Come help us make the field station habitat the best it can be! Led by Habitat Specialist Andrew Eberly. All levels of experience welcome. May involve clearing invasive plants, light trail maintenance, or planting, please contact aeberly@cliftoninstitute.org with any concerns. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult. Bring: […]
*The actual day of the walk is entirely dependent on the weather and will likely not be on Feb 10th! We use that as a placeholder date. We’ll be watching the weather closely to adjust our time and date that looks most promising for us to see this wonderful migration (above freezing and rainy). We […]
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 […]
Piedmont Polliwogs is a monthly program for pre-K children that includes a lesson on a different topic every month, story time and short nature walk. Students get to know each other, grow their independence, and gain confidence in the outdoors with our skilled instructors. The 9-month series will take place on the second Thursday of […]
**This is a virtual event** Join Co-Director Bert Harris to learn about our collaborative research on Box Turtles in northern Virginia. Box Turtles are thought to have declined by as much as 75% in the Mid Atlantic and mortality from mowing is likely to be an important factor in rural areas. Bert will cover our […]
Winter is a great time of year to learn how to identify trees and to practice looking at bark and twigs. We will start this program with a brief presentation indoors about the tips and tricks to identify the most common trees in our forests. Then we will take you on a mile-long walk in […]
Nature Club is a program where middle and high school students who are interested in the natural world can spend time in a nerd-friendly environment. If they like bones, insects, tools, plants, fungi, research, or simply to be outdoors, then they have found their people. The club generally meets on the second Saturday of every […]
Come help us make the field station habitat the best it can be! Led by Habitat Specialist Andrew Eberly. All levels of experience welcome. May involve clearing invasive plants, light trail maintenance, or planting, please contact aeberly@cliftoninstitute.org with any concerns. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult. Bring: […]
***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 […]
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 […]
Piedmont Polliwogs is a monthly program for pre-K children that includes a lesson on a different topic every month, story time and short nature walk. Students get to know each other, grow their independence, and gain confidence in the outdoors with our skilled instructors. The 9-month series will take place on the second Thursday of […]
Nature Club is a program where middle and high school students who are interested in the natural world can spend time in a nerd-friendly environment. If they like bones, insects, tools, plants, fungi, research, or simply to be outdoors, then they have found their people. The club generally meets on the second Saturday of every […]
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 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 […]
Piedmont Polliwogs is a monthly program for pre-K children that includes a lesson on a different topic every month, story time and short nature walk. Students get to know each other, grow their independence, and gain confidence in the outdoors with our skilled instructors. The 9-month series will take place on the second Thursday of […]
Nature Club is a program where middle and high school students who are interested in the natural world can spend time in a nerd-friendly environment. If they like bones, insects, tools, plants, fungi, research, or simply to be outdoors, then they have found their people. The club generally meets on the second Saturday of every […]
We are using GPS transmitters to track kestrel habitat selection and learn why they are declining. In this installment of our Science Saturdays series, participants will have the opportunity to shadow our kestrel research team. We will start with a brief presentation on the kestrel research project. Then we’ll go out into the field to […]
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 […]
Nature Club is a program where middle and high school students who are interested in the natural world can spend time in a nerd-friendly environment. If they like bones, insects, tools, plants, fungi, research, or simply to be outdoors, then they have found their people. The club generally meets on the second Saturday of every […]
Piedmont Polliwogs is a monthly program for pre-K children that includes a lesson on a different topic every month, story time and short nature walk. Students get to know each other, grow their independence, and gain confidence in the outdoors with our skilled instructors. The 9-month series will take place on the second Thursday of […]
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 […]
