Compass Outdoor Classes

Outdoor classes meet at the trailhead to Sugarland Run Trail (above), located 1.6 miles from Compass. Parents are expected to drive their child from Compass to the meeting location and pick them up when the class is over. Parents are encouraged to form carpools to/from outdoor classes. Neither Compass nor your child’s guide are able to provide transportation.

The outdoor classes finish and return to the meet-up location at 0:50 minutes after the hour. That gives parents 10 minutes to get their child in the car, go through one traffic light, and drive the 1.6 miles back to Compass.

Classes in the Compass facility finish at 0:55 minutes after the hour. That gives parents 5 minutes to get their child in the car, go through one traffic light, and drive the 0.5 miles to the meeting location. The outdoor classes will typically gather and review key points until 5 minutes after the hour before heading into the woods.

If a family is late arriving at the meet-up location, and the Compass group has already headed into the woods, the parent can park and accompany the child into the woods to search for the group. The instructor will not be able to turn around and back track to meet up with a tardy classmate. If the parent and child are unable to find the group, the child will miss that day’s class. Under no circumstances can the parent send his/her child into the woods unaccompanied with the hope of finding and joining the class.

No, if a child misses an earlier class meeting, the instructor cannot accommodate him/her in a later class session. This is because the guide and Compass need to maintain appropriate teacher-to-student ratios.

Yes, different content is covered in each program, so students may enroll in both Outdoor Science and Outdoor Survivor in the same quarter.

Students should come prepared for class with outdoor or play-appropriate clothes, closed-toe shoes, a hat, and jacket or layered outerwear appropriate for the weather/temperature.

Parents may want to pre-apply sunscreen and/or insect repellent depending on the time of year. The instructor will not apply these products to students, and students should not bring bottles/tubes of these products to class.

Outdoor classes will be held while it is raining (or snowing) and after it has rained (or snowed). There are many new phenomena to see in the woods when the weather changes. Students should wear raincoats and rain boots or cold weather layers on inclement days. Outdoor classes will not be held if it is thundering, lightning, or there is a risk of the area flooding. If these events happen, parents should watch for an email indicating whether there will be a classroom session that day or a cancellation with make-up class to be announced.

Students may wish to bring a water bottle, however it should be pre-filled at home or at Compass since there will be no access to a water cooler in the woods. Parents may want to keep a change of clothes in the car for any adventurers who have close encounters with the stream or mud puddles.

Students should use the restroom at home or at Compass before an Outdoor class. Once in the woods, there are no facilities. Students are not permitted to use the restrooms of any businesses adjacent to the meet-up location.

Ticks are present throughout Fairfax County and are often found in wooded areas, brushy fields, and along trails in tall grass or leaf litter in the spring, summer, and fall. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that people use repellents on exposed skin and clothing that contain the active ingredients DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE) or para-menthane-diol (PMD) to repel ticks. The Fairfax County Department of health has several web pages about ticks and tick prevention as part of their Fight the Bite campaign. The county has resources on the identification of ticks and prevention measures. Parents are encouraged to perform a daily tick check after an outdoor class. The CDC recommends examining under the arms, in and around the ears, inside belly button, back of the knees, in and around the hair, groin, around the waist. If you find a tick on your child after an outdoor class, please notify your instructor so she can gauge the prevalence of ticks in the areas that the class explores.

Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are plants that produce an oily resin that causes a type of contact dermatitis (rash, blisters) in some people. The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation district advises that, “Poison ivy grows in non-cultivated sites, such as along stream banks, roadways, fields, and forests…Knowing how to identify and control it are the best defenses against accidental contact.” These plants have a very different appearance in each season of the year, and students will learn how to identify and avoid them. Anyone who thinks they might have come in contact with one of these plants should wash thoroughly with soap and water or use an over the counter skin cleanser such as TecNu, Ivy Dry, or Zanfel.

During outdoor explorations in the woods, students will be exposed to pollen, trees/weeds, dust/dirt, insects, poisonous plants, and other common elements of the outdoors. If a student has seasonal reactions to these kinds of allergens, he/she may want to take antihistamines in accordance with a physician’s recommendations before class. If the student has more severe allergies that require him/her to carry an inhaler or epinepherine auto injector (such as Epi Pen), the parent should let the instructor know.

For the outdoor classes, all children must be comfortable separating from their parents and joining the small group class and the instructor in the woods.

For outodor classes, children must be able to follow the instructions of the instructor, adhere to class safety rules, remain with the group, and get along with others.

The guided explorations in the woods are for enrolled students only. Tag-along parents and siblings cannot be accommodated. Sugarland Run Trail is a public site, and parents cannot be prevented from walking/hiking on their own. However, parents and siblings are asked to remain separate and not to interfere with the class activities.

Nothing! The Nature Quest name was retired at the end of 2025. The program was realigned into science exploration and survival skills as the instructor’s curriculum and expertise expanded.

Natural Leaders, Pickleball Club, RunFit Kidz Club, and other program also meet outdoors and off Compass’s Herndon campus. Natural Leaders meets weekly in Reston at Lake Fairfax, and enrolled students should look for an introductory email and special instructions from the Natural Leaders organization. Details on other programs held outside can be found on their webpages.