In early spring, ephemeral wildflowers appear on the forest floor, taking advantage of a brief moment of sunlight before the canopy above fills out with trees. Join us for a walk exploring our wooded trails in search of early spring ephemerals such as Bloodroot, Cutleaf toothwort, Rue-anemone, and Skunk Cabbage. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
Join us for a morning of birding at the field station. Led by expert birders. Includes a mile or two of slow walking over varied terrain. Please bring water/snacks as needed and dress for the weather. All levels welcome! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine except […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
Join us for a walk on our trails with one our naturalists! May include a mile or two of slow to moderate hiking over varied terrain. Please bring water/snacks as needed and dress for the weather. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
We are in our third full year of offering Nature School! Students meet every other Wednesday from September through May to learn about different natural history subjects through hands-on research, restoration, and exploration. This year, we are extending the duration to be from 9AM – 1PM, so that students will bring a picnic lunch to […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
In this installment of our Science Saturdays series participants will have the opportunity to shadow our kestrel research team. We have been attaching GPS transmitters to kestrels since 2021. This summer we will be attaching fewer transmitters in the past, but we will still be keeping an eye on a few birds from previous summers […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
We need help repotting some of our native seedlings into bigger pots! Habitat Specialist Andrew Eberly will be leading this event and will be happy to answer any participant questions about growing native plants. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult. Bring: Please bring gardening gloves if desired. […]
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 meets on the first Saturday of every month […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
Join us for a bird walk 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). / COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors (an outside porta potty will be available). Please do […]
We are in our third full year of offering Nature School! Students meet every other Wednesday from September through May to learn about different natural history subjects through hands-on research, restoration, and exploration. This year, we are extending the duration to be from 9AM – 1PM, so that students will bring a picnic lunch to […]
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 […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
*POSTPONED FROM MAY 4 DUE TO RAIN* 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 […]
Families with children in grades K-8 are invited to come along as we explore the field station. This program is a wonderful opportunity for families to explore nature together. We pick a different trail to explore each month and usually move slowly as we stop often to look at and learn about the plants and […]
Sedges are one of the most diverse and ecologically important plant groups in Virginia. There are 201 species just in the genus Carex in the state! But what are sedges and how can they be identified? Join sedge expert Greg Chapman to get answers to these questions and more, as we partner with Virginia Working […]
In 2022 we started a research project to study what habitats Box Turtles use at different times of year so that we and other landowners can know what the best time of year is to mow fields and do other land management practices that might disrupt or even kill Box Turtles. On this second installment […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
Join us for an night-time exploration of our trails and vernal pools while we listen for frog calls, look for insects, and see what animals are swimming on the ponds. Cost: Free! Age: All ages welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Bring: Please bring a flashlight. Weather policy: Date and time subject to […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
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 […]
Join us for a walk on our trails with one our naturalists! May include a mile or two of slow to moderate hiking over varied terrain. Please bring water/snacks as needed and dress for the weather. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Rain or shine […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]
Join us for a bird walk 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). / COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors (an outside porta potty will be available). Please do […]
We invite Friends of the Clifton Institute to come explore the field station on their own every Saturday from mid-January to mid-October. You can become a Friend of Clifton with a minimum annual donation of $40. Your support will help us reach our goals of expanding and improving our education, restoration, and research programs this […]