience, Dr. Stager dedicated his life’s work to climate research, even taking part in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “I think it was a different perspective than what we were accustomed to,” Ms. Hunter adds.

The group also met with local historian Tony Goodwin, who was part of the planning team for the cross-country ski events at the 1980 Olympics, as well as managers from the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which owns and operates all of the Olympic venues in Lake Placid. They addressed the challenges of having enough snow and what that meant for holding winter events. How do you manage to keep artificial snow on a hilltop that has a steep angular pitch? What is the cost-benefit of keeping an outdoor ice rink artificially frozen when the temperatures are in the 60s? Among the efforts at artificially creating cold spaces, the venues have recently installed environmentally-conscious refrigeration systems to reduce their consumption. But it’s not a permanent solution.

In between efforts to educate Emma’s students about the serious impact of climate change, Ms. Labbate and Ms. Hunter led the group through the always-educational process of simply having fun! From ice skating to skiing to curling, the two found it invigorating to experience life with the students outside of the classroom. “It was such fun because all of these activities are things that I love,” Ms. Hunter, who is originally from Switzerland, shares. “Even if it was just hanging out in the kitchen, making food, laughing, dancing—it was just so fun!”

Dia Krylova ’24, a day student, embraced her first glimpse into these joys of community life. “Aside from the plethora of sports I had never tried before, like curling and skiing, the general experience of living in a lodge with a big group of other students was new to me,” she shares, noting that she gained new perspectives that she’ll carry to college in the fall. “I have become a more open person and one who feels more comfortable living and working as a unit.”

Throughout the trip, even in the daily routines of cooking, eating, and drinking, students were receiving instructions about proper recycling, utilizing reusable products, monitoring their consumption, and reducing their own personal footprint. Dia took note. “I began thinking about how much waste is produced by something as simple as packing your own lunch. Snack wrappers, single-use plastic containers, and disposable utensils all can be avoided—I made sure to add reusable lunch bags and utensils to my list of what to bring to college to ensure I continue limiting my waste beyond Emma.” 

One of Ms. Hunter and Ms. Labbate’s goals for the week was to help overcome any defeatism that the students might feel about their ability to impact their environment. In conversations with experts, students learned how they can make a difference by participating in advocacy work, using their voices, and planning to vote in ways that enact change. “The ability to balance fun with a really sobering topic is important,” Ms. Labbate says. “I hope that our students walked away recognizing that it is something that’s real, but it’s also something that’s actionable.” 

 

 

Learning from the Locals

Two thousand miles south of Lake Placid, 15 Emma travelers joined Language Instructors Manon Sabatier and Charlie LeBel and Houseparent Sydney Doornbos for Voyage en Guadeloupe. An island known for its incredible biodiversity and lack of exploitation by tourists, the group enjoyed grassroots experiences while also putting their French skills to the test.

Mme. Sabatier, who advises the Emma Green club on campus, is personally passionate about sustainability and teaching students how to become environmentally conscious citizens of the planet. As a result, much of the work of weaving a thread of sustainability into the experience began behind the scenes. 

One of Mme. Sabatier’s childhood friends is a doctor in Guadeloupe who had warned her that they shouldn’t plan to be able to drink the water on the island. “The French media had been reporting on this,” Mme. Sabatier explains, “because every time it rains—and with climate change, you can’t quite predict when you’re going to have heavy rains—the water level rises so much that the brown waters get mixed with the drinking water.” With this knowledge in hand, Mme. Sabatier set out to make sure the group was equipped with reusable bottles with straws that contained a specialized filter. “We didn’t have to buy dozens—hundreds, really—of plastic bottles that would be single use.” 

After these preparations, the group arrived in Guadeloupe ready to immerse themselves in the native culture. From learning a traditional African dance called Gwoka to discovering the significance of different foods and spices, Bhoomika “Bhoomi” Lingappa  ’24 described the experience as simply “lovely.”

Whether visiting with park rangers in the tropical forest, snorkeling among the fish in the Jacques Cousteau Reserve, or kayaking through Le Moule Mangrove, guides explained the importance of preservation. “It was just stunning to see how intricate the survival of the ecosystem is there, how trees and roots have evolved to adapt to saltwater and how they are going to develop so they can survive,” Mme. Sabatier shares.

“We had multiple conversations with the locals about how tourists haven’t really been respecting nature and the animals,” Bhoomi explains. She was especially impacted by her conversations with park workers. “They were very passionate about their work,” she says. “I am going into environmental studies, and this experience gave me a little bit more hope for the future. When you have such a beautiful space, you learn that it is up to you to respect that place and to make sure that you maintain that level of beauty and leave it untouched. I learned a lot of good values from the locals.”

Bhoomi noted signs posted everywhere declaring, “La Guadeloupe est trop belle pour devenir une poubelle (Guadeloupe is too beautiful to become a trashcan)” to encourage visitors to be mindful of the impact they have on the delicate island ecosystem. Because there were no recycling containers where they were staying, the group from Emma made their own recycling boxes to use during their stay. Mme. Sabatier carried a stash of reusable bags along on the trip with this in mind. “Just like I do at home, I was very mindful of packaging, what we were buying, and how much waste we were creating.” At the end of the trip, they made a special stop to deliver their collection to the recycling center.

Like Ms. Hunter and Ms. Labbate, Mme. Sabatier hopes that students pick up on that thread of consciousness that what we each, as individuals, do has an impact on other people and on the planet. 

“We really need to shift the level of awareness about habits around consuming—throwing away willy-nilly, not recycling. How can we help our students really see the impact of human activity in general and create healthy habits?”

A Shining Example

Cev Shan ’24 and Ryder C. ’26 think they may have found the answer. When they signed up for the Jestermester trip to Singapore and Malaysia—led by Language Instructor Guangyu Hao, Dean of Students Shelley Maher, and Houseparent Genesis Villar—they expected to practice their Chinese skills and have a fun trip outside of the country. What they found was remarkable: a pristine city where the people have made healthy conservation habits the social norm.

“We’re both from New York City,” Cev explains. “We see so much trash on the ground, and the air quality is not very good. But Singapore is one of the biggest cities in the world, and it’s so clean. It was really shocking to us.” 

On their trip to the Singapore City Gallery, Ryder and Cev uncovered the history behind what they saw on the streets. This interactive space introduces visitors to the city systems and how they work. “There was a lot about energy and water conservation, and we really weren’t expecting that,” Ryder says. “Because of how much of Singapore City is a garden, they have to conserve water, which is very expensive there.” Cev describes one activity they found interesting that allowed visitors to uncover how much water they use for showering or washing dishes. The display would then reveal how sustainable they could be versus how they are. Similar exhibits explored the impact of recycling and information about the impact of highways and traffic. “Singapore has no traffic,” Ryder adds. “It’s insane.”

Although Ms. Hao’s design for the trip was centered around uncovering Chinese influence in the cultures of Singapore and Malaysia, they continued to discover ways in which the culture worked to conserve natural resources. “When we visited Pulau Ubin, the students learned about the protection of the land, natural resources, and animals,” Ms. Hao says. “When we visited the local village in Malaysia, they had an immersive experience, participating in local life and staying with local families. Considering the limited resources and the importance of sustainability there, students could compare and analyze all the differences between living in high- and low-sustainability modes.”

Ryder recalls this example: “When we showered. The water would be hot at the beginning and slowly cool down so that you kind of get the effect of hot water, but you’re not wasting as much energy as having extremely hot water all the way through. And I didn’t really mind it at all!”

A final observation from Cev and Ryder provides poignant commentary on a sustainable way of life. They noted a feeling of safety, a culture of respect, and a sense of trust among the people they observed and met. “This sense of security and trust people have,” Cev begins. Ryder finishes the thought, “And just respect for the common society...I feel like it would be really hard to clean up the streets and implement sustainability in a place without first implementing that sense of trust and respect.” 

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Sewing & Sustainability

By Lucia Castro Bigelow ’24

Our first day began with making style mood boards, getting to know each other, and discussing the “Big Bad” of the fast fashion industry: Shein. The group’s general and quickly-reached consensus of Shein’s immorality, from environmental harm to labor law violations, was affirmed by the investigative video on the company from Germany’s Deutsche Welle YouTube Channel entitled “If you think fast fashion is bad, check out SHEIN.” Awesome, I thought, patting myself on the back. I didn’t shop on Shein or order unnecessary clothing hauls from sketchy drop shipping retailers; I was ahead of the game in the “green living” department.

I quickly realized I was wrong as we transitioned into our next activity: looking up our favorite brands on Good On You, a fashion review website that rates and ranks clothing companies’ ethics and sustainable practices. My groupmates and I laughed awkwardly around our table as we were met with the uncomfortable truths of our most-loved brands. Urban Outfitters, Zara, Brandy Melville—just because they were well-established retailers with in-person stores did not mean they couldn’t be just as bad as Shein. 

On Day 2, we learned about clothing landfills—namely, Chile’s Atacama Desert and the beaches of Accra, Ghana—swaths of land covered with mountains of unsold or secondhand clothes. In Atacama, for example, 39,000 tons of clothes get discarded yearly and are left to decompose and release their toxins into the air and water. At Kantamanto in Accra, one of the largest secondhand clothing markets in the world, more and more clothes being imported from other countries are being deemed unsellable by vendors. Fast fashion culture—making cheap clothing to last as long as a trend does—has severely lowered clothing quality while severely increasing clothing quantity. 

Of course, it’s nearly impossible to forgo fast fashion brands entirely, especially because most clothes from “environmentally friendly” companies are much more expensive than the average retailer. However, learning about the price of fast fashion has made me a much more thoughtful consumer. Now that I know about American Eagle’s lack of adherence to their greenhouse gas emissions goal—and what that means for the planet—I won’t be running to fill my cart with items when they drop their spring sales. Instead, I’ll buy what I need and what I know I’ll wear for years to come instead of something I’ll throw out after the latest style trend ends. 

Besides learning about the environmental impact of fashion, we also had the opportunity to make some of our own. Over the course of the week, we made tote bags using a simple pattern and the sewing machines the school provided for us. Over old episodes of Project Runway and a class-made playlist, and with the invaluable help and guidance of Dr. Dettmar and Ms. Egan, we went from cutting huge, raggedy squares of canvas fabric to sewing the last details on our very own totes. It was such a rewarding experience to get to wrap up class on Friday with real, tangible proof of what I had learned over the week. Not only did I now feel entirely more educated and aware of fast fashion’s effect on the environment–and ways to combat one’s contribution to those effects–but I also had a super cool bag that I had made entirely by hand. It felt way more satisfying than just buying a thirty-dollar tote from Amazon. 

Upon returning home for spring break, I proudly presented my dad with my handmade tote bag, walking him through every step of the process in exhaustive detail. “No paper bag, please,” I can now say to the supermarket cashier, sliding my masterpiece across the conveyor belt. When one of the straps of a well-loved tank top broke, I sewed it back together when otherwise I would have begrudgingly thrown it away. Plain black backpacks and jean pockets have become canvases for my endeavors in embroidery. 

I finished my Jestermester with a new, useful skill and a new awareness of my ability to affect the environment for the better or the worse. Being a more informed consumer, I can now actively make decisions when shopping for clothes that will lessen the negative impact—even if just a tiny bit—that fashion production has on the environment.

 

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This article was originally published in the Spring/Summer 2024 edition of Signature magazine. Students, get ready for your Jestermester opportunity! Jestermester Fair is on September 27.