Join us for the 24th Annual The Plains/Airlie Christmas Bird Count this December! Our goal? Count as many birds as we can in our 15-mile-diameter count circle, which includes a variety of habitats--grasslands, forests, lakes, backyards, and even parking lots. There’s always a chance for Short-eared Owl and American Tree Sparrow, and counters get to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 not attend if you are experiencing or have experienced in […]
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 […]
Invasive plant species crowd out native plants and provide little to no food for native animals. Please bring work gloves and clippers if you have them. Age: Adults only and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Date and time subject to change dependent on weather. Please check your email for […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
**THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER** 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 not attend […]
On this special Walk with a Naturalist, we will walk one of the longer trails on our property. We expect to walk about 5 miles on varied terrain, some of which is steep, but we'll go slow as we look for plants and animals! Please bring a lunch and / or snacks to eat on […]
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 are seeking volunteers to help cleanup the areas around our vernal pools in preparation for our local salamanders! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult. Weather policy: Date and time subject to change dependent on weather. Please check your email for updates on the morning of the […]
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 […]
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 […]
iNaturalist is a powerful tool for people to learn about nature and to contribute to science, but we’ve heard from lots of people that they aren’t sure how to use it. In this program, Co-Directors Bert and Eleanor Harris will give a brief introduction to the iNaturalist app and website and some background and why […]
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 […]
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. We will close registration at noon on February 9 to make sure everyone gets the Zoom link. If you have registered and have not yet received a Zoom link please email Eleanor at eharris@cliftoninstitute.org. If you would like to register after noon on February 9 you can email Eleanor, but […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Join us in the farmhouse for an afternoon making nature-inspired crafts, just in time to make something for your valentines. We will provide instructions and materials for participants to make linocut prints. If you would like to bring your own materials or crafts to work on (knitting projects! whittling projects! Coloring books!) please do. We […]
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 […]