Description: Join Engaged Ecology Co-Founder and CEO Jake Ifshin and long-time ISEEN friend and Assistant Head of School at Hotchkiss Josh Hahn for a fresh look at how we are asking deeper questions and co-creating solutions around sustainability in the classroom and institution wide.  Jake will invite you to revisit your own relationship with sustainability and what has been working for you so far in teaching this concept. He will also offer examples from his own experience as a teacher and as a consultant partnering with schools to begin composting, gardening, and reducing waste. Josh will share thoughts about Hotckiss’s journey to incorporate environmental stewardship into every aspect of School life. By taking this solution-oriented approach to environmental issues, Hotckiss prepares students to involve themselves conscientiously in our collective ecological future. The School's regenerative practices (such as producing energy and food, restoring ecosystems, building soil, and achieving carbon neutrality) reinforce an environmental mentality characterized by innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

Facilitators:Jake Ifshin, Executive Director, Everybody Grows
Josh Hahn, Assistant Head of School, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Hotchkiss School

Jake Ifshinis a leader and educator committed to reconnecting people to their own creativity and the wisdom of the natural world. He is fascinated by how humans grow and make connections, and explored this everyday as an early childhood teacher. It was through this role that he discovered the power of gardening and nature as an ally in supporting all humans to be healthy and happy. He has personally created hundreds of unique nature experiences for thousands of people through his work with Engaged Ecology and as director of the nonprofit Everybody Grows. He received a BA and MA from St. John's College where he studied philosophy and the history of science. More recently he earned a Permaculture Design Certificate, a Next Economy MBA, and a 200hr Yoga Teacher Training. He weaves his passions for music, dance, and mindfulness into his work and daily life.

Joshua Hahn joined Hotchkiss in 2009. He holds a B.A. from the University of Vermont and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He taught and coached at The Lawrenceville School until 2006, where he was the Aldo Leopold Fellow. Mr. Hahn then started his own company, Stone Bridge, which provided sustainability education consulting for schools. He has played a leading role in the development of The Hotchkiss School’s environmental initiatives, especially Fairfield Farm, the Biomass Heating Facility, and the Dining Hall’s farm-to-table practices. Mr. Hahn and his wife, Stephanie, live on campus with their two children.

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