UPDATE! Our Fall Open House is rescheduled due to weather — please join us NEXT Sunday 10/6!
Due to the Rainy Weather this week and forecast for Sunday,
we have rescheduled the Fall Open House for
Sunday October 6th from 10a-2p
If you already registered your family and can come on October 6th
No further action is required
Your current registration is all you need.
If you already registered and you cannot come on Oct 6th
We’re sorry you’ll miss this time!
We’ll have another Open House in the Spring.
If you have not registered your family, we still have a few open spots for Oct 6th; please register below.
The Outdoor Lab Fall Open House is coming up on Sunday, September 29th from 10am-2pm. Bring the family and come see what the Outdoor Lab offers! Hike our trails, try out a canoe or fishing, and of course we’ll be roasting s’mores! We encourage families to bring a picnic lunch as well. Please Register Today to reserve your spot.
If you are interested in learning more about the Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA), or getting involved with our board of directors, Learn More here.
The location of Outdoor Lab on 226 acres in Fauquier County is due in great part to the Schellenberg Family, our. neighbors on Biscuit Mountain.
In the 1950s, the Schellenberg Family and Knipling families were neighbors in Arlington when the county was still rural with farms on Military and Marcey Roads where they lived. Both families loved nature and the Kniplings visited the Schellenberg’s country home at Afton Farm in Broad Run, VA.
By the early 1960’s, Phoebe Hall Knipling was working at Arlington Public Schools and holding “outdoor lab” summer camps at various regional parks, but she was looking for a more permanent location. By 1966, the Stryker family property just down the mountain road from the Schellenberg’s Afton Farm became available and Phoebe decided it was perfect for the Outdoor Lab.
The “Schellenberg boys” came to visit the Outdoor Lab and share stories of the land’s history.
We mourn the loss of Karl Schellenberg who came to the Outdoor Lab’s 50th anniversary to share stories about the old days on Biscuit Mountain and Arlington.
Karl told of his father, Theodore Roosevelt Schellenberg, borrowing a neighbor’s bulldozer to create their farm pond and later the same bulldozer was used to create the ODL pond. The apple orchard at Afton Farm was a great source of fun for everyone.
Thank you to all those who’ve reached out with their support to Save the Overnights at the Outdoor Lab! Please spread the word to other Outdoor Lab supporters, families and school groups and check back at www.outdoorlab.org for updates.
Send Emails to Decision-Makers
Share in your own words what makes the ODL Overnights such a magical experience. You can include the impact the Overnight had on you as well as any pictures you may have. Your outreach will help decision makers really understand how significant cutting the Overnights would be to Arlington students and families. Please be respectful and don’t disparage other APS programs. While this is NOT an end to all Outdoor Lab programing, it could be the end to the 5th grade overnights, one of the most popular programs. So let your voice be heard! Save the Overnights!
(More Talking Points and Key people and contacts Below) Please cc [email protected] on emails so we can track all of your support.
Urge Superintendent & Cabinet to restore the Outdoor Lab Coordinator position
Urge School Board Members to reject proposal in Superintendent’s FY 2024-25 budget to eliminate the Outdoor Lab Coordinator position.
Urge County Board to provide funding necessary for this important and unique program
Position to be cut is an Educator (NOT a central office position)
All of you understand the Outdoor Lab provides unique learning opportunities for students throughout APS.
The Lab Coordinator position is critical to delivering the educational programming and maximizing the benefits for our students.
The 5th grade Overnights are often the most remembered experience of all of APS
The ODL Overnights are valued by ALL schools and children of on all points of APS family spectrum
Position is a direct link between Outdoor Lab and science learning
The ODL Coordinator is the only position based at the Lab that provides a direct connection between classroom teachers and STEM learning experiences at the Lab.
The ODL Coordinator not only helps 3rd, 5th and 7th grade teachers prepare for ODL field trips – the Coordinator helps teachers amplify lessons, applied science and critical learning objectives back in the classroom.
Eliminating this position also jeopardizes 5th grade overnights next school year.
For this school year, APS adopted additional requirements for staff and parent chaperones at each 5th grade overnight. It requires 1 of 2 Admin level staff to be present at every overnight (one including the Coordinator position which is proposed for elimination)
In an average year, there are about 40 overnights, usually 2 each week in the fall and spring.
With only 1 ODL Administrator to fulfill this requirement, it is hard to imagine that 1 person would be willing or able to sustain a presence multiple nights each week for consecutive weeks between mid-September and Thanksgiving, for example, when overnights traditionally run in the fall. Then repeat this multiple nights weekly in the spring between mid-March and end of May.
This is not a reasonable expectation for anyone – it’s almost certainly bound to fail.
With 2 Administrators on site at ODL, this years Overnights were few
And consider what happened this fall when the new chaperone and staffing requirements took effect.
Of roughly 20 scheduled overnights, only 6 actually occurred
The ODL Coordinator worked with schools to get Volunteer Chaperones vetted and coordinate all details of upcoming trips
without the Coordinator, the ODL Supervisor would be preforming roles from 3 former APS employees
History- Proposed budget Cuts and Effect on The Outdoor Lab
At the February 29th School Board meeting, Dr. Durán presented his proposed FY2025 budget. In a tight budget year, there are cuts across all departments; however, a couple proposed cuts greatly affect the Outdoor Lab and starting next year may CANCEL 5th grade Overnights.
The proposed budget eliminates the ODL Coordinator Position, threatening the viability of 5th grade overnights and compromising the ODLs mission to deliver hands-on STEM education to APS students. The decision to reduce staffing is particularly alarming in light of theSIX leadership changes the ODL has faced since 2018. To function efficiently, the ODL needs strong, supported leadership and continuity. For that, the ODL needs funding from APS. We need your help to make this happen.
Previous leadership changes shifted the mix of teachers and administrators on-site and at Syphax. The proposed change would leave:
ONE Administrator doing the functions of THREE former staff
ONE Administrator at all 40 overnights
NO science professional at the ODL
NO direct connection between neighborhood classrooms and lessons at the ODL
In Spring of 2023, Overnights were cancelled to perform a safety and staffing review. The resulting Overnight Plan included:
Current Staffing of 2 on-site Administrators (Supervisor & Coordinator) 5 Resource Assistants and 1 Custodian
Requirement that TWO staffers be present at all overnights (1 Administrator and 1 Staffer)
chaperones ratios increased to 1 Adult per 5 students (from 1:10 previously)
tent sleeping arrangement change requiring 2 Adults to sleep in Large tent with up to 10 students
In Fall of 2023, under the new plan, only a handful of the 20 scheduled Overnights occurred. The primary cause of conversion of a School’s Overnight Trip to TWO Day Trips was lack of vetted Chaperones willing to sleep in tents with kids.This Spring, we hope more 5th graders can stay overnight, but with proposed changes, next year’s Overnights seem unlikely.
If you support the unique and wonderful 5th grade overnights, please take action and help pressure APS to restore the ODL Coordinator position and fully fund the Outdoor Lab.
ARMN’s mission is to increase the quantity and quality of healthy, biodiverse, high-functioning ecosystems. They work directly in the field to restore native habitat by removing invasive plants and cultivating natives. They provide education and outreach to the public and communicate to various audiences about habitat restoration, local wildlife, and related topics. We collect data to measure the health of our ecosystems and share results to contribute to scientific research. They are an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to the vision of a healthy and vibrant system of natural lands.
ARMN’s Master Naturalists, like the AOEA, already partner with Arlington Public Schools (APS) to educate students and their families on their natural environment and improve school yards in Arlington. They also work with a multitude of Arlington agencies and non-profits to improve Arlington’s ecosystem. This new partnership leverages both the AOEA’s and ARMN’s similar missions to extend stewardship to the “little slice of Arlington” that is the Outdoor Lab.
The AOEA is welcoming ARMN volunteers to the Outdoor Lab to extend their professional development on our 226 acres with a variety of sub-ecosystems- both healthy and endangered. The Outdoor Lab staff will share their ODL specific knowledge with ARMN volunteers and learn from the vast experience of the Master Naturalists and their network of experts. For example, ARMN volunteers will meet at the Outdoor Lab for a salamander and amphibian night hike and learn about research conducted by former ODL Director Neil Heinekamp on our mascot- the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum).
The AOEA and ARMN are also working on Volunteer Days at the Outdoor Lab where Arlington students, families, and citizens can help remove invasive species, plant native alternatives and improve the ODL ecosystems enjoyed by Arlingtonians for over 50 years.
The Outdoor Lab offers a week-long science enrichment camp that provides a number of nature-related activities and experiences to Arlington Public School students. Campers sleep outdoors in platform tents and are offered a variety of activities each day, including:
Animal Exploration
Boating & Fishing
Night Walks
Games & Skits
Arts & Crafts
Nature Hikes
Survival Skills
Sessions for 2024
Session A- for students entering 7th, 8th, 9th grade: June 24 to June 28
Session B- for students entering 5th or 6th grade: July 8 to July 12
Session C- for students entering 5th or 6th grade: July 15 to July 19
Registration- now Live
Parents may apply for their student to attend camp by completing a short Google Form on APS site here.
Applications will be accepted on a first come-first served basis until Monday April 15, or until a session is full.
Applications received after a session is full will be placed on a wait list.
Once a student has been accepted, the family will be sent an electronic invoice for tuition. Payment will be made online.
About Us
The Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Laboratory is a 231- acre facility in Fauquier County that provides a natural classroom for Arlington Public School (APS) students. It has a spring-fed stream, a pond, hiking trails, and an Animal Lab. Annually, the Lab provides hands-on outdoor and environmental education to more than 10,000 APS students from elementary grades through high school. The Outdoor Lab educational program is operated and staffed by APS, while the property is owned and managed by the nonprofit Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA).
Questions about summer camp should be directed to Outdoor Lab Coordinator Rochelle Proctor at [email protected] or 540.347.2258
Camp Counselors
Apply for Counselor-in-Training (High Schoolers)
The Outdoor Lab welcomes APS high school students in grades 9 through 11 to apply to be a Counselor-in-Training (aka Junior Staff) for one session of camp. These are volunteer positions, but students may earn community service hours for their work. CITs participate in all aspects of camp life: student hikes and activities, night programs, helping to prepare and serve meals, clean up, etc. A cooperative spirit and sense of enthusiasm are required!
Applications for the CIT/Junior Staff will be available on February 1, 2024. Applications must be submitted by Friday, March 29, 2024. Students currently in GR 9 may apply for one of the Elementary sessions
Session B: July 8 – July 12, 2024. (Elementary current grade 4-5)
Session C: July 15 – July 19, 2024 (Elementary current grade 4-5)
Students completing GR 10, 11, 12 may apply for either Elementary session or the Middle School session
Session A: June 24 – June 28, 2024 (Middle School current grade 6-8)
Session B: July 8 – July 12, 2024. (Elementary current grade 4-5)
Session C: July 15 – July 19, 2024 (Elementary current grade 4-5)
Questions about applying for CIT positions should be directed to Outdoor Lab Coordinator Rochelle Proctor at [email protected] or 540.347.2258
The Outdoor Lab is a partnership between the Arlington Public Schools (APS) and the non-profit Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA).
APS provides the teachers, educational program and buses.
AOEA owns and manages the land and buildings as well as advocates for outdoor education, STEAM curriculum, and hands-on, experiential leaning.
The AOEA is an all volunteer, hands-on organization that keeps this beloved Arlington institution available for Arlington students and families.
We need members of the Arlington community to step-up and help us in this critical time for educating our students.
We need Board Members for the AOEA!
Current and past Board Members have a variety of experience and skills. Many are parents, teachers or staff of Arlington schools. Others are scientists, marketing professionals, real estate agents/builders or consultants. We need a variety of experiences to challenge our organization to improve and grow.
If you are willing to help Arlington children and the Outdoor Lab (or know someone who might) please contact the AOEA President to learn more about our Board of Directors at [email protected]. We elect a slate of Directors at our annual meeting in April/May, but have openings year round.
If you’d like to volunteer to help the Outdoor Lab in other ways learn more HERE.
APS Students- Join the AOEA Board
In 2021, the AOEA Board began a student Board Member program. A great opportunity for those APS students who have benefitted from the Outdoor Lab and want to do more.
The student Board Member participates in AOEA board meetings, offering advice and voting on AOEA business. They participate in AOEA events at the Outdoor Lab and in Arlington. And acts a liaison to their schools and student groups in APS.
If you are a rising Junior or Senior at an APS high school and are interested in learning more. Contact AOEA Board president at [email protected].
The Outdoor Lab Board and Staff celebrate Black History Month throughout February and the entire year.
We continue with our Cultural History Project to research, document, and share the stories of ALL the families who called the Pond and Biscuit Mountain Gap home. We continue to research African American families who worked and lived on Outdoor Lab and adjacent properties.
On a visit to the Afro-American History Association of Fauquier County, Outdoor Lab staff learned that part of the Underground Railroad went through our property. The oral history was that enslaved people escaping through Fauquier were told “Follow the Pine/Pond Mountains” to freedom. The map shows the path along the Bull Run Mountains (of which our Pond and Biscuit are a part) to safety with Quaker supporters in Waterford.
We continue to partner with other researchers, families and organizations as we progress with the Cultural History Project. Please check back to see our progress. If you have an interest in helping please contact [email protected].
The Outdoor Lab staff and board celebrate Native American Heritage Month. We reflect on the great contributions of Native peoples to our Commonwealth and Country and strive to learn and tell their stories of achievement. The land of the Outdoor Lab was originally settled by Manahoacpeoples, a Siouxan speaking tribal alliance, which descended from Mississippian mound building cultures. They originally inhabited the Ohio River valley region, with one group migrating east, sometimes called the Eastern Sioux, and another migrating West.
The Manahoac had little interaction with the English colonists in Jamestown and were shielded by the Powhatan confederacy on the coast and Tidewaters. In addition to diseases introduced by Spanish and English explorers, the Manahoac faced pressure from the Haudenosaunee confederacy (Six Nations of Iroquois) and Susquehannock tribes (Iroquoian speaking, also known as Conestoga) who raided their Piedmont homes. The Manahoac migrated South toward the related Monacan tribes and eventually merged with them and the Siouxan speaking Tutelo, Saponi, and Occaneechi.
What we have learned about the Manahoac culture comes from the few interactions documented by Europeans, often through translators from rival tribes, and their archaeological record. They were semi-nomadic and followed the animals they hunted including Deer, Bear, and Eastern Buffalo. They generally settled near streams and rivers and built palisaded villages with small round or oval dwellings covered with reeds and bark. They grew the Three Sisters of corn, squash and beans and managed their game lands by prescribed burning of forests.
In 1608, colonist John Smith explored up the Rappahannock river to its headwaters and documented various tribes and settlements of the Manahoac. Smith captured a wounded Manahoac warrior named Amorolec who told Smith about the tribes of the Manahoac, their enemies and related tribes who lived from the Fall Line up to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia’s rivers. The Whonkentia were settled in current Fauquier County and we can assume from artifacts found at the Outdoor Lab that other Manahoac tribes were living along Broad Run and its tributaries here at the present Outdoor Lab.
In 1754, Thomas Jefferson observed native peoples conducting ceremonies at a burial mound near his Monticello home in Albemarle County, Virginia. He later dug into the mound and recorded his findings in an organized fashion as part of his Notes on the State of Virginia (1787). Jefferson is recognized as an early archaeologist for this work.
The Monacan nation exists today and in 2018 became a federally recognized tribe with tribal land at Bear Mountain in Amherst County, Virginia. The Monacan nation recognizes the Manahoac as part of their ancestors. A living history presentation of a Monacan Village can be seen at Natural Bridge State Park.
The Outdoor Lab encourages you to learn more about the Manahoac and other native peoples and their rich history, culture and accomplishments in our history.
The Outdoor Lab owes its existence to Phoebe Hall Knipling. Her vision and determination that children should experience science first hand, led to the creation of the Outdoor Lab and other pillars of Arlington science education like the Brown Planetarium, Gulf Branch and Long Branch Nature Centers. Learn more from a recent story from Arlington Library’s Womens Work series.
Anita Knipling Scott
Phoebe’s daughter Anita has served on the Board of Directors of the Outdoor Lab for years. She’s continued to build on her mother’s vision and helped thousands of Arlington families experience the joys of the Outdoor Lab.
Recently, Anita was interviewed for the Biscuit Mountain Breakdown and shared some of the early history of the Outdoor Lab. Click here to listen to podcast “Walking Down Memory Lane.”
Kendra Liddicoat
The Biscuit Mountain Breakdown podcast interviews leaders in the field of outdoor education. Such as Dr. Kendra Liddicoat who researches memories as outcomes for programs like The Outdoor Lab. Learn about how memories are an important feature of what happens at nature centers and how we can use that research to improve our program. Click HERE for Podcasts.
Arlington County has lost one of its finest citizens – Preston Caruthers. Thanks to his generosity and support, the impact he has made on our community is nearly immeasurable. Everywhere we turn, we see evidence of the impact of his contributions, which include gifts to George Mason and Marymount Universities, Arlington Hospital and, not least of which has been, gifts enhancing the education of Arlington’s youth. One of the area’s greatest treasures, for use by Arlington Public School (APS) students, is the Outdoor Lab, which simply would not exist, were it not for the generosity of Preston Caruthers.
In the late 1950’s, the summer science enrichment program, under the direction of Dr Phoebe Knipling, Science Director of APS, was designed to promote environmental awareness and extend the science classroom experience to the out-of-doors. Whereas this summer enrichment program had been conducted in local and state parks, it became increasingly apparent that a permanent site for the program was not only desirable, but necessary. In June of 1967, a small committee – consisting of 17 citizens and five APS employees – was formed and became known as the Arlington Committee for Outdoor Education (ACOE). An extensive search was launched for an unspoiled, natural area within easy commuting distance of Arlington, and in January 1968, an ideal location, consisting of 200 acres, priced at $90,000, was found in Fauquier County. A ten-year mortgage was negotiated with the owner, Mrs. Rose Striker, who was thrilled at the idea of an “outdoor classroom” and dedicated to the group’s mission.
The committee identified grants available for programs, but not for the purchase of land. The treasury of the ACOE stood at $355 with an outstanding bill of $100 and a membership of 63 loyal supporters. In less than a year, the treasury had grown to $5,050 and the membership had increased to 513. More and more community groups such as PTAs, garden groups and service clubs, along with individuals, committed to a highly innovative “Acre Saving” Program, in which one could “buy” an acre of land for $450 (as a contribution) and pay for it over a three – year period. Although successful, the committee was still far from what was needed to cover the first year’s mortgage. This was a discouraging period for the committee, but the dream persisted.
A donor came forward with a plan and a loan of $51,000, enabling the ACOE to get on its financial feet. However, there were two conditions. The grantor would remain anonymous and the gift would be provided at no interest, if the loan was paid back within 10 years. This benefactor, later identified as Preston Caruthers, was referred to for many years as the “Guardian Angel of the Outdoor Lab.”
And, yes, 10 years later, the loan was repaid at a mortgage burning ceremony – held in the field near the observatory at the new property – with the County Board, School Board, and loyal supporters present as witnesses to this significant event. There, as part of the audience, were Mr. and Mrs. Caruthers, standing quietly, humbly, and unassumingly off to the side, where he was reluctantly recognized. That final mortgage payment to Mrs. Striker in November of 1978 represented the achievement of a seemingly impossible task.
Such a project demanded a driving force of unlimited energy and enthusiasm. Under Phoebe’s guidance and vision, mobilized by the efforts and generosity of friends, co-workers, and families, and fueled by Preston’s backing, the group achieved the goal of providing a permanent site, in a natural setting, for multiple generations of APS students. Today, the Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Laboratory, under the guidance of the non-profit, Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA), in partnership with APS, stands as a tribute to that persistence and resilience. Over the past 50 years, Arlington youth have inherited and enjoyed a priceless gem – a pristine environment in which to study science in the outdoors – thanks, in major part, to its late benefactor, Preston Caruthers. His exceptional generosity lives on!
