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News from The Outdoor School
December 2012
In This Issue
2012 Annual Appeal
Chesapeake Bay - The Ultimate Professor
Fall Photo Essay
Chesapeake Corps Volunteer - Zuzana Culakova
Legacy Campaign Update
Billy Rudek at the NY Yacht Club
Farm Ecology
Jimmy Stone Meets the royal Marines
The Wonder Fund - Planned Giving
Got Boats?
Feedback
Quick Links

Dear Friends,

 

As another successful and eventful year draws to a close, we are reminded of our blessings and give thanks for being able to share the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay and Kent County with so many in a meaningful and lasting way.   On behalf of the entire staff at Echo Hill Outdoor School please accept our heartfelt wishes for a safe and happy holiday season!

 

In this, the season of sharing, there are several ways to sustain the quality of programming that lies at the core of our mission. This issue features updates on the 2012 Annual Appeal and the Legacy Campaign. Additionally, a Planned (or estate) Gift could provide that extra measure of support that enables us to continue to recruit quality teachers and welcome students and participants from all backgrounds well into the future.

 

We hope you enjoy our latest newsletter and the news it brings about EHOS people, their experiences and our programs.

 

And for our former teachers, please let us know where you are and what you're doing.   We want to reconnect with you.  

 

Best wishes,

Peter P. Rice, Jr., Executive Director
Andrew R. McCown, Associate Director
Betsy Z. McCown, Associate Director
 
& the entire Staff at Echo Hill Outdoor School

The 2012 EHOS Annual Appeal - $$ Sustaining Our Programs $$

 

The 2012 Annual Appeal is now underway.  

 

With the past financial assistance of our friends, Echo Hill Outdoor School has achieved unprecedented success in the number of schools and organizations served. Annually, our programs engage over 6,000 student/participants from 180 different schools and organizations amounting to over 18,000 participant days. Importantly, most of these schools and organizations visit year after year, a testament to the quality of our programming, our staff, and financial support from our friends. The Echo Hill Outdoor School experience has become an integral part of student and participant development in science and ecology, individual and group development and history and the human environment.  

 

The Annual Appeal is a key element in supporting our overall programs and operations. The payoff will be in the smiles of thousands of new students, a greater appreciation for the Bay and its watershed, challenges met, increased respect by students for themselves and others, the value of teamwork, and the bonds created. For many, the memory of their stay at Echo Hill Outdoor School lasts a lifetime, even influencing career pursuits. Please help celebrate our 40th anniversary by investing in Echo Hill Outdoor School, which, in turn, is an investment in youth and the environment.  

 

Please click here to make a secure online donation or visit our website at www.EHOS.org to view other ways to support the school, such as a gift of stock.    

 

Echo Hill Outdoor School Main Campus
by Kaitlin Pope 2011 

The Chesapeake Bay, the Ultimate Professor!

By Captain Andy McCown, Associate Director

 

Echo Hill Outdoor School has been using the Chesapeake Bay as a classroom for science and ecology lessons since our founding in 1972. In our 40-year history hundreds of thousands of students have spent time on the bay learning about science and ecology through real-life first hand experiences. It is widely understood by all of the Echo Hill Outdoor School captains and teachers, that on any given day of teaching on the bay, they have a good chance of seeing something in nature that they have not personally ever seen before. I believe this to be quite miraculous. One would think that after thousands of classes on the bay we would have seen it all, "but it is just not so."

 

While teaching on the bay we have captured and released everything from Atlantic Sturgeon to huge Carp and Catfish. We've caught and released trophy sized Striped Bass and Bluefish with students onboard. This past summer we saw a Hogchoaker in the middle of a stage of metamorphosis, where one eye migrates from one side of its head to the other. We caught a Puppy Drum once that was easily 100 miles out of its range and on the next day we caught a Brown Trout that had gone through the turbines of the Conowingo Dam, and it was still alive. We've seen albino Atlantic Blue Crabs and Glass Eels and Ghost Crabs. One summer a Manatee lived in the river all summer long and another summer there were pods of Harbor Porpoises in Eastern Bay and the Chester River. We helped to release a Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle that had been randomly caught while crabbing, the tag attached to its fin allowed us to later learn that it had been hatched in a breeding program in Texas. (These are the most endangered sea turtles in the world.) This past summer we caught a species of Jelly Fish near Chestertown that none of us had ever seen before. They were stunningly beautiful. We regularly catch examples of all parts of the food chain, from macro-invertebrates to large predatory fish. Fish and crustaceans and mollusks are the norm for us; catching and releasing the food chain is quite simply regular classroom activity at Echo Hill Outdoor School.

 

Most children who attend Bay Studies classes have knowledge of the Chesapeake and its' ability to support life. They know that the Bay is an   Estuary and that it has brackish water. They understand that the fresh water drains from the vast watershed of six states and mixes with ocean water in the tidal waters of the Bay. They often know of the signature species of the bay like fish and crabs and oysters. They also know that the Bay is a troubled body of water. They know, at least to some degree, that pollution exists and that human activities are most often to blame. They may even have some ideas about pollution and how we should solve the Bay's problems.

 

But few are prepared for what our Bay Studies classes will most often deliver; living proof that food chains exist. Day in and day out we are able to show students life in abundance. Few are prepared for what they will see when the seine net comes a shore, or the otter trawl comes over the rail, or the Zoo Plankton sample is held up to the light.

 

Even in the wake of human interference, (we have been openly battling the Bay's pollution problems for forty years) the Bay is the ultimate teacher, showing us over and over again its' spectacular examples of life and diversity and abundance. From jellyfish to sea turtle, the Bay is miraculous and it regularly allows us to bare witness to nature and its' abilities. It provides us with hope for nature and the environment. Hope in nature is a good thing for children.  

 
Echo Hill Outdoor School - Fall 2012 - A Photo Essay
Work! Play! Learning! Fun!



Zuzana Culakova Joins Echo Hill Outdoor School as
Our 2012 - 2013 Chesapeake Corps Volunteer

By Betsy McCown, Associate and Managing Director

 

On June 22, 2011, the Chesapeake Bay Trust selected Echo Hill Outdoor School as a Host Organization for the 2012 - 2013 Chesapeake Conservation Corps Program. The Conservation Corps selection committee selected Zuzana Culakova as the Chesapeake Corps Volunteer at EHOS. Originally from Rochester, NY, Zuzana applied to the Chesapeake Conservation Corps after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Yale University in May 2011. Zuzana began her year-long term at EHOS on August 27, 2012.

 

As a host organization, EHOS is working with the Chesapeake Bay Trust to achieve Conservation Corps program goals to preserve, promote and protect Maryland's natural resources by encouraging individual and community stewardship and to provide the Corps volunteer with leadership opportunities and training. EHOS, the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Zuzana are working collaboratively to structure her work plan and full time volunteer schedule. Associate Director, Betsy McCown will serve as Zuzana's onsite mentor throughout her term of service.

 

For her Conservation Corps capstone project, Zuzana is drawing on her strong science background cultivated throughout her undergrad studies at Yale to assess the current aquatics program and offer curriculum ideas. Ultimately, this knowledge base will be used to strengthen and update classes including Pond and Stream Studies, Swamp Ecology and Bay Studies. In-service seminars on higher-level mechanics of the science concepts put forth on classes will benefit all of our core teaching staff and enrich EHOS science and ecology programs. Professional development opportunities such as this create a deeper communal understanding of aquatics topics for a staff with diverse levels of expertise.

 

Recently, EHOS benefitted from the board's approval of a new administrative position; that of a Director of Philanthropy. In concert with revenue sourced predominately through tuition, there has been a significant amount of charitable giving over the years. Zuzana will assist the Director in the organization of our donor history; creating a contact resource management database that will provide a living institutional memory, focused marketing efforts, and better communication.

 

Also included in the Conservation Corps work plan are six mandatory training activities in which all Corps Volunteers will participate as a group. In addition, Zuzana will spend a minimum of four days throughout the year visiting other Host Organizations in her field of interest, experiencing their programs. She is excited for this opportunity to bring new knowledge, insights and connections to Echo Hill Outdoor School.

 

We applaud the efforts of the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Chesapeake Conservation Corps for providing such a talented and skilled volunteer. Having staff like Zuzana enriches our community here at Echo Hill Outdoor School and the lives of the thousands of students that grace our campus each year.

Legacy Campaign - Gifts at Work

 

Thanks to a timely lead gift by the France Merrick Foundation of Baltimore we have begun the first stages of maintenance and energy savings upgrades to our facilities. This fall, we have replaced the original roofs on the France and Merrick dormitories and also encapsulated the crawl spaces beneath each. Up next are carpet replacement, new HVAC systems and drinking fountains for each dorm.  

 

Other larger gifts have helped underwrite EHOS teaching staff training and tuition gap funding for public school districts, allowing students to visit who otherwise would not have access.  

 

However, we still have a long way to go to reach our goals  . Tuition and fee payments alone do not provide funding for much of these "extras," so important for us to continue providing a quality experience to the thousands of students and participants who visit annually. Increased scholarship funding, EHOS teacher support, technology and transportation upgrades and a host of other infrastructure maintenance items remain high priorities. We'd love to have your support. Click here to learn more about the Legacy Campaign and what it means for the school. Your investment now will pay many dividends well into the future!

  

 

 

 

Billy Rudek with Rear Admiral Joseph Callow, US Navy Retired, at the New York Yacht Club

Captain Billy Rudek at the NY Yacht Club

 

Despite the effects of Hurricane Sandy followed by Nor'easter Athena, Billy Rudek, EHOS educator and Bay Study, Chesapeake Heritage Initiative, and Summer Explore Program Boat Captain realized a long standing dream of attending the prestigious New York Yacht Club's annual (HMS Pickle) Awards Dinner in

Billy aboard the EHOS     skipjack Elsworth

early November. Many know the club as the founder of the internationally renowned America's Cup race.  Steeped in tradition, this awards dinner celebrates meritorious accomplishment and service to yacht racing. The event was named after the arrival in London of the HMS Pickle as the first messenger of the British defeat of the combined French and Spanish navies by Admiral Lord Nelson at the famed Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.  
 

Billy has significant experience in sailing, crewing, and maintaining historic boats and his many associations in the sailing "fraternity" has garnered him past invitations which he was unable to accept. This year proved different however. In addition to getting an intimate view of the nautical themed, stunning architecture of the club, Billy met commodores, admirals, and several other notables in the world of yacht racing. Looking like a sea captain himself, Billy fit in well while enjoying the atmosphere and especially the people.

Farm Ecology - A View from the Farm

 

Judy Gifford knows the future of farming lies in the understanding and education of the greater community about farming practices and what is actually involved with bringing food to the table while being good stewards of the land. When you farm along the Chesapeake Bay you must also be very attuned to the effect of your life's work on the fragile environment.

 

Recognizing the potential for a fun and practical way for students to develop an appreciation for Kent County's most prominent industry, Echo Hill Outdoor School administrators have developed warm relationships with Judy Gifford of St. Brigid's and Bob Payne of Pine Croft Farms to showcase their dairy operations methods that comply with strict environmental standards. Echo Hill Outdoor School's Farm Ecology classes afford visiting students the opportunity to experience agricultural life first hand, meet the animals, see how feed is grown and used, the importance of various grass covers, learn about animal life cycles, and how waste products are carefully recycled. For many students, especially those from urban areas, this is their first real visit to a working farm where they can get up close and personal to the complexities of running a modern dairy operation and, especially, how science, the land, and weather affect the food chain and how careful practices and monitoring of nutrient flow can be beneficial to the Chesapeake Bay.

  

Importantly, students are also exposed to a "different" occupation requiring a wide array of skills. "It's not for the light-hearted" admitted Judy who grew up on a dairy farm, became a presidential merit intern as part of her college master's program, and worked at the National Institute of Health before teaming up with her veterinarian partner to acquire and run a farm. However beholden she is to schedules, Judy readily admits to like working outside and being her own boss.

   

Both Judy and Bob give back by serving as very willing adjunct teachers for EHOS programs. We are most grateful to both for their exemplary work and willingness to make farming come alive for so many rather than being just an abstract concept.  

Jimmy Stone Meets the Royal Marines at Caulk's Field

 

Jimmy Stone (R), EHOS Assistant Director of Facility Care and Senior Educator with Major Gen. James Adkins, adjutant General of Maryland, at Caulk's Field ceremony

On August 31st as part of the ongoing state commemoration of the War of 1812, Major General James A. Adkins, the adjutant general of Maryland, and British Lt. Col. Colby Corrin, Royal Marine liaison officer to the US Marine Corps Combat Development Command, laid wreaths at the site of the Battle of Caulk's Field near Rock Hall in Kent County in memory of this small but important struggle 198 years ago.

 

In the early hours of August 31, 1814, a force of 124 British sailors and Marines clashed with militiamen of Maryland's 21st Regiment in the rolling Kent County farmland. The British intended to surprise the militia in camp and capture them before they could march to reinforce Baltimore.

 

Forewarned of British plans, the American commander, Col. Philip Reed, positioned his troops to meet the advancing force. Although his 174-man regiment outnumbered the British, they were critically short of ammunition. Firing across a moonlit cornfield, the Americans inflicted some 25 casualties upon the British, including mortally wounding their commander, prior to withdrawing. The Americans only suffered 3 wounded. The battered British were thus forced to fall back to their ships. The battle was credited with changing British tactics in their push towards Baltimore, where a few weeks later they were also turned back, giving birth to our national anthem.

 

This year, both officers emphasized the shared values of loyalty and commitment to duty.   The Americans were defending their homes while the British did their duty for king and country.

 

EHOS Assistant Director of Facility Care and Daily Operations and Senior Educator, Jimmy Stone attended the ceremony as a special guest. Together with his wife Tracy, he owns and manages the Inn at Mitchell House, a bed and breakfast adjacent to the battlefield. Importantly, this historic 18th century house achieved notoriety when the British commander, Sir Peter Parker, was mortally wounded and brought to the Mitchell House for possible aid.  Jim and Tracy are also serving on the local committee to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

 

As an educator at Echo Hill Outdoor School, Jimmy brings visiting students to Caulk's Field as part of our Mystery Tours classes where they enjoy learning about our little known but important part in the saving of America, right in our own backyard.  

The Wonder Fund - Planned Giving (The Gift of a Lifetime)

 

Each year, philanthropic gifts have helped sustain Echo Hill Outdoor School into the next operational year, supplementing our main source of revenue (tuition and fee payments) from visiting schools and other groups and organizations.

 

As a supporter of Echo Hill Outdoor School, you probably already know the often transformational effect we have on students and participants....rediscovering the joys of outdoor play, meeting personal challenges heretofore thought unattainable, experiencing first-hand the incredible and diverse ecology and environment of the Chesapeake Bay, and gaining a greater respect for oneself and each other. Simple things such as eating meals together without the distractions that are so often a part of their daily lives back home, sharing bunk facilities (for many, the first time), taking an active part in the learning process, realizing that each person's opinion is valued, that teamwork pays dividends, and always, there are those omnipresent discoveries in nature. These outcomes are timeless yet are important today as ever.

 

As many of you know, planned gifts to secondary and institutions of higher learning provide those organizations with the ability to sustain growth, maintain facilities and programs, and underwrite scholarships and professorships each vital to delivering on their promise of a quality education.   As a private, non-profit school, Echo Hill Outdoor School's needs are similar. Where we differ, however, is that we have not accumulated an endowment large enough to make a significant impact.  

 

A planned gift could make a world of difference for the school. Income from the gift would allow us to make important facility upgrades, maintain our precious grounds and equipment, recruit and support quality teachers, and, especially, provide much needed tuition gap funding to legions of school students, whose school districts struggle to meet budgetary requirements.

 

Such a gift could be the donation of appreciated property, life insurance, establishment of a charitable remainder trust or several other means. A gift could be made as part of your will (a bequest) or right now, as part of living gift. The options are many and varied and we could assist with planning if you so desire.

 

We have created a fund to receive these types of gifts. Tentatively yet aptly named the "Wonder Fund," this endowment recognizes and supports the effect we have on students and participants from their experiences at Echo Hill Outdoor School. Creating a sense of wonder is what we are all about.

 

Please consider filling the Wonder Fund with the promise of tomorrow. Contact Tim Smedick, Director of Philanthropy, for details on how you can help at 410-348-5880 or email Tim at [email protected].

 

40 years and counting. Your special gift could make
the next 40 years as special as the first.

 

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.

 

Boat donations are subject to the EHOS gift acceptance policy. Please contact Kim Righi, Business Manager at 410-348-5880 or [email protected] for details.
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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

[email protected] or click on the link below to fill out our online form.

 

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Excellence in outdoor education since 1972

 

www.ehos.org