North American turtles face rapid decline due to a number of factors, including the illegal pet trade and international smuggling. As a founding member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) American Turtle Program, we currently care for eight box turtles who have been rescued through the program.

In response to community demand, we expanded our outreach programs and greatly increased our public engagement efforts.

Writing about our George S. Bryan Discovery Forest Treehouse, Nancy Dorman Hickson said: “Kids instinctively understand the magic of a tree house.” But many people over the years—not just kids—have felt the magic of our treehouse and its impressive, three-trunked Overcup oak (Quercus lyrata).

As a partner of the American Red Wolf SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction), we sent our Wildlife Curator, Taylor Berry, to the annual summit meeting this summer to discuss conservation efforts. Read on to learn his key takeaways!

And, that’s a wrap! This year at Summer Camp at Reflection Riding, sponsored by Local 3 News and Rock/Creek, we had an amazing time with all kinds of nature discoveries and play! We are so thankful for our campers, who made each moment extraordinary.

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are beautiful wonders of North America. During their southerly migration in late summer, we welcome them to our campus, where they can feed at two waystations filled with milkweed. Kym Martin is a monarch enthusiast who manages the two stations and has big plans for their future!

Last week, our land management team ventured to the southern Blue Ridge Mountains to aid in the restoration work of an imperiled Southern Appalachian bog ecosystem. Read on to see the collaborative work being done to restore this bog.

We are proud to be partnering with Rock City this summer season during their Mountaintop Summers events. Our wildlife team and animal ambassadors are making a show-stopping appearance as they share the importance of native animals with the public in an all-new educational show.

Meet Sally Tyrell, our first-ever Education Intern!

It is with a sense of nostalgia and deep gratitude that we announce our beloved Overcup Oak has reached the end of its natural life. This tree makes up the heart of our George S. Bryan Discovery Forest Treehouse. Read on for a tribute to this mighty oak.

Summer Camp at Reflection Riding is officially here, and we could not be more excited! Each week of June has brought a new adventure, from tromping in the woods to coming face-to-face with a native animal ambassador! We have had such a great time exploring nature with our campers, and we look forward to what July will bring!

Thanks to generous support from United Way, Reflection Riding has partnered with Howard High School to engage their students in conservation work and establish a career pathway in conservation and native landscape management. This past January, we hired two Howard students as Native Landscape Management Apprentices, and we’ve been so grateful to have them on our team! Read on for an update of their experiences in environmental stewardship!

The P. Robert Philp Memorial Garden is a beautiful woodland collection of ericaceous plants on our campus that honors the late Percy Robert “Bob” Philp, Sr. Follow the ridge-line as you journey west from our entrance, and you will come upon this sanctuary of stunning blooms. Read on for the history of the garden and its future.

Meet our Summer Camp Co-Directors—Laura Shropshire and Ailani Ramirez-Pineda, who are hard at work to make sure our campers have their best summer yet! We sat down for a conservation about their perspective on all things summer, and here’s how it went…