Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. V I L ast year, the school added 208 acres to support staff hous- ing and expanded programs, including school programs, teacher institutes, retreats, conferences and summer camps. is year, it partnered with local schools to provide pro- fessional development centered on climate change education. Mainebiz: What have these transformations meant for operations? Drew Dumsch: e evolution between December 1998 to now was very delib- erate. Coming to River Bend Farm and having this amazing live-and-learn campus really sped things up. MB: What's the status of your facilities projects? P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY NONPROFIT/EDUCATION/ ENVIRONMENT LEADER Drew Dumsch Founder, the Ecology School The Ecology School theecologyschool.org River Bend Farm, 184 Simpson Road, Saco What it does: Nonprofit environmental living and learning center for children and adults Employees: 15 fulltime, 15-20 seasonal Enrollment: 7,000 annually The Ecology School, a nonprofit environmental living and learning center for children and adults founded by Drew Dumsch in 1998, has been in transformation mode. For 19 years, it operated in the spring and fall seasons at a leased property in Saco. In 2017, the school bought and moved to the 105-acre River Bend Farm in Saco. The school raised $14.1 million to build a 9,000-square- foot dormitory and 7,000-square-foot dining commons to "Living Building Challenge" specifications — the first Maine location to aim for that certification, which exceeds ratings of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and the Passive House Institute. C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 2 » Tackling outdoor schoolwork environmental learning B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r Ecology School's Drew Dumsch transforms M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 2 4 30

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