The Claytor Nature Center in Bedford County is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Established in 1998 thanks to the generous donation from A. Boyd Claytor III, the center has become a hub for environmental education and research.
Claytor’s initial donation of the 18th-century Cloverlea Farm and farmhouse set the stage for the center’s journey. His intent was clear: to create a space dedicated to environmental preservation, education and research for future generations. The entire 491-acre property was placed under a conservation easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation ensuring the land would be protected from development indefinitely.
Jennifer Wills, the center’s current director, said the farmhouse, dating back to the late 1790s, has undergone several renovations and additions over the years. Today, it stands as a testament to the region’s history and serves as a picturesque venue for events such as weddings, she said.
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The center has seen significant development since its inception. The University of Lynchburg has contributed to its growth by constructing an education building, the Eco-Lodge for overnight stays and repurposing an old barn into an aquaculture lab. These facilities enhance the center’s ability to provide hands-on educational experiences for students of all ages, Wills said.
“We host field trips for K-12 classes and university-level courses from various institutions. They’ll basically do a hands-on activity that you’ve learned about in a book. So, they get to actually do what they’re learning about in a classroom,” she said.
Additionally, the center engages in long-term biological research, with ongoing studies on topics such as milkweed adaptation and tree propagation.
The Claytor Nature Center also is fostering community engagement through citizen science projects.
“We’re starting some community science projects, which is where you don’t have to be a faculty member, professor or student, you can be anyone and that’s the idea behind community science is anyone can get involved in these projects,” Wills said. “One of them is going to be tracking or observing pawpaw trees over the river and we’re going to track their development over the course of the multiple years and provide that data to see how it propagates.”
Collaboration is a core value at the center. It partners with organizations such as the American Chestnut Foundation to work on projects such as tree pollination and disease resistance.
While many visitors come to the center for outdoor activities, Wills encourages people to explore the research and studies taking place behind the scenes.
“Most people when they come, they’ll go for a hike, or they’ll have a picnic and look at the view. This research is happening, the studies that we’re working on, I think that’s not visible to a lot of people. So that’s something that I want to help make visible and actually engage people around those projects and educate them,” she said.
David Perault, a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Sustainability at the University of Lynchburg, started at the school the same year it took over the property.
Reflecting on those early days, Perault recalls the excitement that came with the land donation.
“I just remember always thinking what a unique get this was for Lynchburg College,” he said. “And there’s schools that just don’t have properties like this. It’s big state schools that are typically the ones that obtain them, and, in fact, UVa took a pass on it, so we’ve been using it ever since.”
Over the past quarter-century, Perault has been actively involved in using the Claytor Nature Center for education and research.
“I take classes out there, I have students do research out there, I’ve done research, I have an undergraduate student who did all the trail mapping this past summer with GPS and I have a graduate student who is interning out there right now and she’s involved with educational outreach programs, working with local schools,” he said.
His environmental science courses take advantage of the diverse landscapes found within the center, from wetlands to woodlands, providing students with hands-on experiences in natural resource management and conservation.
“It’s a great case study on how you can learn to do scientific research, ask questions,” he said.
Bedford County, where the Claytor Nature Center is situated, has seen rapid growth, particularly in its rural areas.
“Bedford County is one of the fastest growing what I would call rural counties,” he said. “And this is a place that’s been set aside for preservation, along with its educational walls, and so it’s neat having this spot of nature in really a neat part of the state.”
Wills envisions an even brighter future for the center. She aims to expand its reach by attracting more college students, educators and researchers. Additionally, she has plans to introduce well-being activities, such as wellness retreats, meditation sessions and yoga classes, to emphasize the connection between a healthy environment and human well-being.
To support its mission and operations, she said the center has recently launched a membership program and implemented an entry fee.
“What I would love to do is have more members and get those people involved and call it ‘Claytor Community’ because I think it’s not just, ‘Here’s my check,’ or whatever, I would love to have more people involved out here, whether you’re teaching a class, participating in the class or doing a study or visiting,” he said.
Laura Henry-Stone, associate professor and chair of Environmental Sciences and Sustainability at the University of Lynchburg, is no stranger to the Claytor Nature Center. In fact, her intimate familiarity with the center’s potential for education and well-being led her to serve as its interim director from 2021 to 2022.
“I used to take students there for educational purposes and use it for my own recreation. I don’t do much research myself, but because I’ve been an advocate for clean air for a while and I’m primarily an educator, I was asked to serve as interim director because of my familiarity with Claytor,” she said.
Henry-Stone said Lynchburg College, now the University of Lynchburg, felt honored to inherit the property and carry forward Boyd’s vision as a valuable resource for both the academic community and the public.
One aspect of that mission that resonates deeply with Henry-Stone is the promotion of a connection with the outdoors for the sake of well-being.
“Especially during COVID, I think a lot of people personally experienced how healing being in the outdoors in the natural environment can be,” she said. “One of the strongest characteristics of Claytor is providing that space to be at peace in the outdoors.”
Henry-Stone stressed the importance of understanding the unique ecology of Claytor Nature Center.
She said it’s important for people to realize forests and a healthy ecosystem are healthy for us and helps us learn what the ecology of a healthy forest looks like and personally experience what it feels, sounds and smells like to be in a healthy forest.
“I really want to encourage people to take advantage of that opportunity to really listen to the environment around them and remove themselves from time-to-time from the dominance of human nature and see what that does to their sense of well-being,” she said.
Henry-Stone also highlighted the importance of acknowledging the center’s history, beyond Boyd Claytor’s ownership.
“While Boyd Claytor happened to be the person who owned the land when it was given to Lynchburg College, I think it’s important to also acknowledge the traditional stewards, Monacan Indians and other Indigenous people that we don’t probably know about, as well as the likely role of enslaved people, both on that land and in the wider community,” she said. “So, I think that’s a part of the later history that is just now starting to get more attention. And I want to endorse that. Also, I think it’s really important.”
Rachael Smith, (434) 385-5482