Worcester Prep eighth-graders experience outdoor education at Echo Hill

Worcester Preparatory School eighth-graders bonded with nature and each other on a three-day, rustic adventure at Echo Hill Outdoor School Oct. 9-11. Located on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, Echo Hill has served as a platform for educating children about nature and the environment for more than 100 years. WPS Middle School students have been part of the Echo Hill Outdoor School tradition since the mid-1970s.

While team-building with their peers, students experienced hands-on education outside the classroom. The eighth-graders lived in tents while hiking through woods, climbing trees, building fires, learning hunting skills, and studying marine life and maps. The school's 300 acres of forests, meadows, freshwater shrub swamp and mile-long beach on the Chesapeake Bay made the perfect playground for a variety of environmental studies. Activities included an adventure course and a 40-foot lab boat to investigate the bay's ecosystem. The purpose of the trip was to build teamwork, and enhance confidence and self-esteem.