Facing forward, welcoming the futureFALL 2014 Facing forward, welcoming the future 14_1961_Layout 1...

FALL 2014

Facing forward, welcoming the future

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Together, 41 new semester students, nearly 80staff members, former Executive Director TimEllis, and former President Don Hudsongathered on September 8 in a wide circle onthe lawn between the barn and the Center for

Environmental Education to honor the ceremonial plantingof the Centennial Tree, a white oak. The tree plantingofficially launched us into Chewonki’s centennial year.Just as the white pine at Campfire Circle was the sentinel

tree of Chewonki for much of our first century, I expect thiswhite oak to become a symbol of Chewonki through oursecond and well into our third century. Its roots will gathernutrients from the past as the trunk grows strong and thebranches reach to new heights in the future. I shared thesethoughts that morning, we sang together as a community, and then Tim, Don, and I recited“Salutation to the Dawn” in parts, concluding in unison, “Look well, therefore, to this day.”(The three of us represent 49 years of Chewonki leadership. Clarence Allen still has us beatwith 51 years of his own as founding camp director.) Afterwards, everyone had the oppor-tunity to write a hope for Chewonki’s second century on tags we hung on the tree, where theyfluttered in the breeze like prayer flags as we went about our day. We have planned a full centennial year of celebration and ceremony so that as many of you

as possible can have your metaphorical tree-planting moment. Nearly 600 people have alreadyattended Chewonki events in Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. All of you will soon havethe opportunity to see our centennial book, Chewonki: 100 Years of Learning Outdoors, 256pages of full-color images and remarkable stories written by 82 alumni and friends reflectingon their Chewonki experience and its impact on their lives. (Reading the book is in itself aChewonki experience!) In late winter and spring you will have the opportunity to attend moreregional events around the country, leading up to Centennial Weekend on Chewonki Neck,August 14-16, 2015.Meanwhile, staff, trustees, and advisors are carefully considering next steps for Chewonki

programs. We are building on the strengths of summer programs, the semester, and publicprograms and exploring new directions in education to ensure a vibrant and sustainableChewonki.Concurrently, we have hired a professional team to create a master plan for campus

renewal. This plan will preserve the best of our past while also solving some real challengesof the present and supporting our efforts to reach goals for the future.Thousands of alumni and friends will have connected and reconnected with Chewonki

through events, volunteering, correspondence, and donations by the end of 2015. Each andevery engagement furthers our mission and propels us forward. Please join us! We love to hearyour Chewonki stories and your ideas for the days and years that lie ahead, and we hopeyou’ll also share your enthusiasm with someone new to Chewonki. You can write to us [email protected] or find me at one of the centennial gatherings. I welcome yourcontinuing loyalty and involvement!

With thanks and warmest regards,

Willard MorganPresident

Visit our website at chewonki.org / 1

President’s Notes

485 Chewonki Neck RoadWiscasset, Maine 04578-4822 Tel: (207) 882-7323 • Fax: (207) 882-4074 email: [email protected] chewonki.org

ProgrAMSSemester SchoolCamp for BoysAdventures for GirlsWilderness Trips for TeensWilderness Vacations for Adults & FamiliesOutdoor Classroom for SchoolsTraveling Natural History ProgramsSustainability Office

CHRONICLE STAFFEditor: Anne LeslieAssistant Editor: Deborah Cook“People” Editor: Carrie Bell-HoerthDesigner: Fall Design

Cover: Semester 53 students, faculty, trip leaders,and a faculty daughter absorb the beauty of the WestBranch of the Penobscot River. Chris Percy photo

Photo credits for opposite page, spiraling counter-clockwise from upper-left: Chris Percy, ClaireHartnell, Chris Percy, Claire Hartnell, Chris Percy,Claire Hartnell, Claire Hartnell, Chris Percy, ChrisPercy

1 President’s Notes2 News from the Neck8 Designing the Way Forward

14 This Is How We FloW17 Noticing Nature18 The Dirt on Chewonki Neck19 Step It Up for Sustainability20 Alumni & Friends22 People23 Meet the osprey Society25 Meet the Chewonki Circle

Contents

Chewonki inspirestransformative growth,teaches appreciation andstewardship of the naturalworld, and challenges peopleto build thriving, sustainablecommunities throughouttheir lives.

Printed in Maine on paper that contains 30%FsC-certified post-consumer fiber andmanufactured using biogas energy.

Chris PerCy Photo

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2 / Chewonki Chronicle

News from the Neck

Teens To Trails sends student on Chewonki wilderness trip

Camper Francis Barth wins Master Naturalist award

Make way for our Ducklings!

All summer long, as campers and coun-selors and trippers and leaders come andgo, Vicky Hughes is leading Ducklings.Ducklings is the day camp for youngchildren of Chewonki staff members. “Ihad a wonderful childhood,” says Vicky.“I want to recreate that for otherchildren.” During the school year, sheteaches at the Sheepscot Valley Children’sHouse, a small independent school inWiscasset. For the past four summers,

Adventures of Girls. “Chewonkiis always honored to welcome arecipient of Sara’s Scholarship.” This year, Colleen Hendricks,

a junior at Wiscasset HighSchool with an interest inscience, spent three weekspaddling and camping along theAllagash Wilderness Waterway, asequence of rivers, lakes, ponds,and streams that comprise thisfamous segment of the National

Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Colleen,nine other girls, and two leaders livedclose to the water, land, sky, and each

After pursuing his goal for threeconsecutive summers, Francis Barth (BC’10-’14) is now the third camper to earnthe Master Naturalist certificate. Francisfollows on the heels of Sam Sullivan (BC’09-’14), who received the distinction in2013, and Griffin Gingrich (BC ’07-’14),who earned it in 2010. In addition tohaving his name engraved on a plaquedisplayed permanently in the ChewonkiNature Museum, Francis took home acertificate, a book, and a hand lens tofurther his adventures in natural history.“To become a Chewonki Master

Naturalist is no mean feat,” says “DocFred” Cichocki, director of the camp

other, developing their wilderness skillsand learning about a part of Maine thathas a fascinating natural and humanhistory.Sara’s Scholarship honors Sara Leone,

an outstanding Wiscasset High Schoolstudent, athlete, and outdoor enthusiastwho died in a car accident at age 15.Sara’s sister, Lindsay Leone, was amember of MCS 30. Their parents, Caroland Bob Leone, started Teens To Trails in2006 in response to the tragedy and sincethen have made it possible for about4,500 young people to enjoy outdoorexperiences all over Maine.

nature program. “It requires keeping anature journal and possessing consid-erable knowledge in 12 areas of Mainenatural history ranging through marinescience, all major groups of plants,animals, and fungi, plus geology andecology. I’m very proud of Francis andour other two Master Naturalists.” DocFred notes that achieving this level ofexpertise requires a young person to havenot only interest and enthusiasm but alsocommitment and perseverance. “There isan old Japanese proverb that applieshere,” he says. “‘Once begun, followthrough.’ Good advice for life beyondcamp, as well. Francis followed through.”

she has shared her skills andher beguiling way of lookingat the world with Chewonki.Vicky loves the oppor-

tunity Chewonki provides tospend lots of time outside.“In nature, there’s alwaysmore to find,” she says.“Nothing’s old.” A routinewalk to Blueberry Hill turned intosomething else when she and the childrennoticed a mushroom pushing up a roof ofmoss. When she saw a heavy layer ofpollen on the farm pond one day, she had

the children make prints bylaying paper over the pollen andthen carefully lifting. Learningabout spiders inspired her groupto hunt for different types ofwebs and then create a stringtrap to ensnare passers-by (that’swhat spiders do, right?). The baitwas a sandwich. A couple of

counselors fell for it.With an art show, a theatrical presen-

tation of Snow White, and many muddyboots behind her, Vicky left us lookingforward to next summer’s Ducklings.

Each year, Teens To Trails(T3), a nonprofit organi-zation based in Brunswick,Maine, gives a specialaward, Sara’s Scholarship,to a local student who wantsto go on a Chewonkiwilderness trip. Teens ToTrails primarily supportshigh school outing clubs,getting young peopleoutside to enjoy and learn inthe natural world. “T3 does fantasticwork,” says Emma Carlson, programdirector of Summer Wilderness Trips and

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Boys Camp celebrates 100th summer Alumni, friends, and staff honored the 100th summer of Chewonki Camp for Boys onAugust 16 with a community swim, dinner en plein air on the Quad, and a rollickingCampfire. Representatives of every decade from the 1930s to the present helpedlight the blaze, then everyone sat back to enjoy a typically eclectic evening of enter-tainment under the pines. Among memorable performances: Tim Ellis’s recitation of“Aunt Shaw’s Pet Jug,” a Chewonki classic he learned from his parents; and a readingby Carob Arnold (BC ’86,’87,’90; BC staff ’98,’00,’08,’09; facilities manager ’10)of “Ballad of the Night Charlie Tended Weir,” with lighting by Ben Arnold, age 6.Carob learned the ballad aboard the schooner Mary Day, whose skipper, Barry King(BC staff ’83; Mariner leader ’84, ’85), learned it here from Tim. Ted Haffenreffer(BC ’56-’59) shared eloquent reminiscences of his camp experiences and what theystill mean to him, bringing everyone’s heart to the center of the Campfire Circle.

Banquet, August 10, 2014

“Banquet” takes place on the Quad on the last night ofChewonki’s summer season. Campers and counselors joinWilderness Trips and Adventures for Girls participants and leadersjust back on Chewonki Neck after their expeditions for a final celebration of everybody’s accomplishments. Joy, pride, and asense of belonging mingle with wistfulness: summer’s ending,everyone’s going off to different places. So we share a delicious lastdinner together and acknowledge all that’s been with words, music,and laughter. Program directors speak about the high points of thesummer and camp “Papas”—the heads of each age group—deliverpublic farewells to the boys who’ve been in their care. Below areexcerpts from Papa Owl Will Trumper (BC ’04,’05,’07; Mariners’08; Guides ’09; BC staff ’10-’12,’14)’s remarks, which took theform of an extended poem. You had to be there!

We are Owls, the most inquisitive bird.When asked who we are, we all know the word.…[T]hese are fine young menWho mastered the barn, shot bull’s-eyes, and worked on the farm;Entrepreneurs who have earned every bean;Naturalists and activists who always go green;Olympians who have run from hither and thither;And athletes who rally till the tetherball withers;Woodsmen who put space between logs;And actors who’ll dance a jig in their clogs.*I am always proud, impressed, and surprisedThat nary an Owl is left ostracized,That we are family of the avian sort,That we are all friends, neighbors, and fellow cohorts.*Good night, good luck, feast well, plates clear; Stay happy and healthy throughout the school year.Though you may be far, you’ll always be near:Home is where the heart is,And your heart is right here.

—WILLTRUMPER

Claire hartnell Photo


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Semesters 49 and 50 college acceptancesCongratulations and good luck to everyone!

dickinson Collegegrinnell Collegehampshire Collegeharvard universityJohns hopkins universitykalamazoo CollegeMacalaster CollegeMiddlebury CollegeMount holyoke Collegenew College of Floridanorthwestern universityoberlin CollegePomona Collegesmith Collegest. lawrence university

state university of new yorkCollege of Woosteruniversity of Maineuniversity of Massachusetts,

amherstuniversity of new englanduniversity of VermontVanderbilt universityVassar CollegeWake Forest universityWarren Wilson CollegeWesleyan universityWhitman Collegeyale university

Bard CollegeBates CollegeBennington Collegeuniversity of California, BerkeleyBowdoin CollegeBrown universityBucknell universityCarleton CollegeColby CollegeCollege of the atlanticColorado CollegeConnecticut Collegedavidson Collegedenison university4 / Chewonki Chronicle

News from the NeckWhat goes around, comes around

cences; it felt good to return to this familysome of the goodwill that Alfred Matoushhad extended to Chewonki. Brien did not make clear exactly what

she’d do with the information Gregprovided but wrote that she will use it “forteaching purposes.” Greg wasn’t surprised.

all: weather, wildlife, plants,paddles, canoes, navigation, allthe trails and water routes. Hewas a remarkable person whomI still think of often.” So Greg was pleased to get

an email out of the blue fromMatoush’s granddaughter Mary Brienasking if he had any photos of her grand-father. “He was my only grandfather andI still miss my visits,” she wrote. “[He]was a great storyteller and he taught a lotof people how to make snowshoes.” Gregresponded with photos and reminis-

restored Nature Trailready for action

Nobody knows how many feet havetrekked the Nature Trail since 1915 butthey left their mark on this belovedbyway, which carries people fromcampus into the woods by CampfireCircle and then splits into a web ofsmaller trails. “It was suffering,” saysFacilities Manager Carob Arnold. “Rootsand rocks had emerged as soil washedaway and the remaining ground hadbecome so compacted that rainwaterdidn’t drain well. At certain times of theyear it got very, very muddy.”As the first part of a comprehensive

trail restoration plan, Chewonki hiredDale Wright of Chester Wright Exca-vating to restore the first 2,000 feet of theNature Trail. In October, Wright putdown a base of screened gravel and stoneto restore the original grade of the trail.He then covered it with a filter fabric.Over the fabric went a thick layer ofhumus mulch that will put a spring ineverybody’s step and prevent furthererosion. “It looks terrific,” says Carob.“It’s a lot safer for our participants andstaff. Anyone who accesses the woodsalong the restored trail can focus onbeing in the woods rather than watchingevery step they take.”

Chewonki offers two new leadership Expeditions for 2015

Chewonki will offer two new Leadership Expeditions next summer for advancedWilderness Trips and Adventures for Girls alumni. “Both expeditions will take you toremote and unforgettable landscapes,” says Greg Shute, director of outdoor programs. The George River Expedition is a five-week canoe trip in Northern Quebec, while theSubarctic Expedition is three weeks of backpacking in the Chic Choc Mountains ofQuebec’s Gaspé Peninsula and the Torngat Mountains of Labrador. Emma Carlson,program director of Summer Wilderness Trips and Adventures for Girls, calls the trips“unique opportunities for young men and women with a true interest in wilderness andoutdoor leadership.” Please contact us soon if you are interested. To find out more, visitChewonki’s website or email or call Emma at 207/882-7323 or [email protected].

One special part of Chewonki’sMistassini Canoe Trip back in the 1980swas Alfred Matoush, the Cree guide whohelped lead the expeditions. Matoush,who died in 2004, was born in the bushalmost 300 miles north of the northernend of Mistassini Lake in the Nord-du-Quebec region of the LabradorPeninsula. He spent his life in this remoteterritory, which his family knew inti-mately. Greg Shute, director of outdoorprograms, led two of the Mistassini tripswith Matoush. “He was fantastic,” saysGreg, “a great natural teacher. He knew it

alfred Matoush and greg shute, 1987 Chris sMith Photo

george river Colin MCgoVern Photo

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Centennial sculpturearrives on the Quad

Sculptor Miles Chapin (BC ’97-’01;Umbagog ’02, Mistassini ’03, NortheastRivers ’04) was at Chewonki on July 24to install one of his works of art. Theabstract stone sculpture, “Cultivate,” isthe gift of Miles’s grandmother, JaneChapin, who was an academic tutor atChewonki when Clarence Allen was thecamp director. “Cultivate” now cultivatesconversation in the garden area outsidethe northwest corner of the Farm House,defining that space in a new way. A small group of campers and staff

stood transfixed as Miles patiently placedthe granite sculpture, which was hangingfrom a chain attached to FacilitiesManager Carob Arnold’s bucket loader,into position. Camper Walt Ainsworth ofBinnacle cabin strummed his ukulele ashe watched, relieving the tension. With“Cultivate” in place, Miles surprised theyoung audience by telling them he’d once

been a Chewonki camperand wilderness tripper, too. Miles, who is a graduate

of College of the Atlanticand lives with his wife andtwo small children inPutney, Vt., has a passionfor stone. He sculpted“Cultivate” from a half-buried boulder he cameacross at the Chewonkifarm. The boulder turnedout to be Oak Islandgneiss, a particular type of granitefound only in midcoast Maine andmostly on Chewonki Neck and OakIsland. Miles pointed out the striationsthat farm equipment had left on oneface of the boulder long ago; he likesthat visual connection between afarmer’s labors on this land in an earliertime and all the activities happening atChewonki today. After the installation, Miles set off

for the Coastal Maine Botanical

Warm welcome to newSemester School faculty

Three new members of the SemesterSchool “family” are now feeling right athome. Adrianna Beaudette brought awealth of outdoor experience along withmathematical expertise to her role as ateaching fellow in math. She is a graduateof the Science and Engineering MagnetHigh School in Dallas, Tex., and Collegeof the Atlantic. She’s studied birds inBolivia, taught outdoor education at aMontessori school in Washington, D.C.,and earned her certification as aSpiritHorse International instructor,connecting disabled children with horses.Adrianna has a strong interest in policyissues related to women and girls. Morgan Curtis is the new teaching

fellow in sustainability. She teachessustainability strategies, technologies, andissues in both the sustainability and theenvironmental issues classes. She alsoworks hand-on with students doingsustainability projects. Morgan grew upin England and attended St. Paul’s Girls’

is the new U.S. history teacher. Shearrived from the Solebury School inNew Hope, Penn., where she not onlytaught but also designed a historycurriculum, helped lead the school’sdiversity initiatives, and was head coachof the varsity field hockey and softballteams. Kristy is a graduate of HamiltonCollege and Holderness School andspent a year studying at St. Bees Schoolin England. Welcome, Adrianna,Morgan, and Kristy!

School in London before coming toDartmouth College, where she focusedon engineering and environmentalstudies. She also mentored Dartmouth’sfreshman sustainability leaders, ledoutdoor activity days for local, disadvan-taged middle and high school students,and helped the Dartmouth EquestrianTeam win the Ivy League championshiplast spring. Kristy Thurrell (yes, she’s the sister

of former staff member Caitlin Thurrell!)

Gardens, where he was installing amuch larger sculpture for a summerexhibition. Then he was heading to theSchoodic International SculptureSymposium in Prospect Harbor. Hewas one of seven artists from aroundthe world chosen to spend the summerthere creating sculptures from localgranite, which were then installed intowns around down east Maine.Students, faculty, and staff now enjoyhis work right on the Quad every day.

Claire hartnell PhotoMiles Chapin and Willard Morgan with “Cultivate”

Chris PerCy Photokristy thurrell, adrianna Beaudette, and Morgan Curtis

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News from the Neck

In its third grant to the initiative, theElmina B. Sewall Foundation in Juneawarded $225,000 to EnvironmentalLiving and Learning for Maine Students:the ELLMS Project, a collaborationamong Chewonki and four other Maineenvironmental education organizations.Chewonki made the grant proposal to theSewall Foundation on behalf of ELLMS,which also includes The Ecology Schoolat Ferry Beach (in Saco), the Universityof Maine 4-H Camp and LearningCenter at Bryant Pond, the University ofMaine 4-H Camp and Learning Centerat Tanglewood (in Lincolnville), and theSchoodic Institute in Acadia NationalPark. The group created ELLMS in 2011to raise financial aid funds for Mainepublic schools wanting to provide upper-elementary and middle school studentswith immersive, residential environmental

education. ELLMS provides funding ona first-come/first-served basis and on asliding scale correlated to the percentageof students eligible for the NationalSchool Lunch Program in the applicantschool.The Sewall Foundation has been

highly influential in the success of theproject, contributing $125,000 to ELLMSin 2011 and $250,000 in 2012, as well asthis year’s grant. “They have made a veryimportant commitment to Maine publicschool children, particularly underservedchildren,“ says Chewonki PresidentWillard Morgan. “We are grateful for thefoundation’s faith in our ability to make adifference at a time when many studentsare facing big challenges. ELLMS givesthem the chance to discover a new way ofrelating to the natural world, their schoolsand communities, and themselves.”

Chewonki helps land major grant to get Maine children outdoors

As the recession was devastatingmany families, municipalities, andpublic school budgets, ELLMS leadersrecognized that Maine public schoolstudents were losing opportunities toaccess hands-on learning about theenvironment. After three and a halfyears, ELLMS has raised $983,530 andallocated financial aid to more than 60schools across Maine, bringing7,652students to the five ELLMScenters. Drew Dumsch, executivedirector of The Ecology School, saysthat whenever he’s made a presentationabout ELLMS on the state or thenational level, audiences have been“amazed how we are making the collab-oration work and engaging children whootherwise would not be getting this kindof in-depth outdoor experience.”

outdoor Classroomwelcomes a new season

As most summer season staff werewinding down, one energetic group ofeducators was gearing up to preparefor the new season of the OutdoorClassroom (OC). Led by Director LisaPackard and Assistant Director AndyBezon, these instructors welcomed thefirst school group in late August. Overthe course of 11 weeks, they taught 558students from 25 public and independentschools and colleges located in Maine,other parts of the Northeast, and beyond,from North Carolina to Harlem toKeene, N.H., to our home town ofWiscasset. This fall the OutdoorClassroom also hosted eighth-gradersfrom Bath and Woolwich, Maine, whowere participating in the new FLOWprogram (see related story in this issue).No matter where their students camefrom, the Outdoor Classroom instructorswere ready for adventure!Front row l-r: tiffany dumont, reis Costello, Clare Churchill-seder, adam greenberg, Jennifer adams, Chris Jessen, Colleen

Foote, drew Fernandez, nathaniel hathaway, lisa Packard. Back row l-r: andy Bezon, Maggie guzman, Carly segal, Jenngoldstein, nate smith, Bryce leary, aidan gaughran, aaron laflamme, hannah Coon, Carrine avigail, Becca abuza, gregshute. Missing: hannah Billian

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All hands on deck: summer and year-round staff came together for a brief moment in June.thank you, everyone, for a wonderful summer!

Tom Twist, Chewonki’s sustainability officer,has announced that the Zero Waste Challengefor Maine Middle Schools will take place againin 2015. The Challenge is a statewide service-learning contest for students and teachers inter-ested in designing and executing strategies forreducing their school waste stream. This will bethe fourth year of the successful contest, whichoffers cash prizes: 1st prize: $1,000; 2nd prize:$500; 3rd prize: $250; and $1,000 for FrequentFlyers, previous winners doing an outstandingjob of carrying out their proposed strategies.Casella Resource Solutions, ecomaine, and WeCompost It! have generously provided the prizemoney. An independent panel of judges repre-senting education, waste management, and sustainabilitychooses the winners. Winning schools can use their cash toimplement their plans or help pay for a trip to Chewonki forfurther sustainability education.

Announcing the 2015 Zero Waste Challenge

“The sophistication of students’ submissionshas been impressive,” says Tom. “We’re excitedthat these students are coming up with well-thought-out plans. They’ve had a real impact ontheir schools’ sustainability efforts and budgetlines.”The 2014 winners were Leonard Middle

School in Old Town (first), Troy Howard MiddleSchool in Belfast (second), and Brunswick Jr.High School in Brunswick (third), withWestbrook Middle School in Westbrook andGorham Middle School in Gorham receiving theFrequent Flyers prizes.Zero Waste Challenge entries are due on

March 15, 2015. If you’re a student or teacher ina Maine middle school (grade six, seven, or eight), start thinkingnow! Find out how to apply and learn about past winners atwww.chewonki.org/zerowaste/zero_ waste_challenge.asp.


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Chewonki’s centennial year, like every importantmilestone, is about celebration but also aboutsomething more profound. It’s a time formemories, looking back, honoring and learningfrom the past; taking stock of where we arenow and the work we are doing; and setting our

sights on plans for the future. Thinking about Chewonki’sevolution from a small, private camp for boys to a multi-faceted,year-round, non-profit organization with a much wider sphereof influence—but the same core values—reminds us that theorganization itself is modeling the progression we cultivate inour participants and programs. We work as a community to reachour goals; reflect and learn at each turn; build capacity andunderstand impact; assess and realign to create new goals.We embarked on the yearlong centennial journey on

September 8, the official start of our 100th year. Staff andsemester students formed a big circle around a young white oak,the Centennial Tree. Symbolically and literally, deep roots in oldground will support new growth over the next 100 years.We expanded the circle of celebration by inviting local friends

and business partners from Bath to Damariscotta to join us for afarm-to-table harvest dinner on September 25. Into October, welaunched regional alumni gatherings around Portland and Bostonand in New York City. So it will go throughout the year as we rolltoward Centennial Weekend next August.While we take Chewonki on the road, we are also busy on the

Neck improving the campus and shaping programs for thefuture. This fall, we restored the Nature Trail, which after 100years of foot traffic had become rutted, rocky, and more streamthan trail in the wet seasons. (Read more about this project onp. 4.) The rebuilt trail ensures welcoming, safe access to thewoods for young explorers for years to come. This is the firststep in a campus master plan that you’ll learn more about in themonths ahead. We are designing the path forward!Imbedded in every Chewonki program is the route we hope

participants will take toward self-discovery and discovery of theworld, a route leading from learning to purposeful living. In theshort articles on these pages, we give you examples of Chewonkiprograms, people, and the organization itself manifesting thisprogression. You may find something of yourself in thesesnapshots, through your memories or your anticipation of what’sahead. We invite you to engage with Chewonki this year tocontinue the journey of discovery and to share with your friends,family, and colleagues the exciting opportunities for learning thathave been and always will be part of Chewonki’s magic.

Chewonki participants, programs, and the place itself continue to evolve DEBORAH COOK AND ANNE LESLIE

SEMESTEr SCHool:The arc of becoming

With the same enthusiasm she brings to backpacking,running rivers, and playing Bananagrams, Head ofSchool Ann Carson explains the structure of a

semester at Chewonki, the program architecture around which astudent’s experience comes to life. “There’s an intentional arc,”she says, describing a progression that deepens students’ under-standing of Maine ecology, concurrent sense of independenceand responsibility to community, and commitment to intel-lectual pursuit.Creating a direct relationship between students and the envi-

ronment happens in a number of ways. For example, “Threeweeks into the semester, everyone’s into the community routine,and that’s when we shake things up with wilderness trips,” Annsays. Guided by Chewonki trip leaders, students explore Mainein small groups all over the state, from the Mahoosuc Range tothe St. Croix River to Penobscot Bay. At about the same pointin the semester, students pick a quiet place in the woods onChewonki Neck to be theirs. There they spend solitos everySaturday morning: a half-hour to an hour alone to enjoy somepeace and sharpen their powers of observation. They recordtheir thoughts and phenological changes in journals.

Solitos are a preamble to a two-day solo about halfwaythrough the semester. Solos allow students to reflect on the

Designing the way forward

Chris PerCy Photo

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ProFIlE:Becca Abuza, paddlingfrom childhood intothe future by way ofChewonki

Becca Abuza is an adven-turer with deep curiosityand a perceptive love of

the natural world. She’s also adedicated wilderness teacher, seeking ways to inspire youngpeople to discover how wondrous the wild world is.Perhaps these strengths are her birthright. By the time

she attended Wood Cove, Chewonki’s first girls’ program,in 2002, she already knew Chewonki: her mother, MardiHudson Abuza, is former President Don Hudson’s sister.“Anticipation of my first Chewonki experience played alarge role in my life,” she remembers, “and I knew hoursinto Wood Cove that I would come back to Chewonki.”Twelve years later, Becca has built a multi-faceted

relationship of her own with Chewonki. After Wood Cove,she went on a Mariners trip (’04) and a George River trip(’05), was a member of MCS 35, served as Girls Campstaff (’07-’11), and was a Traveling Natural HistoryPrograms intern (’13). Last summer she co-led theGirls Allagash Canoe Trip and Girls Debsconeag ExplorersTrip. She was an Outdoor Classroom instructor this fall.She carries all this experience as lightly as her broad-brimmed hat.“I keep coming back because it is important to me to

create a space for kids where wonder of the natural worldand tradition are a backdrop for group and individualtravel,” Becca says. “There can be days of rain, maybe evena whole summer, or groups that struggle to get along…butwhen you are living so closely in the woods, each smallpersonal or group success is important and carries you.This summer my heart virtually leapt out of my chest whenmy participants begged to tump wanigans, then quotedJohn Muir by heart at evening council!” Becca credits Chewonki with influencing her journey

from childhood to adulthood. “The most compelling thingsabout Chewonki for me growing up were living outdoors incommunity and the mentorship of my trip leaders,” shesays. “Chewonki helped me to become more true to myself,as a participant and a trip leader.”Since graduating from College of the Atlantic, Becca’s

explored New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness, surveyedamphibians in Yosemite, taken a solo canoe trip throughMaine’s Downeast Lakes, and written a frog conservationplan in a cloud forest in Ecuador. “My dream workcombines my love for wilderness travel with natural historyand field biology,” Becca explains. She hopes to mesh herinterests while leaving time for adventuring (leading anexpedition on the George River is on her to-do list). If thepast is any indication, once Becca points her canoe towardthe future, there’s no stopping her. n

–A.L.

semester and their place within it “while they still have a chanceto make changes,” says Ann. Students use the quiet time as theychoose. Most catch up on sleep, write, read, draw, think throughsome things important to them.Parallel to the process of getting closer to nature is a gradual

assumption of responsibility as they come to understand interde-pendence. At the start of the semester, they receive a lot ofdirection, but “as the semester progresses, we want them to stepup,” explains Ann. “We tell them, ‘Make it happen’”—help shapethis shared experience.Academic progression culminates in “human ecology projects.”

Students choose their own topic and carry out independentresearch. “We encourage them to narrow in on an interest andpursue it,” says Ann. Semester 53 topics include a cost/benefitanalysis of putting solar panels on a school in Florida; impacts ofresidual PCBs on the ecosystems and people of the Hudson River;and how to improve the lives of migrant workers harvesting Maineblueberries.Perhaps the most important step in the Semester School

progression is teaching students that Chewonki is only a startingpoint. Intellectual growth, stewardship of self and community, andmemorable encounters with nature create “a trajectory forward,”as Ann puts it. “We tell them, ‘The adventure keeps going.’ Thereare plenty of opportunities out there in life if they want to bebold.” n

–A.L.

Julia desantis Photo

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ProFIlE:Ellie Mcgee, finding inner strength onthe round Pond Carry

Wilderness trips often involve moments of personalstruggle. Sometimes the rewards come later in life;other times, much sooner. Adrianna Beaudette,

Semester School fellow in math, co-led the Girls AllagashCanoe Trip last summer and witnessed an almost immediatevictory following one of these transformative struggles. Ellie McGee arrived at Chewonki in July with a cohort of

other teenage girls who’d been together at Chewonki Camp forGirls the previous summer. They’d chosen to take the Allagash

BoyS CAMP:growing up through camp

Garth Altenburg thinks back through many boys. “It’sso much fun,” he says. “It’s just so exciting to watchsomeone grow up, summer after summer.” He’s

talking about the boys who come back to Chewonki over years,beginning when they’re timid or wild eight- or 10-year-olds andemerging as young men, some of whom become counselors,Wilderness Trips leaders, or educators in the Outdoor Classroomor Traveling Natural History Programs. Garth attends withequal care to boys he sees for just one summer, but in those whoreturn he witnesses the process of maturing right before his eyes.Boys Camp is a “conscious, deliberate, developmentally

appropriate series of activities and expectations, and a linearprogression in terms of skills,” says Garth. The youngest campers,eight-year-old Puffins, follow a broad program designed toexpose them to a variety of activities. Ten-day Puffins spend anight camping on Chewonki Neck to wet their feet and whettheir appetite; three-week Puffins venture off on short, overnightsaltwater canoe trips around and near Chewonki Neck or go onmodest backpacking trips in the Camden Hills. By the timecampers are 14- or 15-year-old Ospreys, they’re making theirown decisions about how to spend activity time at camp andgoing on extended wilderness adventures. They’re also providingleadership for the younger campers.

trip together, three weeks of paddling 150 miles of lakes andrivers, as well as some significant portages. While Ellie was excitedto share the adventure with friends, she had some inner doubts.She wasn’t confident that she had what it took to hold up her endof the group’s shared responsibility for making the journeysuccessful. She often worried that she would let the group down. Her anxiety reached a high point on the night before the

Round Pond Carry, a strenuous three-mile portage. Adriannareassured her, reminding her that the group could stop often torest and would take whatever time the carry required, and Elliewould contribute just by helping. Earlier, Adrianna had describedthe portage as “something like when you are running and hit awall and don’t think you can go any longer and then you breakthrough and suddenly it gets easier.” She encouraged Ellie tobelieve that would happen.The next day dawned cloudy and gradually turned itself over to

pouring rain. The whole group felt the weight of the challenge—yet they lifted their canoes and moved forward till the portage wasbehind them. Ellie emerged on that rainy day as one of the best atportaging. She carried her canoe for long stints without a breakand even bore the heavy bag holding all the extra gear.“It was great to see her have those fears and then discover she

could handle the carry,” Adrianna says. “Having her acknowledgethat she did it so well and having the group acknowledge it, too—that was important.” Ellie proved herself to herself.By the end of the trip, she and her camp-mates had agreed to

take on one of the Chewonki Leadership Expeditions togethernext summer. Ellie knows she is ready. n

–D.C. and A.L.

“Every summer is filled with little victories, rites of passage,”says Garth. Each achievement helps boys discover who they areand what they can be.For some, the natural next step after camp is to become a

Guide (counselor-in-training), then a counselor. Some become“Papas,” heads of age groups. Some go on to work in otherChewonki programs. This provides remarkable continuity for agrowing boy who becomes a young man who can turn and helpother boys grow.Garth smiles when asked for examples of leaders he has

watched develop over years. “There are so many; they’re all

ellie Mcgee (top center) on the girls allagash Canoe trip eMMa Carlson Photo

aidan gaughran (top row, second from left) 2004 and with Juniper backpackers 2014

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oUTDoorClASSrooM: Deepening relationshipswith schools

Chewonki’s commitment toproviding environmentaleducation to visiting school

groups began about 40 years ago andcontinues to be a vital part of fulfillingour public purpose. The OutdoorClassroom (OC) welcomes students fromschools all over Maine and New Englandand as far away as Penn., N.Y., N.J., evensouthern states. Schools who share ourMaine “neighborhood” hold a uniqueplace within OC. As we consider ways to create “thriving,sustainable communities” (part of Chewonki’s mission), we’rethinking hard about how our relationships with nearby schoolscan strengthen not only education but other aspects of students’lives, too. Can we reach more Maine children? Can we effect greater

positive change? Can we help make lasting changes in wholeschools, school districts, and communities? Environmental Living and Learning: the ELLMS Project

(see story on page 6) is one attempt to address these questions.Collaborating with four other outstanding providers of environ-

mental education, we’ve raised money toallocate as financial aid to Maine publicschools who want their students toexperience immersive environmentaleducation but cannot afford full tuition.Developing ways to extend the impact ofour teaching is part of the ELLMSvision. For example, we might work withstudents and teachers to design a servicelearning project to carry out after theyreturn to their schools. This couldmean establishing community gardens,reducing the school waste stream,connecting the cafeteria with local farms,or building more time into the schedulefor educational activities outdoors. Fundamental Learning On Water

(FLOW) (see story on page 15) represents another approachto working with Maine schools. To make FLOW happen, wecollaborated with a local school district to design a programthat enhances classroom curriculum and fosters sense of place,outdoor skills, self-confidence, teambuilding, and citizenship. Challenges in American education and society in general

provide openings for Chewonki to demonstrate effective, imagi-native ways to use field-based learning to engage the minds andbodies of all kinds of students. The Outdoor Classroom is anideal venue for this work, offering teaching that helps studentsthemselves become agents of change. n

terrific,” he says, but notes that the process is particularly fun towatch in brothers. “The Gaughran brothers—Aidan, Beau, andCormick; and the Russell brothers—John and Charlie. Those aregreat examples.” All came to camp as young boys. All served asleaders last summer. They’ve grown up, in part, throughChewonki. n

–A.L.

laWrenCe koVaCs Photo

Claire hartnell PhotoJohn russell 2007 and with shang-tu 2014

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Beau gaughran 2006 and (far right) with umbagog kayakers 2014

Claire hartnell PhotoCharlie russell (inset) 2006 and with Fenway 2014

Cormick gaughran 2007 and with Quarterdeck 2014

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ProFIlE: Mattias lanas, path-finding

If it’s true, as Mattias Lanas says, that he took a little extratime to grow up, it was probably because his mind wason other things. His move from Chile to New Jersey at

age 13 could have been a distraction. Or perhaps his visualsensitivity put growing up on temporaryhold.You wouldn’t know it now. In his first

semester of studying science illustrationat the California State University,Monterey Bay, one of the best programsin the country, he’s on his own well-defined path.The world of nature rivets Mattias’s

attention. He loves the details and thewhole. He came here as part of MCS 33,diving into “Natural History of theMaine Coast,” making copious, carefulsketches in his field journal. “I learnedthen that I wanted a life working in and with the naturalworld,” he says. Sue West’s course, “Art and the NaturalWorld,” was another revelation. “I had never taken an artclass with that degree of specificity in subject,” he remembers.“A lot of my interest in a career in science illustration stemsfrom Sue’s class.”He enrolled at Stanford planning to major in biology but

his resolve wobbled. Art pulled at him. He took a year off,returning to Chile and then doing conservation-focusedvolunteer work in Ecuador. When he came back, hecommitted to a simultaneous bachelor’s/master’s degreeprogram in earth systems. Still, a course called “Art andBiology” stirred his imagination. He began to focus on “thecommunication of science through visual media.”In his final year, a conversation with another Stanford

student, Annika Alexander-Ozinskas (MCS 34; WT leader’11,’12, ’14; Sustainable Ocean Studies leader ’13), led him to

TrAvElINg NATUrAl HISToryProgrAMS:lighting the spark

Traveling Natural History Programs (TNHP) takeChewonki out into the world. TNHP educators go allover Maine to deliver one or more of 13 presentations

about fascinating aspects of natural history, from tide pools tobiomes, arthropods to lizards, bats to owls. TNHP staff taught800 programs last year in 127 schools, 35 libraries, and othersettings including elder homes. “This is an opportunity forChewonki to reach diverse audiences where they are, geographi-cally, emotionally, and cognitively,” says Keith Crowley, directorof the program.

Although TNHP’s encounters with students are brief, they canlight a spark that grows over time into something much stronger.“All forms of effective education take place through relationship-building,” Keith says. “We take hold of the moments we have withour students and cultivate them.” In May, TNHP Educator Emma Balazs made a presentation

called “Owls of Maine” at the Aroostook National Wildlife Refugein Limestone, Maine. Nine-year-old Juliette Lawson sat in thefront row. In July, Keith taught a program about bats at the FortFairfield (Maine) Public Library. Juliette was there. Her letters,reproduced here, show she is a careful listener with a genuineinterest in learning about animals. They are also evidence of allthat can be going on inside a child’s mind during and afterTraveling Natural History Programs. Thank you, Juliette! n

–A.L.

apply to Chewonki for a fellow position in art. He came back toSue’s art room in 2012 to help teach the course he’d loved.When she went on sabbatical in 2013, he taught the coursehimself. “He brought new ideas and a wonderful way of workingwith students which motivated them to make great art,” saysSue. His students made botanical illustrations that became aguide to Chewonki Neck’s indigenous plants.“As a fellow and a teacher, I learned a lot about what kind

of person I want to be,” he says. “Through working with mycolleagues and being responsible for students, I learnedpatience, organization, respect, and gratitude for the opportu-nities I have had…I value Chewonki’s appreciation of thenatural world, art, and community…It will always be a secondhome for me.” n

–A.L.

heather loWe Photo

lithograph print by Mattias lanas

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WIlDErNESS TrIPS AND ADvENTUrES For gIrlS:Progression by design

“One reason I love Chewonki,”says Emma Carlson, programdirector of Summer

Wilderness Trips and Adventures for Girls,“is that a young person can come here fortheir first program as an eight-year-old boyor a 10-year-old girl and then come backevery summer for years, each time having adifferent experience but always at leastbeginning and ending right here.” Emmasees “so much value to this ritual ofreturning to a place you know and love. Thekids get to know Chewonki and Maine moreand more deeply. And we get to know themand see them grow up. It’s an important partof what makes Chewonki different from a lot of other outdoororganizations.”Emma and Greg Shute, director of outdoor programs, have

shaped coed Wilderness Trips and Adventures with Girls withcareful attention to sequence. “We made some key shifts toarticulate a stepped program,” she explains. “With eachsummer, a participant can take on more challenges, buildingtheir skills.” Young girls might start with a 10-day program at Chewonki’s

Fourth Debsconeag Lake, learning basic outdoor practiceswhile they paddle, hike, swim, and enjoy a small, supportivecommunity. The next summer they could try a three-weekmulti-element trip exploring more territory. By the time they arein their mid teens, they could take on a challenging hiking orbackpacking trip covering long distances in remote terrain.

Emma has also worked with Garth Altenburg, director ofChewonki Camp for Boys, to fine-tune campers’ outdoor experi-ences and order them developmentally for growing boys. By thetime they outgrow camp, they’re prepared for the challenges ofWilderness Trips.Teenage girls and boys choose from a range of Wilderness Trips

and Adventures for Girls with a variety of levels of challenge. Nextsummer, experienced 16- to 18-year-old trippers can consider oneof the two new Leadership Expeditions, a three-week backpackingtrip in the subarctic region of Quebec and Labrador or a five-weekcanoe trip on the George River in northern Quebec. Alumni willbe ready to lead trips for college outing clubs or their friends.“They will be able to choose where they want to go, plan, andexecute,” says Emma. “That’s an invaluable set of skills forexploring the outdoors and enjoying life.” n

–A.L.

Claire hartnell PhotoBoatbuilders with trip leaders lucas Milliken and hannah Billian

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This is howwe FLOW:

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One Monday inSeptember, after amorning of dry-landtraining in paddling,14 students from twoschools in Maine’s

Regional School Unit (RSU) 1, BathMiddle School and Woolwich CentralSchool, gathered down at the Chewonkiwaterfront to pack their gear and suppliesinto canoes. Most had never paddled acanoe, spent a night in a tent, or beenaway from their families, bathrooms,refrigerators, and electronics for morethan a few hours. Now they were going totake themselves to a smallisland and spend the schoolweek there, learning aboutwater issues in faraway placeswhile they took care of theirimmediate needs and eachother in the middle ofHockomock Bay, part of theLower Kennebec RiverEstuary.

Although it’s located intheir own watershed, Hockomock Bayfeels a world away to these students. Oneboy with special needs who is not astrong swimmer was worried aboutpaddling a canoe across deep water. Agirl who’d resisted the expedition was stillinsisting that she wouldn’t be able tosleep in a sleeping bag. Several studentswere having qualms about whether theycould tolerate five days on an island withsome kids they didn’t know and somethey didn’t like. At least, they didn’t thinkthey liked them. There was an outburst ofcomplaints when these bold adventurersrealized that loading the canoes meantstepping into the chocolaty mud alongthe edge of Montsweag Creek.

With the encouragement of twoteachers from their schools, a guidancecounselor, and two members ofChewonki’s Outdoor Classroom (OC)staff, everyone eventually got into a canoeand the flotilla of 12- and 13-year-olds

pulled away from the shore. In a day ortwo, the jitters were gone. The eighth-graders had settled their tiny islandcommunity. Tents were home. Studentswere helping prepare meals over a fire,making peace with the quiet darkness ofnighttime, following lessons in the openair, and negotiating new understandingsof place, their peers, and themselves.

For part of each day, they studiedwater and water scarcity, reading aboutdrought-stricken regions from Californiato India. To learn about communitiesdesperate for a drink while sitting on anisland surrounded by salt water made the

dilemma palpable. As the sailor on theocean laments in Coleridge’s poem “TheRime of the Ancient Mariner,” “Water,water, every where/Nor any drop todrink.” The students brought four 10-gallon jugs of fresh water with them forthe expedition; using that water carefullyto make it last helped clarify why millionsof people in dry regions around the worldconsider clean water from a faucet theultimate luxury.

When the group returned toChewonki on Friday afternoon, theverdict was clear. “It was a 12 out of 10!”one student proclaimed. LawrenceKovacs, the RSU 1 teacher who’d beendreaming of and planning for this trip forover a year, called it, “The best five daysof my professional life.”

This was the first expedition ofFundamental Learning On Water, orFLOW, a collaboration between RSU 1(Arrowsic, Bath, Phippsburg, West Bath,

and Woolwich) and Chewonki that takeseighth-graders on a five-day/four-nightsaltwater canoe and camping trip everyfall. The trip is open to any student whowants to come. Tuition is $50 per person,a dramatic discount of the regularprogram price. RSU 1 SuperintendentPatrick Manuel told parents that he didn’twant lack of funds to stop any interestedboy or girl; he provided help to a numberof families who requested it.

Comprising year one of a 10-yearendeavor, the first four FLOW trips, inSeptember and early October, were awork in progress—but the enthusiasmof students and teachers was obvious.FLOW engaged and challenged a broadmix of students, from high academicachievers to those who struggle in school.That is part of the power of outdoorexperiential education, explain Kovacs

and Chewonki PresidentWillard Morgan. “Field-based learning is enrichingfor all students,” Willard says.Ninety-six students, about65 percent of the combinedeighth grades from Bath andWoolwich, chose to be part ofFLOW and Kovacs hopesthat next fall, after studentsand parents hear feedback

from this year’s participants, the numberswill go up.

Working with local teachers andstudents right in our own front yardgives FLOW special meaning, say LisaPackard, director of the OutdoorClassroom, and Andy Bezon, assistantdirector of the Outdoor Classroom andSummer Wilderness Trips. “I feel gratefulfor the chance to serve so many localstudents,” explains Andy, who respondedto Kovacs’s first telephone call toChewonki a year ago. “This may be theone chance some of these students haveto experience the place they live in, in thisway.” He hopes, though, that FLOW willget students excited about going on moreoutdoor adventures.

Andy describes the collaboration as amatch made in heaven. RSU 1 teachers

ANNE LESLIE

OLocal schools and Chewonki launch an expedition students won’t forget

Continued on next page

LAWRENCE KOVACS PHOTO

DON SEYMOUR PHOTO

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paddle and camp alongside their studentsand lead the academic curriculumstudents have also been studying in theirclassrooms. Chewonki provides OutdoorClassroom instructors, equipment,logistics, itineraries, and a comple-mentary curriculum including paddlingskills; chart/map and compass; navigation;watershed, rocky shore, and tidal studies;the mathematics of triangulation; andLeave No Trace principles and practices.OC instructors also work on team-building, self-esteem, self-awareness, anddeveloping the students’ sensitivity toand understanding of sense of place. Chewonki and RSU 1 each had

resources to share and together they’vemade Kovacs’s vision a reality. He’s ahard guy to ignore, a teacher whonaturally makes you want to listen, in partbecause of the high expectations he hasfor his students and his fierce faith thatthey’ll meet them.In a state where people “from away”

sometimes struggle to be heard, Kovacshas a clear voice. He grew up in Queens,N.Y., surrounded by an extended familywith roots in Russia and the Ukraine. Hisfamily decided for him where he shouldgo to college; he soon decided they’dmade a mistake and dropped out.(“Well,” he says, “I think it was a mutualdecision on the part of the college andme.”) Eventually, he enrolled again, thistime at Beloit College, where he flour-ished within strong relationships with hisprofessors. At the same time, his love ofthe outdoors grew. Eventually he becamean Outward Bound instructor in thePacific Northwest. After a few moreadventures, Kovacs landed in Maine (hiswife teaches anthropology at Bowdoin

College), got his master’s, and became aclassroom teacher.Like all public school teachers, Kovacs

faces an ongoing barrage of new bench-marks and standards. A few years ago,they started to wear him down. “Publicschool teachers have so much thrown atthem,” he says. “I was numbed.” Thenin 2013, he went to a conference led byExpeditionary Learning, an organizationthat builds the capacity of teachers toraise student achievement and aspira-tions. Kovacs woke up and realized whathe wanted to do. When he returned toMaine, he went straight to RSU 1 Super-intendent Patrick Manuel and said hewanted to get students outside to learn.Lots of superintendents in this era ofshrinking budgets would have balked butManuel didn’t. He encouraged Kovacsand has worked with him to make FLOWa success. Other teachers and adminis-trators responded enthusiastically, too.“I was sort of shocked,” Kovacs admits.Collaboration unifies FLOW’s educa-

tional goals and funding. The schooldistrict pays for one-third of the cost;Chewonki pays for one-third; and theprivate sector pays for one-third. Twobanks, Bath Savings Institution and FirstFederal Savings, provided key financialsupport along with a private foundation,the George P. Davenport Trust. Kovacstold them, “This could change the fabricof this city…it’s an opportunity thatcould change the course of a life...it’sabout pride in place.”Selling FLOW to parents was some-

times harder. It’s a lot to ask, to let yourchild go off into the wilds for several dayswith people you don’t know well or at all,especially if you aren’t comfortable in the

learn more about FloW at http://flowexpedition.blogspot.com/.

outdoors yourself. Kovacs, Manuel,Bezon, and Greg Shute, Chewonki’sdirector of outdoor programs, workedto allay fears. Andy was a “force ofoptimism” throughout the process, saysKovacs. “He’s sort of a mountain of aman, and he exudes this calmness,knowledge, and confidence that is reas-suring to parents, and teachers, too.”When Andy and Greg explainedChewonki’s experience and resources,parents calmed down.Kovacs values that all students, not

just the stars, benefit from interdisci-plinary, experiential learning of the kindthat FLOW and the Outdoor Classroomin general provide. “We have a fairnumber of disaffected youth,” he says ofRSU 1. “There are some kids who arejust checked out.” For those, learningoutdoors is a chance to acquire and excelin skills that conventional school doesn’trequire. It’s also a chance for a change oflife course. For students successful inschool already, FLOW is an opportunityto achieve in different areas of compe-tence and reach for a higher, more inter-disciplinary understanding of subjectmatter. For all students, it’s an adventure.Andy says, “When you’re outdoors,everyone’s on the same level…It getsdown to people’s character, how theydeal with challenge.” Some studentshave found the FLOW expedition moredifficult than others, but that’s okay, saysAndy. “The students who are reallystruggling at moments have such greatcapacity to grow.” Kovacs cites research about the

benefits of learning in small communitiesoutdoors. Attentiveness goes up. Team-work improves. Stress levels go down.When you’re hungry and you’ve got tomake supper for yourself and your groupand get chores done before the lightdisappears, “There’s not a lot of mentalspace for ‘Does he think I’m cool?’…Yes, it’s a contrived situation, but it’swonderful,” says Kovacs.How does Kovacs feel about the first

year of FLOW? “Over the moon,” hesays. On the last night of FLOW 2014, ahuge full moon is shining. Fourteenstudents can see its silver path on thewaters of Hockomock Bay, a place theynow know is part of their home. n

MoniCa Wright Photo

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Almost everyone recognizes theglorious monarch butterfly asposter child for milkweedplants. But how many of us

realize the full diversity of amazinginsects that feed on milkweed? Milkweedplants host dozens of insect species,among them two tiger moths (Arctiidae):the milkweed tiger moth (Euchaetes egle)and the orange-edged milkweed tigermoth (Cycnia tenera).In early July, we noticed that one stem

of the common milkweed (Asclepiassyriaca) clone growing near the AllenCenter had a leaf so full of holes that itlooked like Alpine Lace Swiss cheese.Close inspection disclosed an aggregateof tiny, cream-colored caterpillars, thefirst instar larvae of E. egle. Over the nextfew days, we found more caterpillarbroods. By the time the caterpillarsreached their third instar, they hadundergone their remarkable transfor-mation to large, hairy beasts withforbidding black, orange, and white tuftsand lashes.Milkweeds are well known for their

milky juice, a cocktail of noxiouschemicals the most potent of which aresteroids called cardenolides. It’s generallyagreed that these substances deter feedinginsects enough to avert serious damage tothe plant. Many of these same insects,however, can take advantage of the toxinsby storing them in their tissues as adeterrent to their own predators, espe-cially vertebrates like birds. Monarchcaterpillars are a prime example, packingaway milkweed cardenolides and passingthem on to the adult butterfly, renderingit more or less toxic. The vivid orangeand black pattern of a monarch advertisesits toxicity: “Eat me and you’ll get sick!”This is called aposematic or warningcoloration, and its effectiveness dependson a predator’s ability to learn. For birds,one bad experience can be enough. It’sprobably no coincidence that many ofthe larger milkweed insects are boldlypatterned in orange (or red) and black.Yet milkweed toxicity varies widely

among individual plants and species andso does the distastefulness of the insectsthat eat it.Here’s where our tiger moth story

gets good. Tiger moth caterpillars eatmilkweed, accumulate cardenolides, andpass them on in varying degree to theadult moths. Unlike day-flying monarchbutterflies, nocturnal milkweed tigermoths cannot use visual warning to fendoff sonar-hunting bats pursuing them inthe dark of night. Somehow evolution always has an

answer—in this case, “trash talk”! When abat stops searching and homes in for thekill, its ultrasonic sonar pattern changes.Listening with extremely sensitive chordo-tonal hearing organs, tiger moths perceivethis change and immediately engage theiracoustic generators, or tymbals, to send anultrasonic message to the bat: “Yo, backoff. You don’ wanna mess wid me!” Withthat, the bat breaks off its attack.Wouldn’t you know, there seem to be

species of presumably appetizing tiger

moths that acoustically mimic noxiousmilkweed tiger moths. This is calledBatesian mimicry. In the case of E. egleand C. tenera, however, odds are thatboth species are sufficiently repulsive tobats to be regarded as Mullerian mimicsof one another: both moths send thesame acoustic warning, reinforcing batavoidance behavior to their mutualadvantage.Not to be outdone, a species of tiger

moth in the Southwest, Bertholdiatrigonia, produces an ultrasonic shriek sointense that it actually jams a bat’s sonarsystem. While the bat is momentarily“blind,” the moth makes good itsescape!We hoped that our tiger moth cater-

pillars at Chewonki would grow up,pupate, and become adults but it wasnot to be. Over time, the caterpillarssimply disappeared leaving no trace.Even so, you can be sure that theseamazing insects are now on our radar—or is that sonar? n

FRED CICHOCKI

Noticing Nature

“doc Fred” directs the nature program at Chewonki Camp for Boys.

Fred CiChoCki Photo Julia leWis Photo

daniel Casado Photo

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The Dirt on Chewonki Neck

MEGAN PHILLIPS

There are a handful of photo-graphs from last summer thatgrab at me and won’t let go.One shows farmer Ellie Brown

(MCS 35, Farm Apprentice ’13, ’14) andcamper Henry Bernard (BC ’10-’14)walking across pasture with fencing slungover their shoulders–a realistic capturingof necessary work being done. Another isof camper Kai Bentley (BC ’13, ’14), hisarms wrapped around Sal’s massive headas boys in the background groom her. Ican tell that one of them is scratchingSal’s itchiest belly spot, and Kai and Sallook to be in a quiet state of bliss. Thethird image is of a hand holding a half-eaten carrot and another, behind, holdinga James Herriot novel, testament to timein the hayloft with farm snacks, read-alouds, and boys red-faced from work inthe gardens. It is the back stories thatthese images express–the years we’vespent creating systems that work withand are built around many little handsand the personal experiences of campersthis past summer–that really hold me.

Good education is integration intomeaningful production. This philosophyunderlies our approach to farming.There is certainly much to be learned

through farm-based activities and games,but the most transformative experiencesI have witnessed happen when we askyoung people to do something difficult,something that matters. Farming with young people takes

planning and flexibility. Last summer wesaved our most dynamic work to includecampers (no long weeding sessions!) andtended to their social-emotional anddevelopmental needs. One Tuesday, forexample, the task at hand involvedsquishing potato beetle larvae and adults,laborious but necessary in our small-scale,organic pest management. Two boys setinto it diligently, easing into a quiet,focused space. Another two, youngerand more energetic, tired of the taskwithin moments. “How about we have acontest?” I suggested. “You two versusme. Who can pick the most potato beetlesin five minutes?” Fifteen minutes later,they were still plucking and squishing,racing through the rows. Their total: 418.Mine: just over 250. The boys wereecstatic. I heard about my defeat for days. Campers were everywhere on the farm

at every moment of the day. Up to 26came for morning chores at 5:40 a.m.twice weekly. Many spent the morningharvesting vegetables, performing parasitechecks on sheep, setting up electric

Growing boys growing vegetablesfencing, tending to the meat birds theywould eat at the end-of-summer banquet,and building raised garden beds. Otherdays they cooked with farm-fresh ingre-dients, dyed eggs and farm wool, learnedto drive Sal, and felted farm wool intowearable pouches. Many campers spentafternoons working toward their MasterFarmer award; setting up taste tests oflocal maple syrup, cheeses, and farm milk;or doing chores such as collecting eggs,milking the cow, and feeding animals.A few evenings each week, we farmersharvested and cooked farm dinners orchurned ice cream with a cabin full ofboys. Once a week, we took them on anevening hay-cart ride led by Sal. Bysummer’s end, 14 had earned a MasterFarmer award and six more becameJunior Farmers. Working off a checklist wecreated, these campers completed a seriesof tasks, from turning compost to identi-fying common weeds by name to doingmorning or afternoon chores four times,to earn their level of recognition. All summer, boys were building skills,

getting dirty, working hard, eatingvegetables—and loving it. There was asweetness, a realness, to their engagementthat shines through in those photos. Goodeducation. Meaningful production.Good life. n

Megan Phillips is the farm manager at Chewonki. For more on the intersection of Chewonki participants and their farm, visit Chewonki’s farm and food systems blog, “Chew on this,” at http://blogs.chewonki.org/farmandfood/.

Claire hartnell Photos

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Have faith, take action!TOMTWIST

Trying to live moresustainably can seem likea daunting endeavor. Youneed a good deal of intestinal

fortitude even to listen to news aboutenvironmental sustainability. It oftenfeels as if no progress is occurring andthat world leaders are, at best, providingmerely lip service to address theproblem.Simultaneously, however, there’s a

groundswell of grassroots support forlocal food, energy independence, andcare of the natural world. More andmore people are thinking about makingadjustments toward sustainability intheir own lives.If you’ve given up expecting

someone else to fix the situation butare unsure how to proceed, take heart.Below is a list of recommendations tohelp you accomplish green projects inyour home, school, or business.We run possible projects through

this list here at Chewonki. For example,before committing to installing solarpanels on the barn (coming soon!), weestablished our baseline need for energyand then asked how the project wouldaffect it. Next, we crunched numbers,calculating return on investment. Wefound that we can finance the projectwith a loan because the interest we’llowe will be less than the savings we’llrealize through lower energy costs.

Based on good information, we movedahead with confidence.Get oriented with the list below. Then

make your own life more sustainable.

1) Know where you are. This first stepis least popular and most often over-looked. Major barriers to sustainabilityprojects are arguments about money andtime. To counteract these, you need proofthat your project will make a positivedifference in energy costs, efficiency, orcarbon footprint. Without this essentialinformation, you have no ground tostand on.

2) Create a sound plan. Reality-checkyour plan to verify that it makes sense.Scrutinize calculations about the project’spromised impact. One more time, go overfigures about return on investment. Notall sustainability technologies are createdequal; some have a payback that youwon’t see within the useful lifetime of thesystem. Beware!

FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Tom Twist talks sustainabilitysustainability officer tom twist landed in the spotlight recently when Mike dunn, a sustainability consultant forsolar energy company shift energy, interviewed tom for the “sustainacast” podcast. their lively conversationranges across a variety of issues related to Chewonki’s strategies for teaching and practicing sustainability. listenin at http://sustainacast.com/07-planting-ideas-for-the-future-with-tom-twist-of-the-chewonki-foundation/.

3) Make it happen.This one’s prettystraightforward, although making ithappen also includes how to make ithappen, which usually means, “How arewe going to pay for this?” At Chewonki,we’ve engaged in a variety of interestingfinancial models: green revolving fund,solar power purchase agreements, andsometimes just financing at a lowerinterest rate than the project’s payback(as in the case of the solar panels on thebarn). Use your imagination—but groundyourself in the reality of steps 1 and 2.Another key part of making your projecthappen is choosing the very best peopleto design the system. Rely on the expe-rience and advice of people you trust.Finding really good system designers issometimes harder than finding reallygood system builders. Take time to vetyour team.

4) Assess. Don’t assume that just becausea system is installed it is working properly.In the commissioning phase, monitorregularly and refer back to your originalbaseline to determine progress.

5) Bask in the knowledge that you’vemade the world a better place. Yourresponsibility doesn’t end here, however.It’s going to take a lot of people doingwhat you did to bring about real change.

6) Empower others to change. Thereare many ways to do this but I’ve foundthat humans still really like a goodnarrative. So find interesting ways to tell your story. To hear some ofChewonki’s sustainability stories or seesome of our ongoing projects, visitwww.chewonki.org/pathways.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Lots of peoplewould like to embrace sustainablepractices but don’t know how to start.Take the leap. Try following these stepsand adopt a we-can-do-it attitude.

Chris PerCy Photo

tom twist is Chewonki’s sustainability officer. to learn more about our sustainability efforts, visit www.chewonki.org/sustainability.

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Chewonki Centennial: here, there, everywhere!We launched a year of celebration in September by planting a white oak onthe lawn between the barn and the Center for Environmental Education.Then we hosted 130 friends and partners for a farm-to-table harvest dinnerhonoring the shared commitment to building a strong local community. InOctober, we welcomed the public to an open house on the Neck andhobnobbed at regional alumni gatherings near Portland and Boston and inNew York City. In November, we played Capture the Rocks in Brooklyn’sProspect Park. Stay tuned for events south and west in 2015. We want toconnect with you and your family and friends during this special year!Make sure we have your current email so we can keep you in the loop.Update your info at www.chewonki.org/alumni/keep_in_touch. Thanks.

Alumni & Friends

harvest dinner Centennial tree Planting Centennial tree Planting

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth, Maine harvard, Mass. harvard, Mass.

new york City new york City new york City

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Find our 2013 Annual report by going on the Chewonki website and choosing Support Our Work, then clicking on “Annual Report.”

At long last, the book you’ve been waiting for:Chewonki: 100 Years of Learning OutdoorsEssential for anyone who loves Chewonki and just in time for your holidayshopping! This inspiring portrait of the place, people, and programs that arethe heart of Chewonki includes 256 pages of beautiful, full-color photographs,thoughtful reflections by alumni and past and present leaders, and lots of stories.It’s the next best thing to being here. $45. Go to www.chewonki.org/centennialand click on “Centennial Store” to order.

And here’s the perfect companion in yourcar, kitchen, or dorm room!Wish you could tap into the energy of Campfire Circle? Can’tremember the third verse of “I Knew this Place”? Want tostart your week hearing Tim Ellis say, “Look to this day…”?You need the Chewonki CD! Enjoy this fabulous collection ofsounds and songs performed by some of Chewonki’s finestminstrels. Guaranteed to make you happily nostalgic (testedhere). Our present to you! Free at Chewonki Centennial events or order online by going to www.chewonki.org/centennial and clicking “Centennial Store.” Shipping and handling costs apply.


Save the date NOW:Centennial Weekend August 14-16, 2015It’s going to be a memorable two and a half days of fun, learning,and friendship with a gala dinner and campfire on Saturdayevening and a special Sunday Service led by Tim Ellis at thePoint. Reconnect with Chewonki and celebrate our first 100years at this once-in-a-lifetime event. Learn more and registeratwww.chewonki.org/centennial. We can’t wait to see you!

JosePh Cote/207 stills Photo

Want to make Centennial Weekend more of an adventure?Join fellow alumni and staff on an unforgettable centennial expedition before or after the weekend on Chewonki Neck.

• Backpack in the Torngat Mountains National Park, August 4-13• Paddle the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, August 16-22

• Sail on the Schooner Mary Day, August 16-22Or enjoy your own special trip to our Big Eddy Campground on the West Branch of the Penobscot or our Debsconeag LakeWilderness Camps in the heart of the North Woods. Find out about all these opportunities at www.chewonki.org/centennial.

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SUMMERPROGRAMS

1930ssee box for Hunter rowley.

1940srenny little (BC ’42-’48; BC staff ’53-’55, ’60) and wife Jean are editingtheir respective harvard andradcliffe 60th reunion Class reports.Jim Hinkle (BC ’48-’50) recalled hishand in naming one of Chewonki’sbeloved cabins: upon arriving atcamp in 1948, he was taken to abrand-new cabin called “Block-house.” “the other boys quicklystarted calling us ‘the Blockheadsfrom Blockhouse,’ to which we tookan instant dislike,” Jim writes. theywere encouraged to come up with anew name, and “since most of uswere from Boston, we quicklydecided on ‘Fenway,’ the home of ourbeloved red sox. Mr. allen, Mr. ellis,and the other higher-ups agreed, andit was official: ‘Blockhouse’ became‘Fenway’ from that day on.”

1950sDave Wade (BC ’57-’61) is living andworking in Portland, Me, as a photog-rapher, and has recently exhibitedwork at the kingman gallery in deerisle and the engine gallery inBiddeford.

1960s

1970sthe work of photographer,filmmaker, and conservationist JimBalog (BC staff ’71; tWt leader ’72;salisbury island leader ’73) is part ofthe exhibition “Branching out: treesas art” at the Peabody essexMuseum in salem, Ma, through sept.2015. Jacksonville, Fl, is home toBetty Byrne (BC staff ’70-’72, ’74-’76),who works in the box office of theJacksonville symphony orchestra.this spring, the Bates College alumniassociation presented Professoremeritus of Physical education Chickleahey (BC staff ’70-’79) with thehelen a. Papaioanou award forextraordinary service to the college.Ed Barker (BC ’78-’80; MCs faculty)married sarah kurz on southportisland, Me, in July. after honey-mooning on Mt. desert island, theyreturned home to Cambridge, Ma,where ed runs a nonprofitcommunity-based vegetable farm.Jose de Areilza (BC ’79-’80; BC staff’83, ’85) is the secretary general ofthe aspen institute in spain, as wellas a law professor at esade, inMadrid and Barcelona. Begereynolds (Mr ’79-’80) writes that herexperience on the neck “continues…to influence my job, a Waldorf kinder-garten teacher [in idaho], my family,and how i parent three children, myhome, my chickens, my friendships,and my life in the outdoors.”

1980sAndy Barker (BC ’81-’84; BC staff ’90,’96; MCs faculty) reports that hisfamily is “well and enjoying life inVermont.” he savored manyChewonki moments this summer,including Scott Andrews’s retirementparty in May and brother Ed Barker’swedding (see 1970s news). PeterHerrick (BC ’82-’84; BC staff ’90) livesin south Portland, Me, where heworks at a local university. BenEldredge (BC ’87, ’89; BC staff ’97, ’99)is head of education at Cibolo natureCenter in Boerne, tX.

1990sBob Smith-Petersen (BC ’92, ’94, ’96-’97, ’99; Wt ’98; BC staff ’00-’09) runsa small mobile massage therapybusiness in greater Boston. Mark &Ingrid Albee (Mark: farm manager’90-’05; ingrid: nurse/health coordi-nator ’90-’05) visited their son Pete(BC ’93-’95; Mariners ’99), an engineeron fishing vessels out of dutch harbor,in unalaska, ak, in august. “We had awonderful time exploring the islandand learning about the culture, fishingindustry, unique history and nature,”they wrote. Meanwhile, Pete’sbrother, Hans Albee (BC ’90-’92;Mountaineers ’94; Mariners ’95;Mistassini ’96), was at Chewonkirecently with his solar powercompany, reVision energy, to installsome solar panels with students.Jamie Hannon (BC staff ’93-’97) hashelped start a nature-based school,Mountain Village Charter school, innh. Dan Fox (BC ’95, ’97-’00; BC staff’02-’05, ’08) is engaged to iraina Miles.he recently began working at acompany called Box in the sanFrancisco Bay area. Chris Bagg (Wt’94; BC staff ’99, ’02-’06) had his bestfinish ever at the ironman triathlondistance (2nd in the ChallengePenticton 2014)! Zoe Schneller Emery(Wt ’96-’97; BC staff ’98, ’00) began

work at the univ. of new england inthe office of graduate admissions inJune, and married henry emery inseptember. Jan ruszkowski (BCstaff ’97-’98, ’00-’01, ’03) and his wife,ola, sent their best wishes for the100th summer Celebration fromPoland, where they live with theirthree children (see photo).

see MCs 16 for news of Sean gray(BC staff ’98-’03); MCs 19 for AndrewSchulte (BC staff ’99); MCs 21 forSpence Taylor (BC ’95-’97; Wt ’98);MCs 22 for Elisabeth Christensen(Wt ’96-’97, ’99); and MCs 35 forJames Watson (BC ’97-’02; BC staff’07).

2000sCaitlin Ellis (BC staff ’01-’02, ’06) says that she and husband Bob“welcomed a future sag, William‘Will’ Frederick, on March 23, 2014.”she has been teaching high schoolbiology at Maclay school in talla-hassee, Fl, but the family is planninga move to Washington, dC, whereBob has received the noaa knaussMarine Policy Fellowship next year.Steven Schubart (Wt ‘01) is studyingagriculture at the institute forapplied agriculture and Foodsystems at Vermont technicalCollege. Jason Chandler (BC staff’02-’03, ’06, ’10; Wt staff ’05, ’11-’14)and Caitlin Thurrell (see 2010s news)are on a pilgrimage by land and seato the high altitude desert of ladakh,to live and learn as part of an ancienttibetan community in the himalaya.Boulder, Co, is home to MadelineBachner (BC staff ’03-’05; Wt staff‘06) and her partner, dan. she isprogram director of a non-profitcalled the Cottonwood institute. “Weprovide middle and high school envi-ronmental education curriculum thatfocuses on connection to nature andenvironmental service learning andaction-based projects,” she writes. inseptember, Dash Davidson (BC ’03-’05) moved to seattle to beginworking at tableau software as asports data analyst. “We are loving

PeopleWe welcome news from all Chewonki participants and staff. Pleasee-mail your news to [email protected] or mail it to Chewonki,attn. Peg Willauer-Tobey. We try hard to avoid errors. If you seeone, please let us know so we can correct it in the next issue. Unlessyou specify that you do not want us to print your news, we willinclude it in the Chronicle. We reserve the right to edit for spaceand clarity. Thanks for sharing your lives with us! —Ed.

Jan and ola ruszkowski and family

reminiscing with Hunter rowley (BC ’34-’37)Hunter Rowley was a camper at Chewonki in the 1930s. Now living in Atlanta, Ga., he recently talked with Emma Carlson, program director of Summer Wilderness Tripsand Adventures for Girls, about his summers at camp in Maine. Emma began byasking Hunter if there was a camp cheer in the 1930s. Without missing a beat, Hunterresponded with the Chewonki cheer we all know and love. He was a Sag who deftlyclimbed trees to stay out of sight during scouting games. One of his favorite pastimesat camp was finding a snake and then carrying it around inside his shirt (with shirttailscarefully tucked in). Why did he do this? “Because it was fun!” he explained with atwinkle. Getting off the Neck was a great adventure; he especially enjoyed trips toMonhegan Island and Tent Days at the beach. Hunter’s memories are vivid and Emmasays “it was a gift to connect with someone who had and continues to have such a lovefor Chewonki.” Kennebec-bec!

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Renny Little:Getting things going through thepower of engagement

If you’re standing next to Warren“Renny” M. Little when someoneshouts “Everybody up for a goodcamp cheer,” get ready. Renny’sgoing to give the Chewonki cheer

and he’s going to give it with all theloyalty he feels after seven summers as acamper; three years as a counselor; 23 asa trustee; and 18 (and counting) as anadvisor. Renny continues to possess theenergy, determination, and enjoyment oflife that propelled him throughChewonki, the Rivers School, Middlesex School, four years oftrack and field and studies at Harvard, “three years jumping outof airplanes” with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, and theacquisition of a master’s degree in education from Tufts and adoctorate in education from the Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst.Some people his age are putting their feet up. Instead, “I’m up tomy ears in a couple of ventures,” he says. That seems to be thetimbre of his life. Renny grew up in Brookline, Mass., and on a working farm in

Essex. His mother was an authority on American decorative andfolk arts. His father served as director of the Society for thePreservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic NewEngland). They sent Renny to the Rivers School, where ClarenceAllen was the headmaster, and he soon found his way toChewonki. For this little boy who loved being outside and had aknack for having fun, it was a good choice. He thrived on thecamaraderie and developed strong interests in woodcraft andnature studies. Later, as a counselor, he worked with well-knownChewonki characters including Roger Tory Peterson’s son Lee(Boys Camp ’58-’61; camp staff ’65-’70) (“he was a goodbirder”) and former Chewonki President Don Hudson and hisbrothers. Former Chewonki Executive Director Tim Ellis was oneof Renny’s assistant counselors. Bill Tyler (Boys Camp ’36; campstaff ’39-’41; trustee ’69-’02; current honorary trustee) was animportant mentor.“Of Chewonki, I have many fond memories and close friends,”

says Renny. “The education I received there as a kid and what Ilearned as a counselor, too, gave me a base for my teaching.”Teaching has been Renny’s work. Getting young people

excited about learning came naturally to him. After an internshipin the education department of the Boston Museum of Science,he went to Rivers to teach science and coach, filling the shoes ofHardy Ellis (Boys Camp head counselor, asst. camp director,program director, ’33-’61) when Ellis became assistant head-master at the school.

Renny liked to take his Rivers students outside; he andthey enjoyed science taught from “skin out,” focusing on theenvironment. His approach earned him a Teacher of the YearAward from the Massachusetts Audubon Society and anEnvironmental Achievement Award from the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency. Although he enjoyed Rivers, he eventually left to help carry

out Pres. Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 Elementary and SecondaryEducation Act. In 11 Massachusetts school districts and fourregional high schools, he trained teachers from kindergarten tohigh school to include environmental education in their sciencecurriculum. He also reached out to conservation commissions,planning boards, and boards of health to raise awareness of theimportance of this approach.When he became director of education at the New England

Aquarium, he incorporated environmental education “andpulled on my knowledge from Chewonki again,” he says. Thencame leadership of the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester,where he expanded outreach to young people. Eventually heand his wife, Jean, returned to Cambridge, where he’s playedmany roles, including executive director of the CambridgeHistorical Society and pro bono curator of Harvard’s LeeFamily Hall of Athletic History.Renny is part of a generation of generous, educated doers

who believe in stewardship of the organizations they value. Thealignment of his interests with Chewonki’s mission, his loyaltyand natural congeniality, and the personal momentum that wonhim many a track event have made Renny a vital part ofChewonki. He is a member of the Osprey Circle and has givenconsistently to the Annual Fund since 1965. “What Chewonkiis about means a lot to me,” he says simply. That’s why whenyou’re in Renny’s company and he gives the camp cheer, youshould join him—and then give him a cheer of his own. n

Meet a member of the Osprey Society

Please consider becoming a member of the osprey Society, a group of individuals who’ve let us know that they have includedChewonki in their long-term financial plans. To learn more, go to www.chewonki.org/ospreysociety or give us a call.

–A.L.

renny little (left) takes a match to light the fire and(above) belts out the Chewonki cheer at Campfire,June 2014

Claire harnell Photos

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People

Sharing the joy of paddling

Alexander (Zand) Martin(Voyageurs ’00; NorthwoodsCanoe ’02; Mistassini ’03)stopped by in September to sayhello and deliver his bookCanoeing, written for theNational Outdoor LeadershipSchool (NOLS). The 337-pagebook is a comprehensiveexplanation of all aspects ofexpedition canoeing, with lots ofphotos, including some fromZand’s Chewonki days, and

diagrams. Zand had just finished leading a NOLS Yukonsemester and was heading to New Zealand.

Portland, or!” writes Paul Taylor(Wt staff ’03, ’05, ’07-’10). “Claire ishalfway through her program, lead-ership in sustainability education.Paul is working as a lead guide forkaF adventures, mountaineeringand climbing guides. We’re exploringthe Pacific northwest and are excitedto have recently celebrated our one-year anniversary in May!” AbbyHuckel (BC staff ’06) was married inscarborough, Me, in april, with manyChewonki friends in attendance (seephoto)! “We’ve had a terrific summervisiting with dozens of Chewonkifriends,” writes abby. “sometimes ifeel that Chewonki has left me with asocial calendar that is truly an embar-rassment of riches.” Jay Avis (BCstaff ’07-’10) and amanda Burnscelebrated their first weddinganniversary on an internationalhabitat for humanity build in Bali.they run two primitive skills campsfor students who attend the school

where amanda teaches 5th grade. EricNelson (BC staff ’07; Wt staff ’08)and Krystal rogers-Nelson (BC staff‘08) welcomed emmett Crane nelsonon 1-22-14. the family lives in saltlake City, ut. Cam Smith (BC ’07-’09;Wt ’10) started freshman year atgeorgia tech in atlanta, majoring incomputer engineering. Seb Chwoyka(BC ’09; Wt ’10-’11; BC staff ’13) hasbeen enjoying a gap year in nepaland Peru. Chris Kremer (BC ’09; Wt’10-’11) is currently attending VassarCollege. lucas Milliken (Maine Coastkayak leader ’13; Boatbuilders leader’14) is enjoying teaching 8th grade atCommunity school in sun Valley,idaho. “We traveled to glaciernational Park to camp and measure aglacier,” he writes. “the 8th grade hasbeen measuring it for 6 years and wehave pictures from the 1920s. theamount it has receded isastounding!” his class is also workingwith anna lappe, author of Diet for a

Hot Planet, to help her write a youngadult version of the book. JesseDukes (BC staff ’00-’05) spoke withan nPr reporter on Morning editionin october describing his experiencesembedded with Civil War re-actorshonoring the 150th anniversary of theBattle of gettysburg. he explored there-enactors’ conflicting narrativesabout their Confederate ancestors inthe Virginia Quarterly Review.

see MCs 29 for news of Emily guerin(BC staff ’04); MCs 33 for JaneKoopman (BC staff ’08, ’10; Wt staff’11, ’13) and Jaz Smith (Wt ’04; BCstaff ’05; gC staff ’08-’09); MCs 34 forAndrew Karp (BC ’00-’04) and KitHamley (BC staff ’09; gC staff ‘10;Wt staff ’11); MCs 40 for CollinKnauss (Wt ’08) and Zoe Mason (Wt ’06; gC staff ’09); MCs 41 forJohn russell (BC ’02-’06; Wt ’07; BC staff ’09, ’11-’12, ’14); semester 46for Niall griffin (BC ’05-’08; Wt ’09);and semester 52 for Quinn griffin(BC ’06-’09).

2010sBethany laursen (Wt staff ’10-’11)used her Chewonki skills to lead ateam of scientists from Michiganstate univ. on a soil-sampling trip tothe Boundary Waters Canoe areaWilderness. Christina Arey (gC ’10)has enrolled as a sophomore at thelouisiana school for Math, science,and the arts. Caitlin Thurrell (gCstaff ’11; farmer/educator ’12-’14) andJason Chandler (see 2000s news) areadventuring their way toward ladakhin far northern india, where they’ll beliving with and learning from thetraditional communities of this highplateau.

see semester 45 for news of NicoleSmith (Wt ’11); semester 46 forMegan robidas (Wt ’11); semester48 for Teddy Simpson (Wt ’12); andsemester 51 for lucy Wanzer (gC’10-’11).

SEMESTERSCHOOL

MCS 1Fall 1988Class Agent: Torrey McMillan,[email protected]

regan Brashear lives in oakland, Ca,with her partner. after completing amaster’s in social documentation atuC santa Cruz, she finished her firstfilm: Fixed: The Science/Fiction ofHuman Enhancement.

MCS 2Spring 1989Class Agent: Critter Thompson,[email protected]

Brooke lehman and her partner,gregg osofsky, have just opened theWatershed Center, a holistic retreatcenter for “changemakers” on a farm inMillerton, ny.

MCS 3Fall 1989Class Agents: Krech Paynter,[email protected]; Will Redfield,[email protected]

MCS 4Spring 1990Class Agent: Emily Rich,[email protected]

Hilary greenwood and her husband,dominic, live in switzerland with theirtwo sons. she lives about three villagesover from Mitch levesque.

MCS 5Fall 1990Class Agent: Laura Ledue,[email protected]

MCS 6Spring 1991Class Agent: Andy Wilbur,[email protected]

“i’m thrilled to be back in newengland,” writes verónica vázquez,who is the new math department headat kimball union academy in nh.

MCS 7Fall 1991Class Agent: Brooke Guthrie,[email protected]

Kate gibson lives in london with herhusband and two daughters. she worksfor interContinental hotels group,leading a team that works to help thecompany’s hotels around the worldreduce their environmental impact andhave a more positive effect on the localcommunity.

MCS 8Spring 1992Class Agents: Jenn Gudebski,[email protected]; Sarai Hinkley,[email protected]

MCS 9Fall 1992Class Agent: Katie Wagner,[email protected]

MCS 10spring 1993Class Agent: Betsy Stubblefield Loucks,[email protected]

abby huckel’s wedding

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Anna Brown:Meeting the climate crisis withskill and a moral compass

With hair over hershoulders, a winningsmile, and modestmanners, Anna Brown(MCS 16) could be

the girl next door, and in some ways sheis: she grew up in nearby Freeport,attended Freeport High School, and staysin close touch with her family in Maine.That makes it all the more fascinating thatshe’s living half a world away in Bangkok,Thailand, to tackle some of the world’smost pressing problems.Anna is the senior associate director of

The Rockefeller Foundation’s AsiaRegional Office. She’s six years into anine-year project called the Asian CitiesClimate Change Resilience Network(ACCCRN), a strategy for helping smalland mid-sized cities deal with the impacts of climate change.She’s trying to “build awareness and capacity among city stake-holders” so they can properly plan to protect their populationsand infrastructure in order to reduce damage, economiccalamity, and human suffering. The cities in Anna’s purview,scattered across Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and India, areexperiencing rapid urbanization. When the effects of climatechange intersect with quickly transforming land uses thatconcentrate people into one area, the poor suffer dispropor-tionately. The movement, availability, and scarcity of water play a key

role in the stability of vulnerable sectors of any society. (FLOWstudents know this! See p. 15.) The Rockefeller Foundation isfunding initiatives that “connect land use planning andhydrology” so that cities can preemptively “help householdsmake homes more storm-resistant and secure” and protectaccess to water, explains Anna. She and her team are investigating “a range of interven-

tions” that they’d like to take to more cities in Asia andbeyond. “There are thousands of cities that need this” she says.“There’s a lot of need—but this is also an opportunity toshowcase strategies.” Money is scarce, but she regards this,too, as a chance “to find solutions that are cost-effective” andcan be replicated in other places. Anna’s work integrates science, engineering, economics,

cultural differences, technology, politics—and compassion. Herdetermination to help Asian cities deal with climate-related

threats such as storms, typhoons, and seismic activity springsfrom a courageous sense of social justice. She attributes this toher parents’ values and her experiences at Seeds of Peace, anorganization that brings together young people from conflict-torn regions around the world. At the Maine Coast Semester,she found an intellectual rigor that challenged her emergingconsciousness and academic goals. She went on to major inenvironmental studies at Brown and earn a master’s in urbanplanning at MIT, where she wrestled with “how you addressecological problems when there is such disparity in the world.”A job with the Quaker United Nations (before her work withRockefeller) allowed her to combine advocacy for peace andjustice with development initiatives.Anna calls the recent report from the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “very sobering…the storyline is much worse than we thought.” She has no illusions aboutthe world’s difficulties. Yet talking to her is uplifting. She iscommitted to solving problems rather than complaining aboutthem. She has a lot of good reasons to prevail, includingMirabelle, her daughter with poet Colin Cheney. An envelope with a check for $1,000 from The Rockefeller

Foundation landed at Chewonki last June. The foundation hadpresented an award to the staff member whose work bestembodies equity: Anna. She asked that they send the check toChewonki. Anna Brown is leading with mind and heart. Read Anna’s blog at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/about-us/our-team/anna-brown. n

Meet a member of the Chewonki Circle

anna Brown with husband Colin Cheney and Mirabelle

Please consider becoming a member of the Chewonki Circle by donating $1,000 or more to the Annual Fund.

–A.L.

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PeopleMCS 11Fall 1993Class Agent: Jess Green, [email protected]

in May, Alice Chong graduated with adoctor of pharmacy from notredame of Maryland univ.

MCS 12Spring 1994Class Agents: Lara Fox,[email protected]; Becky PalmerDickson, [email protected]

september was a busy month forAimee Angel, who became anaustralian citizen and got married inless than 24 hours! her wedding tofellow australian Craig hammondswas followed by an outdoor dinnerparty in sydney.

MCS 13Fall 1994Class Agents: Erin Quinn,[email protected]; BeseniaRodriguez, [email protected]

Jimbo Schley spent the summer asthe program director for the northCarolina outward Bound outer Banks

sea kayak Program. he will be inVermont this fall, and move on to theeverglades with outward Bound inthe winter. Ben Thompson and wifeCourtney are excited to announce thebirth of their son, augustine “augie”thompson, born on 4-28-14 (seephoto).

MCS 14Spring 1995Class Agent: Erika Brown,[email protected]

Colby Holtshouse is working at amedical device startup. in august,Jess leClair received a master’s offine arts in intermedia from the univ.of Maine, orono. she lives in Bangor,Me, with her husband, Matt, andtwo-year-old daughter, gwen.

MCS 15Fall 1995Class Agents: Fitz Cahall, [email protected]; EmilyDellas, [email protected]; GlynnisRoberts, [email protected]

MCS 16Spring 1996Class Agent: Bailey McCallum,[email protected]

Sean gray (BC staff ’98-’03) has beenhard at work planning events fromBoston to Paris, including PittsburghMayor Bill Peduto’s inauguration thisyear. he had the chance to catch upwith remy Mansfield and BicheFessenden on a recent trip to Massa-chusetts. lizzy grubin is the opera-tions director at impact Carbon, anon-profit promoting access to cleanenergy technologies in developingcountries.

MCS 17Fall 1996Class Agent: Page McClean, [email protected]

in september, Page McClean(semester spanish teacher ’03-’05)released Departures, her first studioalbum. she’s crowdfunding in hopesof taking the music on a house-concert tour of europe, so visit her atwww.indiegogo.com/projects/depar-tures-album-release-european-tour.

MCS 18Spring 1997Class Agent: Sarah Klain,[email protected]

Chartey Quarcoo and his wife,ashley, welcomed two new additionsto their household this summer:samuel akwete Quarcoo and Juliuskwesi Quarcoo, born 8-17-14. thispast spring Chartey joined the u.s.dept. of Justice as a trial attorney inthe fraud section of the civil division.Nick vail is the nalandabodhi seattlesangha director, as well as themarketing manager for antioch univ.seattle.

MCS 19Fall 1997Class Agent: Josie Rodberg,[email protected]

six MCs alums attended the Marchwedding of Andrew Schulte (BC staff‘99): Ben Martell, Simon Fischer-Baum, Patrick McElhone, ClaySmith (MCs 20), Ian Schulte (MCs25), and Alex Schulte (MCs 37).

MCS 20Spring 1998Class Agents: Marley Aloe,[email protected]; KerryGranfield, [email protected]

MCS 21Fall 1998Class Agent: Malia Haddock, [email protected]

Spence Taylor (BC ’95-’97; Wt ’98)lives in somerville, Ma. “i havestarted another business called evap-tainers. We are building small mobilerefrigerators that run on nothing butsun and water to transport producefrom small-scale farmers to marketdomestically and internationally,” heexplains. Ella Moench and husbandnorth welcomed a son, rowan, inMay. “i am taking the fall off fromteaching in order to mom it up,” shereports, “and am looking forward toall the adventures to come.” NateWessler lives in Brooklyn and is alawyer for the american Civilliberties union, for which he works on digital privacy and policesurveillance issues.

MCS 22Spring 1999Class Agent: Louisa Pitt,[email protected]

Elisabeth Christensen (Wt ’96-’97,’99) recently accepted a position asan investigative attorney at thenational science Foundation’s officeof inspector general, based inarlington, Va.

MCS 23Fall 1999Class Agent: Ariane Lotti,[email protected]

Marselle Alexander-ozinskas worksin philanthropy, making grants tosupport California’s conservationcommunity. liz Tunick marriedandrew Cedar in katonah, ny. “Workat the smithsonian institutioncontinues to be fulfilling and inter-esting,” liz writes, “and i remainexcited about working in the interna-tional cultural sector.” Ariane lottiand dan owen were married in april.she left her job in Washington, dC,this summer and is currently farmingin central italy. “things are awesomeup in the ottawa Valley!” says MeganMcCarrell. “still busily catchingbabies in the wild country, and i amalso looking forward to continuingmy master’s of public health programin september.” Will Morris is living indenver, Co, and working on Co2capture technology development

Injecting compassion into the networkBen Sigelman (MCS 18) hasthe modest goal of making theworld of social media morehumane. Ben, who lives in SanFrancisco, left his position atGoogle to create a free app calledMatter. Ben hopes collegestudents (and eventually others)will use the social media platformto communicate with each otherconstructively and compassion-

ately. “Technology has done more harm than good in ourpersonal lives,” he says. “It has turned so many of us into our ownunpaid and increasingly frazzled ‘brand managers.’ Matter hasshown that it needn’t be that way; with the right set of constraints,we can be remarkably open about who we are and how wenavigate life.” The idea for Matter sprang in part from Ben’sChewonki experience. “MCS was wonderful because I had thesense that I could just relax and be myself, [and] I learned howmuch richer my relationships could be when I was in that frameof mind. I’ve tried to find a way to apply that lesson more broadlyto the realm of social media.” Semester Art Teacher Sue Westdownloaded Matter after visiting Ben and says she’s been “pleas-antly surprised that people do seem to write more thoughtfully,honestly, and poignantly when using this app.”

Ben and augie thompson

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BC staff ’05; gC staff ’08-’09) isstarting a place-based, Waldorf-inspired community school on Mountdesert island, Me.

MCS 34Spring 2005Class Agents: Alex Beecher,[email protected]; Liz Franchot,[email protected]

Andrew Karp (BC ’00-’04) managesthe Centre for social innovation, anon-profit event space, as part of ashared workspace and communityfor social entrepreneurs. Kit Hamley(BC staff ’09; gC staff ’10; Wt staff’11) and reuben Hudson weremarried this august in Biddeford, Me.kit is starting graduate school this fallat the Climate Change institute at theuniv. of Maine. they live in Jackson,Me. Doug ray recently began acourse of study in museum anthro-pology at Columbia univ.

MCS 35Fall 2005Class Agent: Cameron McKnight,[email protected]

James Watson (BC ’97-’02; BC staff’07) is enrolled at the univ. of ChicagoPritzker school of Medicine. ElliotSteinhardt works as an artisanbutcher and cheesemonger in sanFrancisco.

with collaborators around thecountry. Andrew Schapiro continuesto enjoy life in san Francisco, wherehe works at airbnb. he went to EJWinter’s wedding in Brooklyn at theend of June and sees MeredithBenedict regularly. “all is well inBrooklyn!” Anna Stevens writes. “Myhusband, Brent, and i have a feistylittle girl named isabel…i am goingon my eighth year at google workingon business development with bookpublishers on our eBook salesplatform, google Play.” Marissavahlsing is working as a humanrights and environmental justicelawyer at earthrights international inWashington, dC.

MCS 24Spring 2000Class Agent: Nora Gouge,[email protected]

this spring, Megan Madden receivedher MBa from the univ. of Virginia’sdarden school of Business.

MCS 25Fall 2000Class Agents: M.A. Moutoussis,[email protected];Chris White, [email protected]

Emily Warner spent last year as afellow at the smithsonian americanart Museum in Washington, dC,doing research for her doctoraldissertation. in september, shemoved on to another fellowship atthe Metropolitan Museum of art innew york.

MCS 26Spring 2001Class Agent: Andrea Scott, [email protected]

Andrea (larosa) Scott married Mikescott in Vermont this January, withSelmah goldberg in attendance.andrea works as a nurse at a smallcommunity hospital. Selmah hasstarted a master’s program at theFletcher school of law anddiplomacy at tufts. in august, ZachStrassburger moved to Winona, Mn,to become an assistant professor ofChild advocacy studies at Winonastate univ.

MCS 27Fall 2001Class Agent: Chris Clark,[email protected]

Megan Flenniken recently moved toPortland and is teaching marinebiology at southern MaineCommunity College. this past

Jane koopman, tom neilson, and ryan linehan

Chewonki sweeps Maine kayak championshipsJane Koopman (MCS 33; BC staff/farm ’08; GC staff ’10;Penobscot Whitewater leader ’11; OC staff ’11; Umbagogleader ’13) and Ryan Linehan (WT leader ’99-’01; WTdirector ’02-’13; Family WT leader ’13) won the 2014women’s and men’s Maine Whitewater Championships lastsummer. Tom Neilson (Northeast Rivers leader ’10,’11)also competed. Congratulations, paddlers!

returning home to Maine, where katewill be starting a new position as aprimary care nurse practitioner.

MCS 31Fall 2003Class Agents: Sarah Kirk,[email protected]; Ben McGee,[email protected]

Danielle layton writes, “this marksfour years that i have been livingback in Maine, loving the summer,the fresh farm food, running, and lifewith my boyfriend nathan, his threeyoung’uns, and my Maine Coon cat. iam working at the univ. of southernMaine’s Muskie school, applying tograd school, and adventuring lessthan i wish.”

MCS 32Spring 2004Class Agents: Julian Holland,[email protected]; Molly Martin,[email protected]

Juliet Dana recently stoppedteaching middle school history andnow works as a curriculum writer fora science and literacy project at uCBerkeley.

MCS 33Fall 2004Class Agents: Bryce Koukopoulos,[email protected]; JazSmith, [email protected]

Ellie Bomstein is thrilled to bemoving to Charleston, sC, to serve asthe food and agriculture projectmanager for the Coastal Conser-vation league. Jane Koopman (BCstaff ’08, ’10; Wt staff ’11, ’13) hasplans to travel in south americaduring the winter. Jaz Smith (Wt ’04;

summer she taught a field class forsustainable ocean studies, a jointprogram between Chewonki and theWaynflete school.

MCS 28Spring 2002Class Agent: Ellie Stewart,[email protected]

in september, Emily Bronsonmarried ted Moy. she recentlystarted a new job in development atWilliams College.

MCS 29Fall 2002Class Agents: Cara Brody,[email protected]; GregDaggett, [email protected]

Nellie Black and eli Brewer will bemarried next april in st. simonsisland, ga. Emily guerin (BC staff’04) now lives in north dakota and isa reporter for inside energy, a jour-nalism collaborative focused on theproduction, distribution, andconsumption of energy. in october,nPr listeners heard emily’s two-partseries on the dangers of us oil andgas production and mining. emilyand Katie Eberle recently took anice-cream- tasting trip for an articlecalled “Visiting the Frosties of thelost sierra.”

MCS 30Spring 2003Class Agents: Will Davidson,[email protected]; KiiraHeymann, [email protected];Olivia Sideman,[email protected]

Kate letourneau and her husband,andy lubershane, are excited to be

Myla Fay hikes the Continental divide

Upon reaching Canada in late September, Myla Fay(Umbagog ’03, NortheastRivers ’04, George River ’05,MCS 36, GC staff ’08)completed a nearly five-month-long hike of theContinental Divide Trail! She says she is lookingforward to wearing dry socksand eating vegetables again.

sarah doheny Photo

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People

Thank you, trustees and advisors!Trustees, honorary trustees, and advisors who attended the July meeting gathered outside theCenter for Environmental Education. Front rows, L-R: Laird McCulloch, Julius Alexander,Jerry Pieh, Bill Hetzel, Jr., Ted Deinard, Sandra Lehner, Dale Wright, Peggy Conver, SydRoberts, Tori Macmillan, Gordy Hall, Jean Wilkinson, Jasmine Smith, Renny Little, RoseanneSaalfield, Sam Buttrick, Sherry Thornburg, Joe Selle, Willard Morgan, Rebecca Marvil, CalebHemphill, Tim Ellis, Gary Spiess. Back row, L-R: Scott Beebe, Susie Rodriguez, Terry Marsh,Charkie Quarcoo, Don Hudson, Sara Kirby Mitchell, John Warren, Alyssa Pei, Charlie Gordy,Erin Quinn. We are so appreciative of all that they and their colleagues do for Chewonki.

MCS 36Spring 2006Class Agents: Teddy Newmyer,[email protected]; ChelseaPompadur, [email protected]

Marian Messing has matriculated atyale law school. she will completethe joint Jd/master’s in public affairswith Princeton univ. in 2017 andhopes to work in public interest law.

MCS 37Fall 2006Class Agent: Lizzy Tarr,[email protected]

after graduating from swarthmore in2012, Avery Davis moved to Bostonto start a Ph.d. in human genetics atharvard.

MCS 38Spring 2007Class Agents: Franklin Jacoby,[email protected]; Maddy Schwartz,[email protected]

Emmy Masur recently startedmedical school at the univ. ofMaryland in Baltimore. Halie Morrellis a master’s student at the yaleschool of Forestry and environ-mental studies, where she is focusingon land and wildlife conservation.olivia Woollam is working for thelower east side ecology Center, anonprofit that runs Manhattan’s onlyoperational compost facility.

MCS 39Fall 2007Class Agents: Dana Golden,[email protected]; MadeleineWoodle, [email protected]

Emily Kirkland moved to Cambridge,Ma, in March to take a job as thecommunications coordinator atBetter Future Project, a nonprofitthat works to build a grassrootsmovement to confront the climatecrisis.

MCS 40Spring 2008Class Agents: Rachel Madding,[email protected]; NickMcCleod, [email protected]

now a proud graduate of Brownuniv., lucy Bates-Campbell is basedin nyC working in science communi-cation consulting and is planning totake off for an around-the-worldbackpacking adventure in 2015.Douglas gledhill writes that he’s“thankful to have had the oppor-tunity to attend Middlebury College[as] a part of the class of 2014.” hewill be working for amazon as a rota-tional operations financial analyst.after graduating from ColoradoCollege with a degree in biology inMay 2013, Collin Knauss (Wt ’08)moved to Washington, dC, where herecently became the national Parktrust’s youth Programs Coordinator.Zoe Mason (Wt ’06; gC staff ’09) hasbeen traveling around the Middle

east and europe for eight months,and says she’s “going strong with thenomadic lifestyle!”

MCS 41Fall 2008Class Agent: Kevin Coleman,[email protected]

“i graduated from Colorado Collegein the spring, with a Ba in interna-

tional political economy,” John russell(BC ’02-’06; Wt ’07; BC staff ’09, ’11-’12, ’14) writes, “and…would love to bein touch with Chewonki connections inthe Boston area in wealthmanagement, finance, and businessmanagement.” Hank Stein finished hisstudies at the univ. of Montana in May,with a B.s. in ecological restoration anda minor in climate change studies.

MCS 42Spring 2009Class Agent: Carly Blumenfeld, [email protected]

Carly Blumenfeld will soon move tosan Francisco to work for linkedin.Annie King graduated from tufts univ.in May, and will stay for a fifth year tocomplete a master’s in teaching forearly Childhood education.

Semester 43Fall 2009Class Agent: Sara Clark,[email protected]

Semester 44Spring 2010Class Agents: Charlotte Allyn,[email protected]; HannahPerkins, [email protected]

Deirdre Shea is at hampshire Collegestudying access to education anddiversity in private education. shewrites that she had “a wonderfuladventure in March visiting irelandwith Clarkie Hussey.”

Margaret Ellis Day, June 7, 2014Volunteers gathered on a beautiful morning to prepare theperennial beds for summer. Tim Ellis offered a disclaimer:“Margaret told me what to do and I’d do it. That’s the extent ofmy gardening knowledge.” Even so, he did a fine job oftrimming the forsythia. Hearty thanks to (front row, L-R) SierraMorgan, Jenn Barton (with Zella), Sara Walbridge, MargyFoulk, Jonathan Appleyard; (back row, L-R) Anne Leslie, HelenWeld, Willard Morgan, Ruth Appleyard, Henry Barber, PattiMendes, Tim Ellis, Susie Stedman, Lisa Paige.


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Common ground Fair 2014Members of Semester 53, faculty, staff, and alumni of all ages and stripes took a quickbreak from the fun to pose for the camera on Sept. 20 in Unity, Maine.

Semester 45Fall 2010Class Agents: Katie Rush,[email protected]; NoahStone, [email protected]

Katie Perkins is studying sustainableagriculture and food systems at uCdavis. Nicole Smith (Wt ’11) recentlymoved to Chile to work at a renewableenergy start-up in santiago andPatagonia. Alana Thurston will spendthe fall semester at the Marine Biologylaboratory in Woods hole, Ma.

Semester 46Spring 2011Class Agents: Ruthy Gourevitch, [email protected]; KatieKibler, [email protected];Clarke Rudick, [email protected]

Jennifer Cutler (Maine Coast kayak’09) is a us air Force academy cadet inColorado and she’d love to connectwith Chewonki alumni out there. you can find her at [email protected]. Niall griffin (BC ’05-’08;Wt ’09) studied fat-tailed dwarflemurs in Madagascar last summer aspart of a team from duke univ. Meganrobidas (Wt ‘11) will spend part of thefall semester in hangzhou, China. overthe summer, Alex Siebert worked forthe appalachian Mountain Clubleading volunteer teen trail crews inthe White Mountains. MeganTischbein and her boyfriend hiked thelong trail last summer. she met up forthe day with Maritza Padilla and lukeTrautwein, and ran into ruth goure-vitch and Alex Seibert at the newportFolk Festival!

Semester 47Fall 2011Class Agents: Francesca Governali,[email protected]; Paige Williams, [email protected]

Many semester 47 folks are returningfrom gap years to begin college.olivia Cameron traveled to england,thailand, and nepal and has startedat oregon state univ. to studynatural resources and animalsciences. Emma Dadmun is afreshman at Whitman College.Francesca governali has begun herstudies at dartmouth College.Maddie Kay has returned fromtravels in new zealand and will beattending dickinson College.

Semester 48Spring 2012Class Agents: Chris Coughlin,[email protected]; Miranda Mahmoud,[email protected];Madeline Miller,[email protected];Elizabeth O’Connor,[email protected]

Katie Craighill spent the summerinterning at a wildlife center insavannah, ga, where she workedwith cougars, bobcats, wolves, foxes,bison, and many other species ofnative north american wildlife.Teddy Simpson (Wt ’12) is in hissophomore year at Colby College,

In Memoriam

Timothy Scully Killiam (BC 59,’60) died on February 6, 2014, in amsterdam. he wasan architect, architectural historian, photographer, and illustrator. timothy studiedarchitecture at Carnegie Mellon university and yale and in gothenburg, sweden, as aFulbright scholar. afterward he restored a traditional wooden sailboat in englandand set forth across the north sea for sweden. a storm forced him to amsterdam,where he fell in love with the city and stayed for the rest of his life, becoming anauthority on the history and architecture of canal houses and creating a number ofillustrated publications about them. he also published many photographs, etchings,posters, and postcards.

timothy was born on november 20, 1947, to Joan richards killiam and Paulkilliam (BC ’26-’29; BC staff ’35-’41; former trustee). his father, a producer and enter-tainer who eschewed his degrees from harvard and Boston univ. school of law tomake his life in theater and movies, was notorious at Chewonki until his death in1998. he directed and starred in many camp productions that became legendary.the killiam family’s connections with Chewonki began earlier, however, with afriendship between timothy’s grandmother, Mary s. killiam, and Clarence allen.timothy’s brother thomas (BC ’66,’67) and nephew richard (’94) were also part ofthe Chewonki clan.

leading trips for the outing Club andcontinuing with Colby improv.

Semester 49Fall 2012Class Agents: Harry Carter,[email protected]; Minah Choi, [email protected]

Semester 50Spring 2013Class Agents: Atticus Carnell, [email protected]; Isabelle Mann,[email protected]; and AlisonTilson, [email protected]

Phoebe Chatfield is enjoying herfreshman year at yale, where she’sgotten involved with Fossil Free yale,an organization that is pushing theyale administration to divest theirendowment from fossil fuelcompanies.

Semester 51Fall 2013Class Agents: Jake Abbe-Schneider,[email protected]; AyannaCurwen, [email protected];Sebastian Grandas, [email protected]; Julia Nelson,[email protected]; and CarolineWeinrauch, [email protected]

Frederick Kauders was never a Chewonki participant but he served as a wise anddevoted camp parent, trustee, and honorary trustee for many years. Fred died onoctober 21, 2014, in Wickenburg, ariz. Fred’s son, richard (BC ’59,’60,’61,’63; BCstaff ’64,’65), was his connection to Chewonki. Fred came to the u.s. in the fall of1940 after a distinguished military career in europe. Born in Prague, Czech republic,in 1919, he attended Charles univ. in Prague and the sorbonne in Paris. during WorldWar ii, he served with the Czech army in France and with the French army, fromwhich he received the Croix de guerre with a star. after settling in salem, Mass., heand his brother founded a manufacturing company. the bombing of Pearl harborinspired him to volunteer for the u.s. army; he served overseas in an intelligenceunit from 1942-45.

Fred lived most of his life on Boston’s north shore and was always engaged inhis community as an active leader in charities, including hospitals, his church, andother civic organizations. he loved to sail but found golf a good alternative inarizona. he named Chewonki as a recipient of donations in his memory. For thatand for his friendship over many years, we are grateful.

Julia Nelson, Matt Kubala, HaleyJohnson, Emma Bessire, andlindsay Finn (semester 52) went tothe dominican republic with ChrisPercy (MCs faculty) and helped tobuild a home for a wonderful family!Maret Smith-Miller worked as acounselor this summer at a camp indenmark, Me, called Wyonegonic,and volunteered in small communitygardens all around nyC. lucyWanzer (gC ’10-’11) received theunity College Book award atPortland h.s. this spring, in honor ofher environmental stewardship andsustainability work.

Semester 52Spring 2014Class Agents: Ania Wright,[email protected]; Lyra Fuchs,[email protected]; Lenoir Kelley,[email protected]; Hannah Lafferty, [email protected]; Phoebe Keyes, [email protected];and Margaux Miller, [email protected]

Quinn griffin (BC ’06-’09) spent thesummer working at the Villa Mariakali hotel in tayrona national Park inColombia.

Chris PerCy Photo

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485 Chewonki Neck RoadWiscasset, Maine 04578-4822

Are your name and address up to date? If not, please email [email protected] and set us straight. Thank you!

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