Delighted about warmer weather and so many events in our thriving ecosystem!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Novella Center: Trenton Pre-Accelerator Showcase
April 10: Pre-Hackathon Game Night | Skillman
April 11-12 NJ Hackathon | Skillman
April 14: Startup Grind Bar Night | Princeton
April 15-16: Princeton Materials Institute Symposium
April 16: TiE: Grit to Greatness: The Pharma Entrepreneur's Journey | Bridgewater
April 20: Princeton Robotics Inaugural Symposium
April 22-24: eMerge Americas | Miami (Jim Barrood speaking)
April 28: BioNJ Entrepreneurs Exchange | online
May 13: INNOVATE100 Celebration | State Theatre (waitlist opens soon for public)
May 15: AI Sprint: Learning Lab for Aspiring & Current Entrepreneurs I Princeton
May 28: NJ FAST Expo 2026 I Hoboken
Here’s a reminder that the JTI website offers many resources for entrepreneurs and innovators; there is also now a LinkedIn page, so please follow.
Entrepreneurial Support
Government/EDA/SIC Hubs
Capital Resources
University Innovation
Hope to see you soon! Happy Easter and Passover!
Good podcast re responsible AI from Dwarkesh
As warmer weather arrives, here’s a fun reminder, courtesy of AXIOS:
Bathing in nature
Feeling burnt out or bummed out? Time for a bath. Not the typical kind, Axios' Natalie Daher writes
Forest bathing — no wetsuit required — is the practice of immersing in nature so completely that, for a fleeting moment, your push notifications cease to exist.
The big picture: There's no summit to reach or pace to keep. Forest bathing is an act of surrender. You let the senses lead, entranced by whatever the woods are doing.
👃 It's all about the senses: You smell the cedar aroma. You hear the crunching leaves beneath your feet, the birds chirping. You see the flora and fauna blossoming, the steady stream of water from a babbling brook.
😌 The remedy has been linked to reduced stress, improved mood, lower blood pressure and a stronger immune system, AP reports.
Zoom out: The term "Shinrin-yoku" — Japanese for "forest bathing" — was coined in 1982 by the director for Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The country was deep into technological revolution, urban offices were multiplying — and people needed an escape.
🌿 Forest bathing guide Melanie Choukas-Bradley tells Axios: "The stresses of contemporary life can be debilitating. Forest bathing is one of the most powerful ways to let go of stress, and tune in to the beauty and wonder of the present moment."
Choukas-Bradley, a naturalist and nature book author, has been leading forest bathing walks since 2016. "At first I worried that forest bathing might be too woo-woo for Washington, D.C.," she told us. "I have now led dozens of walks" in the District and elsewhere across the U.S.
More recently, "some of those who come on my walks are federal workers who have been fired or have left their jobs," she said.
🧘🏻♀️ Between the lines: Forest bathing isn't the same as meditating under a tree. Meditation asks you to turn inward — to observe thoughts, steady the breath, quiet the mind.
Forest bathing asks you to turn outward, letting the environment do the work.
Your challenge is to intensely focus on the sounds, smells and sights around you.
Try it! You don't need to fly to a national park:
🏞 Head to a local trail, a tree-lined street in your city, or your own backyard.
👂 Leave your headphones and devices elsewhere.
🍃 Give yourself at least 10 minutes to absorb the space. Go slower than you might think is necessary.
The bottom line: "You don't need a forest for forest bathing. ... And you don't need a forest bathing guide," Choukas-Bradley says.
The practice alone "helps us to restore our primal connection" with nature.
