Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us!

We could not accomplish our mission without the help of people like you.

We are recruiting volunteers for the projects listed below.

To save yourself a step during your first visit, fill out our volunteer registration form and bring it with you.

Volunteer registration form

Volunteer registration form for minors

Education Assistants (year round)

Do you enjoy working outside with kids? We offer outdoor environmental education for pre-K-12 students from schools, homeschool groups, Scout groups, and other local organizations. We are looking for volunteer Education Assistants to work with our team of educators to help plan and run our programs.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn more about local natural history, gain experience with outdoor education, and spend time outside at our beautiful field station. Scheduling is flexible with programs offered mornings and afternoons throughout the year.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

• Assist leading nature walks
• Prepare program materials
• Facilitate games and activities

Invasive species control (fall-early spring)

We need your help to control invasive Autumn Olive, Tree-of-heaven, Oriental Bittersweet, and Japanese Honeysuckle. These species provide inferior habitat for animals and they crowd out native plants. Exotic plants thrive at Clifton (as they do across the Piedmont) because of the property’s long history of disturbance.

Invasive species control is a great way to get to see the 900-acre property, meet fellow environmentalists in your community, get some exercise, and make a difference for our native biodiversity. Scheduling is flexible with programs offered mornings and afternoons throughout the fall and winter. If you would like to help outside of a scheduled program just let us know.

Biodiversity surveys (year round)

We need help conducting biodiversity surveys on the field station. Our goals are to monitor the effects of our restoration projects on native species and to contribute to our long-term bioblitz.

We are looking for volunteer participants and survey leaders.

SURVEYS

• Birds (year round). We are looking for birdwatchers who are able to identify all species visually and aurally to do monthly bird surveys in our early successional habitats.
• Plants (spring to fall). Botanists who can identify the majority of herbaceous and woody species found in Piedmont fields.
• Beetles (spring and summer). No skills necessary but an interest in insects is a plus. These volunteers will help maintain and empty beetle traps.
• Butterflies and dragonflies (spring to fall). People who can identify the majority of species found in the region (it’s OK if you have to photograph some skippers!).
• Stream macroinvertebrates (year round). Ability to identify the majority of common orders and some families.

Long-term bioblitz (year round)

We need help collecting and identifying observations of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms for our long-term bioblitz project.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

• Photograph animals and plants on the field station with your smart phone or camera and upload the photos to cliftoninstitute.org/inaturalist
• Use your expertise to identify observations that have already been uploaded
• Learn new taxonomic groups and identify observations
• Use our microscopes to photograph small specimens and upload observations
• Clean and sort bee and beetle specimens

Bird boxes (year round)

We maintain and monitor a network of boxes to provide nest sites for native birds that compete with exotic species for cavities. Our focal species are American Kestrel, Eastern Screech-owl, Eastern Bluebird, and Wood Duck.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

• Clean boxes
• Repair boxes
• Set up new boxes and predator guards
• Check boxes
• Enter data
• Donate boxes, poles, or predator guards