JEM - GROWING AND EXPANDING FROM A SOLID FOUNDATION

JEM

GROWING AND EXPANDING FROM A SOLID FOUNDATION

LAURA DOWNS

Since I stepped into the role of Joint Environmental Mission (JEM) Program Coordinator this past September, many alumni, parents, current and former teachers have reached out to share their own JEM experiences. They have expressed how much they value the program and how excited they are to see its continued success.

While visiting our partner school in Belgaum, India last fall, I witnessed so many small but moving moments of connection that really brought to life the stories I had heard. Teachers joyfully reunited with friends from past visits; students learned new games with host siblings and cooked Indian dishes with their host parents and grandparents; and an Indian student who had visited BFS years ago came to spend time with the student whose family had hosted him! These poignant moments – all marigold garland-draped, masala-spiced, henna-ed, tabla-drummed, and banyan-shaded – left deep and lasting impressions.

It has been almost 30 years since Buckingham Friends School first received visitors from School n.213 in St. Petersburg, Russia (then the Soviet Union). The warm friendships and global concerns that were shared between our two schools, both during and after that initial visit, eventually led to the founding of the JEM program. Since then, the

program has grown and evolved. Our students and faculty have travelled to a dozen different countries, spanning six continents. They have: trekked in the Amazon Rainforest; snorkeled near the Great Barrier reef; drunk tea in the warmth of a Russian kitchen; lived with Maasai communities in Kenya; and with Quechua communities in Ecuador. On our recent India trip, we learned about renewable energy at wind and solar farms, and explored stunning 5th century Hindu cave temples.

JEM’s environmental theme this year is soil. Students in all grades have been engaging with this theme – with their minds and hands. Like all JEM themes, this one is both elemental and expansive, yielding rich and varied opportunities for exploration – from the basics of soil composition to the benefits of organic farming; from the global concerns of soil erosion to soil as metaphor in poetry. As the great Wendell Berry said, “The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.”

I am honored to take up the mantle carried so passionately and thoughtfully by Hillary Spitzer and Karen Seaton, and to expand upon their foundational work. We currently have active (reciprocal visit-based) relationships with five JEM schools and are exploring new partnership opportunities. As we look to the future, we seek innovative ways to use digital tools to build and sustain personal connections and educational collaborations between JEM schools, across all grade levels. And as climate change looms ever larger, we seek to renew our commitment to JEM’s environmental focus.

Our future plans include hosting an Earth Summit on campus in 2021, to which we will invite representatives from all JEM partner schools. As those who have experienced past Earth Summits can attest, it is sure to be a profound and exhilarating event, one that will involve our extended school community and visitors in the exploration of critical social and environmental issues through both local and global lenses. The Earth Summit will also coincide with the 30th anniversary of the first JEM trip. It will be a perfect opportunity for our community to reflect on the program’s rich history and envision the future of the program.

The world has changed in many ways since that first visit with Russian students, but the core principles – and the extraordinary impact – of JEM remain constant. During these exchanges, students and teachers alike discover the ways in which they are different from – and more importantly, similar to – people from all around the world. They exchange unique perspectives and find common ground, learning what it means to be more engaged global citizens and active stewards of our shared Earth. I am excited to lead this special program into its fourth decade with the support of the BFS community!