***THIS IS A VIRTUAL EVENT*** The Clifton Institute provides around 40 field trips per year to over 1,200 pre-K-12th students from Fauquier County and beyond. During the field trips, students learn about the natural history of the Northern Virginia piedmont and participate in some of our ongoing research projects, such as our Native Grassland Restoration […]
Join us for a walk around the field station to see what we can see! Led by a staff naturalist, we’ll encounter birds, bugs, plants and more. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Date and time subject to change dependent on weather. Please check your email for updates on […]
Cost: Free! Come join us to bird watch around the field station! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall). Registration is REQUIRED. Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us […]
The American Woodcock is one of our stealthiest birds, but it’s also one of the most fun to watch when they do show themselves. On early spring evenings, the males perform their mating displays, flying high into the air and falling back to the ground, making calls and sounds with their wings as they do […]
Join us as we look for signs of a rift valley that once cut a wide chasm across the Jurassic deserts of Northern Virginia. We will see evidence of saline lakes and rivers that carried water (and sand/mud) from the towering Appalachians when they were a young mountain range. We will also get to cross […]
Nature journaling is a powerful tool for learning about plants and animals, a mindful practice for connecting to nature, and just a great way to spend time outside. Managing Director and passionate nature journaler Eleanor Harris runs quarterly nature journaling meetups to help people develop their nature journaling skills and meet other nature journalers in […]
Come join us to birdwatch around the field station! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall). Registration is REQUIRED. Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us know […]
Join us for a walk around the field station to see what we can see! Led by a staff naturalist, we’ll encounter birds, bugs, plants and more. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Date and time subject to change dependent on weather. Please check your email for updates on […]
Come join us to birdwatch around the field station! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall). Registration is REQUIRED. Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us know […]
In this installment of our Science Saturdays series participants will have the opportunity to participate in our vernal pool monitoring project. Vernal pools are fish-free bodies of water that are safe for amphibians to breed in. Here at Clifton, we have multiple made by beavers, humans, and natural depressions, where Spotted Salamanders, Jefferson Salamanders, Eastern […]
In this program Co-Director and amateur lichenologist Bert Harris will teach participants the basics of lichen biology and identification. He’ll then lead participants on a lichen tour of the rocky outcrops and mature forests of the Clifton Institute. We have some exciting lichens here, but we are just starting to study our lichen community, so […]
Come join us to birdwatch around the field station! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall). Registration is REQUIRED. Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us know […]
Come join us to birdwatch around the field station! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall). Registration is REQUIRED. Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us know […]
Join us for a walk around the field station to see what we can see! Led by a staff naturalist, we’ll encounter birds, bugs, plants and more. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Date and time subject to change dependent on weather. Please check your email for updates on […]
Native plants provide better food for insects, which in turn provide food for birds. You can make a huge difference for wildlife by planting native species on your property. Since fall 2019 we have been collecting seeds of native grassland plants from around the area, which means in addition to being native they are of […]
Come join us to bird watch around the field station! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall). Registration is REQUIRED. Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us […]
In 2022 we started a collaborative research project with the Turtle Conservation Ecology Lab and Joe Kolowski at the Smithsonian’s NZCBI to study Box Turtles. We are studying Box Turtle movements and habitat selection so that we can learn when it’s safe to mow fields in our area. In the third installment of this event, […]
Join us for a day of counting dragonflies across Rappahannock County! Our goals are to learn which species of dragonflies and damselflies are found in our area, to monitor changes in their populations, and to help everyone learn more about odonates. A map of the count circle is here. The circle includes a wide variety […]
*Please note that the website will say that it is “full” until registration opens on 10th Feb.* During Young Explorers, campers spend the morning learning about the natural world through hands-on activities and pure adventuring over our beautiful 900-acre field station. Topics may vary from insects to pond life to the science of smell! The […]
Come join us to bird watch around the field station! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall). Registration is REQUIRED. Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us […]
Join us for our sixth annual Dragonfly Count! Our goals are to learn which species of dragonflies and damselflies are found in our area, to monitor changes in their populations, and to encourage everyone to learn more about odonates. The map of the count circle is here. The circle includes a wide variety of aquatic […]
*Please note that the website will say that it is “full” until registration opens on 10th Feb.* During this unique experience, students will explore and carry out their own research project. Young Scientists will engage in inquiry-based, hands-on learning as they develop their own research questions, collect and analyze data, and present their results, all […]
Come join us to bird watch around the field station! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall). Registration is REQUIRED. Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us […]
*Please note that the website will say that it is "full" until registration opens on 10th Feb.* At Young Naturalists camp, children will explore the field station with our skilled staff and learn about the plants and animals that live in the northern Virginia Piedmont. Each day of each week will focus on a different […]
