Invasive plant species crowd out native plants and provide little to no food for native animals. This year we are trying to tackle some of the Multiflora Rose, Tree-of-Heaven, Autumn Olive, and Wavyleaf Basketgrass in our forests and we need your help! Please bring work gloves and clippers if you have them. Age: Adults only […]
NO MUSHROOMS APPEARED THIS YEAR :( Late summer is a mushroom-y season and a great time to learn about this under-appreciated kingdom of life! Join mushroom expert Mayor Carter Nevill and Executive Director Bert Harris on a walk in the woods to find and identify as many species of mushrooms as we can. Cost: […]
Over 9 sessions beginning in September and running through May, the members of Nature Club will work together to create a map of an uncharted piece of the Clifton Institute and build a trail that runs through it. The project will culminate in an unveiling party for the new trail led by the students themselves. […]
We’re offering another year of Nature School! Each class will include a structured learning activity on a particular topic and an exploratory nature walk. For example, in the past we studied vultures, bird eggs and nests, leaf identification, beaver dams, and more. We will repeat some topics from the 2021-2022 school year, but we will […]
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. As of fall 2022, we are changing registration for Polliwogs: instead of signing up month to month, you can sign up for a whole series of monthly programs. This will […]
Invasive plant species crowd out native plants and provide little to no food for native animals. This year we are trying to tackle some of the Multiflora Rose in our forests and we need your help! Please bring work gloves and clippers if you have them. Age: Adults only and children ages 12 and up, […]
Come and see our fields at their best! The fields we call Lower and Upper Woodcock are unplanted and naturally dominated by native plants. We will look for Gray Goldenrod, Slender Lespedeza, Green Milkweed, Field Thistle, Upland Ironweed, Elliott's Bluestem and Little Bluestem in the drier areas, and Great Blue Lobelia, New York Ironweed, and […]
Join Clifton Institute Executive Director Bert Harris to look and listen for creatures of the night! We’ll start by listening to the evening chorus of cicadas and birds. Then we will take a gentle walk through fields and woods to look for nocturnal animals. Late summer is an ideal time to observe several species of […]
Families with children in grades K-8 are invited to come along as we explore the field station AT NIGHT! We'll see how long we can walk without flashlights and then explore the woods to look for nocturnal animals and listen to the sounds of the night. We might hear owls screeching and flying squirrels calling […]
Both beginner and experienced birders will enjoy this guided 1-2 mile hike to look for the many species of birds that can be found on the field station. We will explore successional fields, meadows, lake edges, and forest. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied […]
Every fall raptors migrate south along the Appalachian Mountains. Several species of hawks, eagles, and falcons can be seen migrating, but the biggest spectacles are the days when huge numbers of Broad-winged Hawks fly by. If we’re lucky we might see thousands! One of the expert bird-watchers on our staff will lead the group and […]
Join us for a walk on our trails with one our naturalists. Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, 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 […]
Join us way down yonder for a Pawpaw party! We are excited to host this celebration of our only native tropical fruit tree! With many colorful nicknames such as the hillbilly mango, the pawpaw’s cultural flavor is as intriguing as its taste. We will give a brief talk on the ecology and cultural history of […]
Both beginner and experienced birders will enjoy this guided 1-2 mile hike to look for the many species of birds that can be found on the field station. We will explore successional fields, meadows, lake edges, and forest. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars! Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied […]
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 […]
Cost: Free! Age: Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult. Date and time subject to change dependent on weather. Please check your email for updates on the morning of the event. COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors (an outside porta potty will be available). Please do not attend if […]