Compass drawings at home

You’ll need

Pens or pencils
Erasers
Scrap paper
OS or other map printout of the local area, one per group
Waterproof map case, as needed
Compass
Mobile phone with a route tracking app
Suitable hiking gear for everyone

Before you begin

Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.
This is a great activity to run during an online session. Check out the advice on using Zoom and other popular digital platforms and the guidance on being safe online.

Planning and setting up this activity

If completing this activity using a compass and OS map, consider running Navigation stations beforehand to brush up on these.
Have a look through this advice on running hillwalking activities. Ideally, this activity should be run around the local area, to help with accessibility, familiarity and travel time for your helpers. You’ll probably need to run this activity across two sessions, with one spent planning the routes and one spent walking them.
You will need to bring a mobile phone with a route-tracking app downloaded. This needs to be enabled during the hike to trace the route taken.
Ask everyone to bring a map of their local area to the meeting, this could be an OS Map or a road map.

Plan the route

Ask everyone to get their map, pen and paper ready on a table to use.
Explain that the aim of the activity is to draw an image, shape or picture using the route tracking app by following instructions and directions on the map in front of you.
To start, ask everyone to decide what image, shape or picture they would like to walk. It should start and finish at their home. Explain that the more complicated the image, the more instructions and directions they will have to write down and follow. If needed, set a distance or time limit for the walk.
When they have decided, they need to start writing down the instructions on the piece of paper in front of them. They can use road names, directions or compass directions to find their way around, but make sure they write them down in order of what they will walk later.

Compass drawings

Now its time to walk their drawing, this can be done outside of the meeting time and shared during the next session.
Make sure you are suitably dressed for the weather you are walking in and have a responsible adult with you during your walk.
When you are ready, turn on the tracking app and start following your directions.
When you get back, remember to turn off the app and have a look at the picture you have drawn. Has it turned out the way you expected?

Reflection

Going out and practising skills you’ve learnt fixes them in your mind and helps you remember them when you next need them. What did you find most challenging about this activity? Think about how you used new skills, the terrain and area you walked in, the weather, and whether you were properly prepared for everything. Is there anything you would’ve done differently, if you were to do this activity again?

Being active and going on a hike also helps you feel better about yourself and appreciate the outdoors. Having the opportunity to walk in nature lets you see the world we live in and appreciate how important the environment is. How might following a set route on public footpaths and roads be better for the environment than taking shortcuts across natural spaces?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Outdoor activities: You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.
Hiking and walking: Follow the guidance for activities in Terrain Zero, or the guidance for each the adventurous activity.
Dark: Provide some light, so the environment isn’t completely dark. Everyone must be able to see others and move around the area safely.
Phones and cameras: Make sure parents and carers are aware and have given consent for photography.