Instructor: Paul Baker (UK)
This workshop will provide an overview of the biology and diversity of beetles with emphasis placed on those found within the new Trail’s End Tract of the Floracliff Nature Sanctuary.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff.

Our annual caterpillar hunt provides a great opportunity to see a diverse group of species and discuss their connections to our native plants.

Instructor: Jennifer Hubbard-Sanchez (KSU)
Experience the interdisciplinary nature of the Leopold Education Project, an environmental and conservation education curriculum based on the writings of Aldo Leopold, "the father of conservation.”

Instructor: Dr. David Brown, Eastern Kentucky University
This is a beginning to intermediate field-based birding workshop.

There are 9 hickories and over 20 oaks native to Kentucky, making them challenging groups to learn. We will cover species commonly found in Central Kentucky.

This Fall marks the 10th anniversary of the research project that “discovered” these old chinkapin oaks through dendrochronology. For this workshop, we will be revisiting these revered oaks and submitting updated measurements and observations to TreeSnap.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff.

This hike will cover about 4 miles and will feature Trail's End, the Kentucky River, Elk Lick Falls, Elk Lick Creek, and the oldest documented tree in Fayette County.

Enjoy some brews for biodiversity! Join us Saturday, November 17th, 5:00 - 9:00 pm at West Sixth Brewing for a Sixth for a Cause event benefitting Floracliff. The Price Herp Lab at UK and UK Entomology will be in the Barrel Room with live native Kentucky wildlife on display between 6 and 8 pm. We’ll […]

This hike will cover about 4 miles and will feature Trail’s End, the Kentucky River, Elk Lick Falls, Elk Lick Creek, and the oldest documented tree in Fayette County.

Most of our forest plants go dormant on the winter, but there are some species in the understory that are still showing their colors this time of of year. Join botanist Kendall McDonald to learn identification and ecology of some of Floracliff's more recognizable lichens, mosses, and ferns. This hike will also feature the Kentucky River.

This hike will cover about 4 miles and will feature the Kentucky River, Elk Lick Falls, Elk Lick Creek, and the oldest documented tree in Fayette County. We may even see some early spring wildflowers such as hepatica, purple cress, and snow trillium.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. This hike will feature Elk Lick Falls and the oldest documented chinkapin oak in Kentucky.

Learn how to identify some of our earliest blooming plants and help get Project Budburst started at Floracliff.

This wildflower hike will cover natural history, folklore, pollinator relationships, and other information about some our early spring ephemerals.

Join biologist Joyce Bender for this hike featuring the Clara Wieland Wildflower Trail during peak wildflower season.

This wildflower hike will feature the Trail's End tract, where we will head to Kentucky River to see Virginia bluebells, false rue anemone, and dwarf larkspur.

Guest hike leader Hannah Helm will lead this hike and share her knowledge of our native wildflowers. Expect to see squirrel corn, dutchman's breeches, and more.

This wildflower hike will cover natural history, folklore, pollinator relationships, and other information about some our early spring ephemerals.

This wildflower hike will cover natural history, folklore, pollinator relationships, and other information about some our early spring ephemerals.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. We will hike down to the Kentucky River, taking in the early evening sunlight shining through the trees and reflecting off the palisade cliffs.

Learn how to use iNaturalist to document plants and animals while contributing to conservation in Kentucky.

Enjoy a full hour immersed in the sights and sounds of Elk Lick Falls. This program offers the opportunity to slow down, connect to nature, and disconnect from electronic devices while sketching, journaling, or meditating.

Zeb Weese, Executive Director of the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, will lead this program for all ages to find some of our native frogs, snakes, salamanders, and turtles in the various habitats of Floracliff, including ponds, fields, and streams.

We will spend time learning our native frogs by sight and sound, then head to the ponds to listen and record data.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. This hike will feature Elk Lick Falls and the oldest documented chinkapin oak in Kentucky.

The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and Dourson Biological Consulting are conducting an 18-month project to survey the land snail species of Kentucky, update existing records and determine the status of land snail species in the state. This project seeks the collaboration and cooperation from a wide variety of sources across the state including biologists, teachers, land managers, park naturalists and most importantly, CITIZEN SCIENTISTS who are interested in contributing to a scientific study of a lesser known group of organisms that are the building blocks of the ecosystems.

Join Floracliff Naturalists on this trek along a scenic 1/2-mile section of of the creek to explore the biodiversity and take in the beauty of the area.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. This hike will feature Elk Lick Falls and the oldest documented chinkapin oak in Kentucky.

Learn how to identify over 40 of our most common butterflies to prepare for the upcoming summer butterfly count (date TBD). This program will be entirely indoors.

For the 3rd year, Floracliff is hosting and organizing the Central Bluegrass Butterfly Count. Butterfly enthusiasts and citizen scientists are encouraged to help us count and document butterflies at various locations throughout Lexington. All data will be submitted to the North American Butterfly Association. Participating sites include the Arboretum, Floracliff, Raven Run, Hisle Park, McConnell Springs, and Wellington Park.

Elk Lick Creek flows through the heart of Floracliff and provides habitat for a diversity of amphibians, reptiles, insects, fish, and more. Join Floracliff Naturalists on this trek along a scenic 1/2-mile section of of the creek to explore the biodiversity and take in the beauty of the area.

Floracliff has a diversity of moths that come in many different sizes and colors. We will have a few light stations set up with sheets to get a close-up look at our moths and other nocturnal insects.

Enjoy a full hour immersed in the sights and sounds of Elk Lick Creek. This program offers the opportunity to slow down, connect to nature, and disconnect from electronic devices while sketching, journaling, or meditating. At the end of the hike, participants will have a chance to share as much or as little as they want.

Elk Lick Creek flows through the heart of Floracliff and provides habitat for a diversity of amphibians, reptiles, insects, fish, and more. Join Floracliff Naturalists on this trek along a scenic 1/2-mile section of of the creek to explore the biodiversity and take in the beauty of the area.

Preserve Director Beverly James will lead this fall wildflower hike highlighting identification and natural history of our late-blooming flowers and the butterflies they attract. Expect to see asters, goldenrods, lobelias, and more.