Monday, January 19 | 9:30am

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

Looking for a way to give back to your community? Join us on January 19th from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm for our Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service! We will be removing invasive plant species and performing trail maintenance at this African American Civil Rights Network site.

Go here to sign up: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/ivycreekfoundation/event/11926martinlutherkingjrdayofservice/

Monday, January 19 | 12:30pm

River View Farm Tour

Want to learn more about Historic River View Farm before our upcoming Ivy Talk on the recent Farmhouse survey, and/or after a good morning’s work on the property? Register for this guided tour of the site. River View Farm, home to the Carr/Greer family for over 100 years, is a rare surviving example of the Union Ridge/Hydraulic Mills community of African American farmers, pastors, and craftspeople who inhabited the area beginning in the late 1800s. This tour will follow the lives of the family who built the farm, beginning with farmer Hugh Carr’s journey to build the farm after emancipation. Learn about lifelong educator Mary Carr Greer and her husband Conly Greer, Albemarle County’s first African American extension agent. See the 1880s farmhouse and 1930s dairy barn, recognized on the Virginia Landmark Registry of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the National Register of Historic Places, the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network, and the African American Civil Rights Network.

Register here: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/ivycreekfoundation/event/11926historicriverviewfarmtour/

Thursday, January 22 | 10:00am

Little Naturalists

Introduce your three- to five-year-old to nature! Trained guides explore topics such as food chains, hibernation, how trees grow and more with three- to five-year-olds and their accompanying adults. The program starts indoors for 20-30 minutes where the children engage with the guides through reading nature centered books and doing a hands-on activity related to the learning in the book. This is followed with a short moderate hike on one of the ICNA trails. Little Naturalists meet  on the second Mondays, third Saturdays, and fourth Thursdays of the month. Gatherings are held from 10:00 to 11:30 am. We prefer that people preregister for these programs. The link to register for the next fourth Thursday is here. Siblings are also welcome to attend. 

Little Naturalists follow the weather cancellation policies for Albemarle County Schools.  When the schools are closed or there is a late opening, the Little Naturalists will not meet on that day.

Friday, January 23 | 12:00pm

Fourth Friday Solar Viewing

Solar Observing sessions are scheduled for every fourth Friday of every month in 2026. The Charlottesville Astronomical Society will present and bring their special Solar telescope(s), which will allow us to safely see sunspots, solar flares and prominences, and other features on the living cauldron that is our sun.  We'll start at noon in the education building for a short presentation, then go outside to the field next to the parking lot at 12:20.  

Cloudy weather cancels.

Although this event is free and open to the public, we ask that you contact the Charlottesville Astronomical Society at ivycreek@cvilleastro.com if you plan to attend.  Only if at least one visitor makes contact and confirms attendance, can the CAS guarantee that they will be at Ivy Creek for their presentation and telescope observing session.

Saturday, January 24 | 9:00am

Volunteer Work Day - Saturday

Have you been looking for a way to give back to your community? Do you love Ivy Creek Natural Area and Historic River View Farm? Do you love being outside and making a difference? Then join us for our monthly public work day! We will be working on removing invasive plants, trail maintenance, and landscape restoration from 9 AM - 12 PM on Saturday, January 24. Wear outdoor work clothes and closed-toed shoes/boots. Registration link here.

Saturday, January 24 | 2:00pm

Ivy Talk: The River View Farm House: An Architectural and Conservation Analysis

Join us online for this month’s Ivy Talk and learn about the Ivy Creek Foundation’s 2025 architectural survey of the River View Farm House. Ivy Creek is hosting three experts to lead you through the history of this National Register of Historic Places-recognized building and discuss its future.

Historic architect and Ivy Creek board member Jody Lahendro will share the Foundation’s earlier work to discover and preserve the historic family home. Jess Harris, Assistant Director of Community Research at the Center for Community Partnerships and Descendants of Enslaved Communities of Virginia Board President, will share the process of creating focus group sessions with the Center for Community Partnerships. Learn about our community’s vision for the future of this valuable historic site.

Local architect and author of the architectural survey, Doug Gilpin, will conclude with the history of Hugh and Texie Mae Hawkins Carr’s 1880s farmhouse, and the later expansions by daughter Mary Carr Greer and her husband Conly Greer. We’ll see what the original house ‘might’ have looked like in 1890, and a photodocumentary of the additions/alterations to present day. Included are the findings of original paint colors, some ‘concealed condition’ images, and a Master Plan for the rehabilitation of this local historic treasure.

Stay until the end of the presentation for the opportunity to ask your questions about the farmhouse’s past or future!

Register here: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/ivycreekfoundation/event/1242026januaryivytalk/