Environmental Studies at Airlie (a division of the 501(c)(3) non-profit International Academy for Preventive Medicine, Inc.) was established in 1989 as a research, conservation and education organization.  We conduct internationally recognized research with swans and other waterfowl, promote wildlife conservation in the Piedmont region through model conservation and research projects on our field station (Clifton Farm), and actively reach out with our education program to bring scientists and the general public together

Visitors for pre-booked, guided field tours/walks at Airlie are welcome. Parties of 5 to 20 are taken (larger groups by special arrangement) at $10 per person and $2.50 per child. There is a $50 minimum per tour.  School and scout groups are also welcome with a $30 minimum tour fee. Tours usually last approximately 1 1/2 hours and are tailored to suit different requirements.

Research - At the time Environmental Studies at Airlie (ES) was established, Dr. Sladen brought his Swan Research Program (SRP) to Airlie.  The SRP, ongoing since 1969, pioneers research (e.g., circumpolar marking and telemetry) in swans and other waterfowl and manages a large collection of over 130 free-swimming, captive swans of nine kinds.  Airlie’s network of ponds and lakes and local landowners provide a home for this collection.

Using swans as ambassadors to create an awareness of the importance of wetlands, the program encourages the Tundra Swan to winter in our area, and seeks restoration of the rare Trumpeter Swan to its former wintering grounds in the east and especially in the Chesapeake Bay.  We pioneered, with William Lishman of Operation Migration, a method of using ultralight aircraft to teach lost migration routes to geese, swans and cranes, as fictionalized in the Hollywood movie Fly Away Home.  Our current research encompasses “Passive Migration” (can these waterfowl learn a migration route passively, without flapping a wing, while suspended under an airship?); pioneering investigation of the problems of hybridization in the wild of the Tundra and Trumpeter Swans; and we also continue to investigate non-lethal solutions to the alien Mute Swan proliferation problem.  Some of these activities are student research projects with local universities such as George Mason University. 

Conservation - ES is headquartered at Clifton Farm, a 452-acre field station, located within the 3,000-acre Airlie Center complex in Fauquier County, Virginia.  Clifton boasts two lakes, twelve miles of trails through wetland, meadow and upland forest habitat--a rich resource for botany and birds.  Formerly a heavily grazed cattle farm, our conservation program concentrates on restoration of wildlife habitat and promotes sustainable agriculture.  It serves as a model for similar restoration projects as well as simple enhancement of backyard wildlife habitat in the Piedmont area.  Airlie and particularly the lakes at Clifton provide prime waterfowl habitat, with numbers peaking during the winter to over 1000 individuals, representing 30 species, rivaling the diversity of the Chesapeake Bay.  This habitat also supports a wide diversity of dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, moths, forest and grassland birds, and amphibians.

Education - Supported by Airlie Center with its classroom facilities, Clifton Farm serves as our main education center.  We offer public seminars and workshops, field trips for schools and special interest groups, and presentations and field forays for Airlie Center conference attendees.  Additionally, we are developing wildlife and habitat conservation and research projects, to provide area teachers and students long-term study opportunities.  The unique part of our education program is our ability to illustrate, at times spectacular, research in progress.  For example, our ultralight and ballooning experiments have been featured in national and local newspapers and on television (including ABC’s 20/20, NBC’s Dateline, BBC, Discovery’s Science and National Geographic).  Books, videos and brochures about our programs are available on request.  Among many other events, the Swan Research Program hosted the 4th International Swan Symposium in February 2001, which brought 143 participants together from 16 nations.