Summer at Echo Hill Outdoor School      

School is out for most students in summer but at Echo Hill Outdoor School the activity never stops. This is a special time of year for us in that we host an array of youth groups and organizations from near and far, conduct our Little and Middle Explorers Program for local youths as well as "launching" our popular Summer Explore Camping Trips that explore the Chester and Sassafras Rivers by canoe and aboard our fleet of historic workboats. We are happy to report another successful season with our summer programs.

Groups Visiting this Summer Include:

National Cathedral Scholars

Baltimore City Public Schools "Repeat"

Next Step Charter

Alexander Hamilton Summer Program

Horizons at Radcliffe Creek School 

Morry's Camp

Audubon Naturalist Society

Dragonfly Heart Camp

Maryland National Guard Youth Group

Kent County Public Schools 

Washington College Incoming Freshmen Pre-Orientation

Washington College Chesapeake Semester Students

In this issue we are highlighting just a few of the several special groups that visited our campus this summer and many of our special moments captured in photos. Hope you enjoy reading about these groups and seeing the many smiling faces of our staff and guests in action.

Dragonfly Heart Camp

On July 30th, we welcomed 23 new and returning Dragonfly Heart Camp campers to Echo Hill Outdoor School for a week of challenge, bonding and fun.   While campers immersed themselves in a world of outdoor and special activities, good food, and camaraderie all supported by caring teachers, one would never guess that their stay here was serious business. Dragonfly Heart Camp was formed specifically to allow children who've received heart and/or lung transplants or live with pulmonary hypertension a chance to experience the outdoors.   They do this away from the shelter of the hospital or health maintenance regimen only they can possibly understand.

Dragonfly began five years ago through the efforts of a local mom whose daughter received a heart transplant. The long process was daunting for all but the condition, procedure and health maintenance also severely limited or prevented her child from experiencing many of the activities healthy children take for granted. Realizing that the special programs, environment and trained staff at Echo Hill Outdoor School had for years provided transformative experiences to thousands of school aged children, Rhonda Cataldo thought that the school might also have the same effect on her daughter Sarah and others with similar conditions from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Working with CHOP staff and Echo Hill Outdoor School leadership to organize technical details, reassuring naturally protective parents, and tackling fund raising for fees, Rhonda and her team of volunteers brought the camp to life. And what a success it has been! It became the first and only camp of its kind in the country that is specifically designed to accommodate children with these complex cardio-pulmonary conditions.

The other heroes of the camp are Dr. Brian Hanna, his wife, Dr. Raezelle Zinman, a lung specialist, and a team of professionals (doctors, nurses, and transplant team and child life specialists) who all volunteer their time to accompany campers to the school and engage in many of the same activities. It is they who organize and administer a plethora of necessary medications while providing 24/7 care and support. From a clinical standpoint, Dr. Hanna views the camp as "Therapeutic Intervention." He defines it as a place that, for many of his patients, is the first time that they experience control of their own environment after being incredibly dependent on medical technology. It is a place where they gain self-confidence and interact with other young people who have experienced the same things. All kids are the same while at camp. They can look at the person next to them and be assured that person can relate to them and what they have gone through. Echo Hill Outdoor School and the Dragonfly Heart Camp succeed by fostering a positive attitude, which is so important in a successful transition to early and later adult life. They find that medical technology and state of the art care really works best by letting campers also experience the joys of the outdoors and the simple, yet special, activities heretofore unavailable to them. Echo Hill Outdoor School offers a safe environment while still allowing campers the opportunity to explore. It's just the kind of holistic approach they need!

After a week of challenge course activities and games, fishing, bay studies and ecology programs, arts and crafts, yoga classes, and much more there is often a demonstrable effect on the campers. But it doesn't end there. Echo Hill Outdoor School staff and the accompanying medical team also develop a deeper appreciation for the resilience of youth and their spirit. We at the Echo Hill Outdoor School are proud to serve Dragonfly Heart Camp.

Baltimore Repeat

In May, Echo Hill Outdoor School entertained 6th and 7th grade students from Roland Park and Glenmount public schools from Baltimore. For many, this was the first opportunity to be away from home and experience the range of outdoor residential programs offered by Echo Hill Outdoor School which also serve to complement and enrich their regular classroom regimen. Activities such as exploring the Chesapeake Bay and the swamps, forests, streams, ponds and towns of Kent County left quite an impression.   Individual and group experiences on our adventure course certainly left many feeling challenged yet with a true sense of personal and team accomplishment

However, two months later we are fortunate to have another barometer of their stay. Each year, the Baltimore Community Foundation's Fresh Air Fund provides all expense paid scholarships for about 15 of these students to return to Echo Hill Outdoor School for four days of additional activities which include a full day trip exploring the Chester River on one of our historic boats. We call this program Baltimore Repeat. Conducted in a slightly more relaxed and flexible atmosphere, they are designed to reinforce and build on their prior trip to Echo Hill Outdoor School. Students are nominated by their teachers based on a variety of previous positive behavior and academic accomplishment criteria with input from Echo Hill Outdoor School teachers.

But it is the reaction of the parents/guardians and the students themselves when they are called by our staff notifying them of their selection to come back and enjoy the Echo Hill Outdoor School experience that is so special. According to our staff callers, initial reaction of parents is disbelief. However, it is often followed by a range of emotions including "screams of delight," "sincere appreciation" and "pride" in that their child was fortunate to be selected and will experience what for most is the highlight of their summer, especially when most would not be going anywhere special on vacation. There's also a sense of relief that they would be going to some place that is both familiar and wonderful. Talk about validation of our program!

Morry's Camp

Another special youth group visited Echo Hill Outdoor School this summer. Morry's Camp is a New York based youth development program that began as a tribute to Morry Stein, former owner of Camp Echo Lake in Upstate New York. Morry and his wife Amy rose to the forefront of their field by establishing Echo Lake as one of the finest camps in the country. Morry acknowledged the long-term impact that camping made on the lives of the upper middle class youngsters served by Echo Lake. He very much wanted this experience to be shared with children from all socioeconomic groups. In 1970, Morry created and implemented the Echo Lake Idea, a week-long scholarship camping program for children from disadvantaged communities.

For Morry, this program was just the beginning. His goal was to give no less than every American child, regardless of economic status, the invaluable gift of summer camp. Morry was the Chairperson of the American Camping Foundation, an organization that raised over $1 million to send underprivileged children to summer camp. On October 28, 1994, he traveled to Martinsville, Indiana to head the Foundation's Annual Board Meeting. The meeting was charged with excitement as the organization was nearing its fundraising goal, and the gift that Morry felt was so needed was about to be given. Unfortunately, Morry's life was taken on his return flight home, before he could fulfill his mission. In 1995, inspired by his dream and to ensure that his vision of summer camp for all children became a reality, Morry's friends, colleagues, campers and family created Morry's Camp. The camp has now grown into Project Morry, a nonprofit, year-round youth development organization, anchored by a residential summer camp with an educational focus. The organization is dedicated to giving inner-city children enriching learning opportunities through a curriculum based on school gatherings and an intensive summer camp program. The children, for whom these experiences would not otherwise be available, benefit from a network of support and gain increased social skills, enhanced self-esteem, positive core values and a greater sense of personal responsibility.

Campers enter the Morry's Camp program as Undergrads in 4th grade as "freshman" and move through a series of facilitated school year gatherings and summer residential camp experiences in their "sophomore" (or 5th grade year), "junior" (in their 6th grade year) and "senior" year in the 7th grade. They continue this experience throughout their high school years as "post-graduates." Goal setting, overcoming obstacles, taking actions to make their community stronger, confidence building, and evaluating and pushing forward towards personal goals are some of the elements stressed by the camp, elements similar to those espoused by Echo Hill Outdoor School. Campers in the Post-Grad program visit Echo Hill Outdoor School each summer where their experience, especially in individual and group development, builds upon the Morry's Camp personal development program.   It remains popular with both their campers, counselors and administrators. We are happy to be part of Morry Stein's dream!

The name is as familiar as the songs: If I Had a Hammer, Where Have All The Flowers Gone, We Shall Overcome, Turn, Turn, Turn and so many others he wrote or co-wrote. Many consider Pete Seeger's songs the music of a generation although their message is timeless. Not surprising, he is also an avid environmentalist, helping to launch the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Project, which he co-founded in 1966. This environmental organization has worked since then to highlight pollution in the Hudson River and worked to clean it. As part of that effort, the 106-foot sloop Clearwater was launched in 1969. The sloop regularly sails the river with volunteer and professional crew members, primarily conducting environmental education programs for school groups. The Great Hudson River Revival (aka Clearwater Festival) is an annual two-day music festival held on the banks of the Hudson at Croton Point Park. This festival grew out of early fundraising concerts arranged by Seeger and friends to raise money to pay for Clearwater's construction.  

Fortuitously, Pete's inspiration for using music to fund good environmentally-based causes recently found a home in Kent County in the form of the Mainstay Scholarship in Honor of Pete Seeger. Tom McHugh, founder of the Rock Hall-based Mainstay, a non-profit dedicated to the arts and community service, wanted to feature a weekend of music this past June dedicated to Pete's music. Tom became well acquainted with Pete when he joined the Clearwater Project in 1974 and had contacted Pete for permission to feature his music. Pete immediately responded not only with enthusiastic permission but with the suggestion that some proceeds go to funding a scholarship for a local student who is Latino or African American.  

We think that Pete and Tom would be pleased with one of this year's scholarship recipients and his recent Summer Explore Program experience.   Silas appeared a little apprehensive about embarking upon his 5-Day Chesapeake Buy Boat adventure but that soon melted with the world of discovery that lay ahead.   According to first mate (EHOS Teacher) Amanda Fry, Silas literally blossomed, wanting to do and explore everything possible. Activities such as fishing, netting, swimming, species siting and collecting, and learning about the river and vibrant ecosystem really aroused his natural curiosity. As a crew mate, Silas took immediate responsibility for helping out on the boat, rising to the level of a "first swabbie" as a result. He really "embraced the environmental aspect of the on-board camping trip," said Amanda. However, she was most impressed with Silas's fascination with The Lord's Oysters, a novel about a boy growing up on the Chester River by acclaimed local author Gilbert Byron, one of the popular books read to and by the "swabbies' during their trip.   Just maybe, Silas thought he had taken on the persona of the book's main character in his new adventure? All-in-all, Pete and Tom and the Mainstay "Kids Are First" program could not have asked for a better transformation and outcome. Thanks to both for their vision and support!  

(A Photo Essay)   

The Summer of 2012 at Echo Hill Outdoor School (Fun Abounds!)  

A Wind to Shake the World....
Echo Hill Outdoor School Survives June 29-30th Storm

The day was hot and humid even by Eastern Shore summer standards. Triple digit temperatures created oppressive conditions throughout the mid-Atlantic region, which meteorologists say contributed to the development of a rare but powerful weather phenomenon call a derecho, a violent storm system that can produce widespread wind damage across a large area and is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers and thunderstorms. With little advance warning, the fast moving storm hit Kent County and Echo Hill after dark on Friday, June 29 into the wee hours of June 30th. Although the powerful winds were primarily 20 to 25 feet above ground, trees full of leaves at that level created a "sail-like" effect and toppled like matchsticks or had massive limbs snap all over our beautiful campus. For those here at the time, this was a sound unlike any they had ever experienced. In many places, the surrounding woods resembled both an area affected by a tornado or hurricane. Fortunately, Echo Hill Outdoor School was mostly vacant of people at the storm's nighttime/weekend arrival so no one was injured and property damage was relatively modest, although much of the Adventure Course was temporarily affected. Power outages continued for days. Fortunately, Echo Hill Outdoor School displayed remarkable resilience in dealing with the storm, minimizing the effect on our programs.  

Staff, volunteers and heavy equipment descended upon Echo Hill Outdoor School the morning after to help open roads and wooded paths and remove tree debris from other priority areas. Generators were brought in to keep freezers operating. Chain saws whined throughout the following days. A new youth group was arriving that Sunday and the school needed to prepare for their stay. We're happy to say that students from the National Cathedral Scholars program and their advisers adapted well to these extraordinary circumstances and even pitched-in on trail cleanup as part of their community service learning experience.  

In the weeks following, professional tree services cleared more heavily affected areas, national adventure course equipment firms and consultants helped rebuild the zip line and giant swing attachments, risk consultants helped assure a safe environment, and insurance adjusters assessed losses and coverage, which amounted to over $40,000. We are happy to report that the school is again fully functional although reminders abound of mother nature's unpredictable powers.

Cool Outdoor Stuff Goes Viral   

A few months ago Captain Andy McCown began a series of video vignettes on brief but interesting facts on the Chesapeake Bay region which are published in the E-Newspaper, The Chestertown Spy, under the Title Cool Outdoor Stuff with Captain Andrew McCown. As a noted local authority on such matters, Andy has a keen eye in uncovering such tidbits. In mid-July, while on one of the school's Summer Explore Trips, he came across a really "cool" natural phenomenon. Seems a piece of pine bark caught on an embedded tree stump in the water and was balanced so finely that it spun like a helicopter blade with the running of the tide and was captured on film by Captain Andy and his crew. Obviously the chance of this happening is extremely rare. However, it did have social media appeal. Since its release You Tube recorded over 500,000 views, certainly a phenomenon by itself. Congratulations Captain Andy!

Click here to see the video in the News and Events section of the Echo Hill Outdoor School website. 

Remembering Michael F. Hertz

In early May, Echo Hill Outdoor School lost a founder, long-standing board member, advisor, and friend, Michael F. Hertz. Before embarking on his legal career, Mike was an Echo Hill Camp counselor with Peter Rice, Jr., and he helped provide invaluable counsel when the Echo Hill Outdoor School was formed in 1972.   Mike served on the EHOS Board for 40 years. He went on to serve in the U.S. Department of Justice with distinction for over 36 years, where his career exemplified the ideals of public service.  

After graduating from Northwestern University School of Law and clerking in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Mike joined the Civil Division Appellate Staff through the prestigious Attorney General's Honors Program. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service and served as Director of the Commercial Litigation Branch and Chief of the Fraud Section. In this capacity, he led the Fraud Section in combating fraud against the U.S. Treasury. In 2007, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division.

Mike accomplished much in protecting American citizens and taxpayer interests. He convinced Congress to modernize the False Claims Act resulting in over $30 billion in recoveries for the Treasury. His leadership was most notable in health care fraud where recoveries exceeded $22 billion. Pharmaceutical fraud recoveries alone topped $15 billion for federal and state programs.

His list of awards was lengthy and reflected his work ethic as a staunch advocate for justice. This included the Attorney General's Edward H. Levi Award for outstanding professionalism and exemplary integrity, the Distinguished Service Award, Stanley D. Rose Award (the Civil Division's highest honor), a three-time recipient of Presidential Rank awards, the Meritorious Rank Award and Taxpayer Against Fraud Honest Abe Award. He also was a 2012 finalist for the Samuel I. Heyman Service to America Medal. One of these awards, the Stanley D. Rose Award, is a book award, which affords the recipient the opportunity to select a book or set of books as part of the award. While most recipients choose a significant book on the law - the collected jurisprudence of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, for example - Mike chose Bringing Back the Bay by Marion Warren, reflecting his deep love of the Chesapeake Bay.

In keeping with the ideals of Echo Hill, one of Mike's greatest achievements was the mentoring of scores of young Justice Department attorneys, always demanding from them the highest level of professionalism. He demonstrated tireless dedication to the Civil Division's commitment to the justice system by treating claimants and their counsel fairly and without rancor and by instilling pride in those who choose government service.

We are grateful Mike found time to also provide valuable counsel and service to the EHOS board throughout the years. The Michael F. Hertz Memorial Fund has been established at Echo Hill Outdoor School to honor Michael's contributions to the school and his many contributions to society. Donations to the fund may be made by visiting the school's website at EHOS.org.  

Where Are They Now? 

Following the Careers of Former Echo Hill Outdoor School Staff

While we are justifiably proud of the programs and experiences Echo Hill Outdoor School has provided to thousands of student/participants over our 40 years here in Kent County, there is another important element of our success...staff teacher development.   Here we spotlight just one of the many special people who have lived, learned, and taught here.

Brad Campbell

Former Echo Hill Outdoor School student/intern/teacher, Echo Hill Camp counselor, and EHOS  Board Chair, Brad Campbell gained quite an appreciation for the environment early on here on the shores and forests of the upper Chesapeake Bay. Both learning and teaching others to appreciate this special place must have had a profound effect. Since those early days, Brad has become a nationally recognized expert on environmental law, policy and regulation.

"The Outdoor School gave me an early and enduring sense of the natural world and the importance of environmental protection," Brad said. "That attests to the importance and quality of the school's teaching and leadership."

A magna cum laude graduate of Amherst College and a cum laude graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Brad served in the United States Department of Justice, where he tried leading environmental cases. Later, he served the Clinton Administration as associate director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. There, he helped develop the administration's major initiatives on toxics and clean water issues, negotiated a landmark agreement to end ocean dumping off the coast of New Jersey, and developed a new program to provide the public with basic health impact data on widely-used chemicals. Subsequently, Brad became regional administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Mid-Atlantic Region, implementing and enforcing federal environmental laws.

In 2002, he was appointed Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection where he led major initiatives to protect water resources and reshape development. These included protection of the NJ Highlands from development, implementation of the nation's toughest storm water management and stream buffer rules, and creation of a series of regulatory reforms and new financial tools to promote and finance brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. He led statewide efforts that resulted in New Jersey voters approving an unprecedented four environmental ballot initiatives providing new funding for brownfields cleanup, dam repairs, and diesel pollution control technology.

Today, Brad heads his own Trenton-based legal firm in private practice as an attorney and consultant focusing on issues involving the environment, energy, entrepreneurship, and science.   He also lectures and writes frequently on major legal and policy issues, is currently a public scholar at Monmouth University's Urban Coast Institute and has been a visiting professor at the University of North Carolina Law School.

Congratulations Brad on dedicating your career to helping protect our natural environment and making the world a better place to live.

Children at Play (Outdoors)

Despite record-breaking performances by American female athletes at the London Olympics there appears to be a growing trend for pre-school aged girls to forego outdoor play and activity. A recent study published by researchers at Seattle Children's Hospital examined a sample of 9,000 children who were a year away from kindergarten and found that nearly half did not experience outdoor play, a disturbing development further exacerbated by the fact that girls were 16 percent less likely than boys to be taken outside to play. Asian, Hispanic and African American mothers were less likely to take their children outside while mothers who exercised at least four times per week were 50% more likely than non-exercising moms to venture outside with their children.

The study's lead author noted that pre-school children should get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day. "Outdoor play", she said, "is essential to a child's development and growth and benefits motor development, vision, cognition, Vitamin D levels and mental health."  

While some parents actively oversee outdoor physical activity and play for their children, especially highly structured organized sports, it is unstructured play that is most important in a child's overall development. For children of previous generations, hours of unscheduled, unorganized outdoor play were the norm. Those who lived in the city jump-roped, played stickball, and hopscotched.  Those living in greener areas played nearly every game under the sun. Today, it is less so.

Researchers and teachers alike offer many opinions. Gender expectations, safety issues, and even negative attitudes about going outside prevail. Some even offered the opinion that girls shouldn't get "dirty," citing health concerns. Study researchers found that "we seem to be raising a generation of air-conditioned children who don't seem to be able to tolerate the weather." Additionally and due to budget constraints, school districts may be cutting physical education activities, which for many is the sole source of physical activity and play.

Echo Hill Outdoor School was founded on the premise that experiencing the outdoors is a vital component of a child's development. Our youngest students (Little and Middle Explorers) start young, relishing the many activities in which they participate. Additionally, our mainstream programs of outdoor learning and physical activity, away from the expectations and distractions of home life, have proven highly successful for 40 years, regardless of gender. Here, visiting students do get dirty but don't mind it. Weather is an inconvenience not a roadblock. Adaptation and flexibility as demonstrated by Outdoor School teachers is contagious and welcome. Our results have been outstanding!

 The Excellence in 2012 Legacy Campaign

We are introducing a new iconic (for us) thermometer to gauge the results of the Excellence in 2012 Legacy Campaign. Using a real-life Adventure Course Alpine Tower experience, it symbolizes the challenging but achievable goals before us. The campaign combines our traditional annual appeal for 2012 with special goals for sustaining our mission of providing a quality outdoor educational and developmental experience for students and other participants through the year. In effect, this campaign will also help introduce a new fund raising culture at Echo Hill Outdoor School by carrying our message in a more personal manner to a wider audience of supporters who have been directly or indirectly affected by our successful programs and, especially, our teaching staff.  

Campaign efforts include expanding our volunteer worker base that will enable us to reach an expanded constituency, reaching out with targeted appeals to Summer Explore Program parents, past EHOS supporters, local and regional EHOS business vendors, and former teaching staff.   In the longer term, we hope to engage our alumni in a more meaningful dialogue of how to help provide sustaining revenue for EHOS.

This campaign is vitally important for a number of reasons. Tuition and fees do not cover expenses so we have often relied upon grants and other contributions for covering the difference.   If we are to continue our successful programs we must increase private sector support. Meaningful contributions will enable us to provide tuition gap funding to a number of school districts that are facing difficult budget seasons. It is important to our mission that we remain inclusive by providing access to public as well as private school students. Additionally, a successful campaign will enable us to continue our excellent teacher recruitment and training while allowing us to perform vital maintenance and upgrades to our infrastructure, and addressing transportation and technology upgrades. We sincerely hope that you will join us in moving to a more financially sound model of sustainability that will carry us into the future. With your help, there is no doubt we can be successful!

To join other who are currently donating to the Legacy Campaign please click below...

Got Boats?

Echo Hill Outdoor School is actively seeking donations of marketable boats. Such gifts help sustain our mission upon sale and can provide the donor with a tax deduction. Your gift may help subsidize tuition for worthy students facing tuition gap funding from their schools or school districts, help underwrite maintenance and equipment for our historic fleet of Chesapeake Bay workboats, ensure quality teachers for our programs, or help with campus maintenance and infrastructure upgrades.

Tell Us What You Think

We'd love to hear from you!   Response to an article you see here? Other newsletter content and ideas for future editions? General questions? Comments or anything else that comes to mind?   We'd especially like to hear of your connection to EHOS, where you are and what you are currently doing! Email your thoughts and updates to us at

Excellence in outdoor education since 1972

www.ehos.org