The Clifton Institute - Upper Dam

Looking North across our upper pond, visitors can watch native grassland species shoot up through the ashes after our annual prescibed fire.  Also in this view is the 200-year-old farmhouse that is the heart of the Clifton Institute and an even older red-silver maple hybrid which is the central meeting place for most of Clifton's educational programs.  Lastly, behind the peach house, visitors can watch the ridge of Pignut mountain change over time.  These forests hold a diversity of decidous hardwoods--hickories, oaks, Tulip poplars, black gums--and rare specialist plants such as Common dittany, which are able to survive in the pockets of greenstone barrens along the South-facing slope.  This is a wonderful spot to look for river otters in the winter and beavers year-round.

We provide environmental education, conduct ecological research, and restore habitats for native plants and animals. Our 900-acre field station, permanently protected under conservation easement, provides a beautiful backdrop for all of our programs.