Tucked along the Smith River just south of Martinsville, this gem of a community park speaks to the power of partnership and the resilience of nature.
Category Archives: Places That Connect
Rust Nature Sanctuary, Loudoun County
63-acre preserve offers educational programs, trails, and wildlife in one of Virginia’s most rapidly growing counties.
Scheier Natural Area, Fluvanna County
Participants in the Pond Ecology Workshop. “We all live downstream.” It’s a popular catchphrase in conservation circles nowadays, communicating in a nutshell how our waterways connect us all. Homesteaders Howard and Neva Scheier may not have heard it put quite that way when they arrived in Virginia in the 1950s, but they knew the importance …
Shirley Plantation, Charles City County
Completed in 1738, “Great House,” is largely in its original state and is owned and lived in by direct descendants of Edward Hill I. As you walk up the drive to the “Great House” on Shirley Plantation, it’s hard to miss the three-and-a-half-foot wooden pineapple on the roof. A symbol of hospitality, pineapples appear in …
Claytor Nature Study Center, Bedford County
For all those 3- to 5-year-old adventurers with cabin fever, the Claytor Nature Study Center has a cure: a four-day “Animals in Winter” hike series that will get them exploring the forest throughout the month of February, searching for traces of wildlife and learning about animals’ winter survival strategies. The center, nestled at the foot …
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The Clifton Institute, Fauquier County
A ring of children crowd around a kneeling camp counselor, who holds a dragonfly just inches from their faces. “How can you tell this guy is a predator?” the counselor asks. “Big eyes!” one child volunteers. “Spiky legs to hold prey!” another says. This is a typical scene at the Clifton Institute, an environmental education …