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!

• Tuesday 12/2 all day and forward - Giving Tuesday launch for the Cloverlea History Project fundraising campaign.  Thank you for your contributions!

• Wednesday 12/3 12p-6p - Happy Earth Market at Randolph College Main Hall, come shop local sustainability-minded vendors and learn more about our organization at our nonprofit partner table!

• Wednesday 12/10 at 11am - 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.  Each registered participant will receive a small plant or succulent from P.R.E.A.M.! Pierce Street Gateway as a ride-share hub spot from the Lynchburg area, departing at 10:15am.

• Saturday 12/20 from 12p-2p - Winter Solstice Solar Observing at Belk Observatory.  Join us for some daytime observing to view our home star with active sunspots, and discuss winter solstice and the solar cycle and how sunspot activity cause aurora.  Register at link.

• Monday 12/22 at noon - Cloverlea Conversation - virtual 30 min casual conversation about various sustainability topics.  Topic - The 'Christmas Star' and other archeoastronomy connections of how our understanding of the night sky has shaped cultures and religion.  Virtual Meet Link.

• 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.

  • • • Save-the-Date: 3/21/26 Children's Nature Festival

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

Plans ahead: We continue to build our relationship with Claytor Nature Center and the new director Lindsay.  Our focus is establishing the membership as a friends-of group for the center, and to offer programmatic support for sustainability initiatives and the history project alongside community partners.   We will host annual member-only 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 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 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

Join the over 80 members in this friends-of community!  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 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.