Upcoming Events and Programs

• Membership - Join the Cloverlea Foundation membership to be part of our "friends-of" organization supporting the Claytor Nature Center!  Visit our membership platform to learn more and register!

• Saturday 11/8 at 1p-4p - Cloverlea History around the Holidays - Explore the past with us at the Cloverlea Farmhouse.  Enjoy the gardens and nearby trails with guided walks to the family cemetery, farmhouse tours with UL History students and refreshments from Hopwood & LaRue, nature crafts, holiday music from Riddle on the Harp (2-3p), and a visit from Old Fuzzy Face and family portraits with a stunning mountain backdrop.  Historians from Bedford Museum and Genealogical Library, Jones Memorial Library, and community orgs like Southern Flavoring will be there to share more history of the Claytors and the region!  Co-hosted by Cloverlea Foundation and Claytor Nature Center.

• Trail Tuesday 11/18 at 10a - We'll meet out at Claytor midday to help with trails, focusing on areas determined by Director Lindsay. RSVP via email requested, but not required.

• Monday 11/24 at noon - Cloverlea Conversation - virtual 30 min casual conversation about various sustainability topics.  Topic - Indigenous land stewardship.  Virtual Meet Link.

• Wednesday 12/10 time TBA - Wellness in Nature - December: Emotional Wellness at Claytor Nature Center with P.R.E.A.M. and UL Environmental Psychology professor Chris Neale.  Discussion on how plants and nature can improve mental health in the workplace and at home, and making desktop succulent zen gardens.  Registration link TBA.  Pierce Street Gateway as a ride-share hub spot from the Lynchburg area, departing at 10:15am.

• more planning in progress - if you have an idea for an event or program, want to collaborate, or share an experience, please reach out to us or join an upcoming Cloverlea Conversation!

• Events/activities hosted by Claytor Nature Center; sharing the opportunities!  See the CNC website or email claytor@lynchburg.edu for more information.

  • • • Animals preparing for the Winter Series

      • Art Exhibit planned featuring scenes from Claytor at Bedford Central Library

Plans ahead for 2025: Although the University of Lynchburg has not yet engaged with us for a long-term plan at this time, we are still in conversations and are ready and eager to partner and help at the Claytor Nature Center.  Over the last few months, we've come to realize that our mission and vision can have much greater potential impacts than just at the Claytor Nature Center, and we plan to continue our work with aligned programming and collaborative efforts in additional local spaces.  We are working with the University of Lynchburg administration to learn their newly formed process for volunteering at Claytor, and we recently hosted a small Claytor Day event by reserving the pavilion.  We hope to be able to hold more member-only events at Claytor Nature Center throughout the year, and we plan to have workshops, outreach events, and other outdoor activities at an adjacent farm, Peaksville Place, until Claytor Nature Center becomes accessible to the public again.  As part of our strategic plan for the future, we will hold annual events around important dates: Cloverlea Garden Gathering in May to celebrate Boyd & Ginny's birthdays, Claytor Day in October to celebrate the founding day of the Claytor Nature Center, and astronomy and nature programs near the solstices and equinoxes.  We encourage you to stay engaged with us, as we plan some organized efforts toward our mission.  Be sure to join the email list to get updates about our forthcoming membership opportunities, events, and more ways to get involved!

Tiered levels of participation and support offers something for all: We will be using a supported/supporting/sustaining model for our programming and tiers of membership and partnerships.  We want to offer options that remove cost as a barrier for participation in our program offerings, and we'll be able to do that through different levels of support and collaboration.  We also value the time and expertise that our community brings; we'll have volunteer, in-kind, and service opportunities as part of our membership and partnership tiers. 

Community Partnerships

We appreciate the people in our community that provide resources, offer services, and do important work aligned with our mission.  We are looking to partner with groups and companies that want to work together for sustainability and educational efforts, as well as for care and maintenance of our amazing land resources.  A good partnership is built on a great relationship, so the intention is for our partnerships to be truly mutually beneficial, where our team and members also return service and resources to our partners as well.  Partnership contribution tiers can be reached through service and volunteered time at the operational level, and with financial or in-kind tangible contributions and pledges at the higher levels.  Email us at cloverleafoundation@gmail.com about partnership opportunities.

Operational Partners: Non-profit organizations and small local businesses that volunteer time and in-kind contributions aligned with our efforts.  Volunteer opportunities at member-only events, and two tickets to Claytor Day are included with partnership.   Non-profit, mission-aligned partner organizations are eligible to receive occasional support from Cloverlea Foundation.

Supporting Partner:  $1000 annual contribution or pledge; two tickets to Claytor Day, two tickets to Cloverlea Garden Party, featured in newsletters, webpage and social media.

Sustaining Partner:  $2500 annual contribution or pledge; four tickets to Claytor Day, four tickets to Cloverlea Garden Party, featured in newsletters, webpage and social media.

Strategic Partner:  $5000 annual contribution or pledge; six tickets to Claytor Day, six tickets to Cloverlea Garden Party, key collaborations on future projects, featured in newsletters, webpage and social media.

Visionary Partner:  $10,000+ annual contribution or pledge; eight tickets to Claytor Day, eight tickets to Cloverlea Garden Party, key collaborations and naming opportunities for future projects, featured in newsletters, webpage and social media.   At this level, our partners will likely have additional long-standing mutual benefits within a partnership agreement.

Annual Memberships

Cloverlea Foundation membership is LIVE!  Each member will receive a Cloverlea Foundation sticker decal, and be invited to member-only events, volunteer, and programming opportunities either at Claytor Nature Center (privately-reserved events coordinated with UL events office), or at other locations nearby in Bedford.  We plan to use spaces at the local library, adjacent farm Peaksville Place, and other nearby partnering organizations' spots to offer mission-aligned experiences and programs.   Here is a snapshot of our membership offerings, and you can find more at the membership platform page:

The Cloverlea Foundation is incorporated with the VA State Corporation Commission as a nonprofit, nonstock corporation. 

The Federal EIN for the organization is 33-1346198, and we are an approved tax-exempt 501(c)(3), sub type 509(a)(2) public charitable organization.