The Echo Hill Outdoor School was founded in 1972 by Peter P. Rice Jr. and is located near Betterton

Betterton, Maryland

Betterton is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 376 at the 2000 census.-Betterton Historic District:The Betterton Historic District consists of a collection of vernacular Victorian resort structures. The district includes many of the homes, hotels and cottages built...

 in Kent County

Kent County, Maryland

Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, on its Eastern Shore. It was named for the county of Kent in England. Its county seat is Chestertown. In 2010, the county population was 20,197...

 on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The School provides 1 to 5 day programs for children and adults from public and private schools throughout the Mid-Atlantic in experiential education

Experiential education

Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is mistakenly used interchangeably with experiential learning...

 and the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 and its surrounding ecosystems.

The school owns the Chesapeake Bay skipjack Elsworth

Elsworth (skipjack)

The Elsworth is a Chesapeake Bay skipjack, built in 1901 at Hudson, Maryland. She is a two-sail bateau, or "V"-bottomed deadrise type of centerboard sloop. She has a beam of 14.3', a depth of 3.1', and a gross registered tonnage of 8 tons...

, the oyster buyboat Annie D. and two work boats, the Spirit and Twilight for use in marine education programs.