Minglewood Farm and Nature Preserve

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Minglewood Farm and Nature Preserve

Our mission is to connect students of all ages to the natural world through discovery and learning.

12/02/2025

As Farmer Bill recovers from shoulder surgery and we take the fall and winter off, Minglewood continues to look to the future. Minglewood Farm & Nature Preserve has for years raised funds through . These funds were used to assist students in underserved counties in the surrounding area, funding field trips to Minglewood Preserve and lessons on school campuses. Minglewood is not raising funds this as we cannot commit to work in 2026, at this time.

Getting students into the outdoors for discovery and learning is very important work. The natural world provides endless opportunities for lessons and teaching. As a wise person once said, to know it is to love and protect it. If you would like to continue to fund children and learning in the outdoors, you can donate to and . You can also give to your local public school to assist in funding field trips to our state and federal parks. Public school kids need all the help they can get when it comes to learning in the great outdoors.

Thank you to everyone who has supported in the past. Through the 12+ years the organization has reached thousands of children and adults! Minglewood could have never done it without so many of you out there. Our hope is that the land stays in farming and education, stay tuned. 🌱💚

05/01/2025

It was another great day of guests visiting yesterday to MFNP! It is usually kids keeping us busy this time of year but it was a great delight to have our friends from The Barry L. Joyce Local Support Group back once again to Minglewood! Jennifer Joyce stated her cancer support group a year before MFNP stated up and we have had a visit just about every year since! We are so happy to continue our visits all these years later. Cheers to friends, good health and the healing energy of Mother Nature. 🌱💚

03/25/2025

Ms. Margie is on holiday for a few days celebrating a big birthday this week. Thank you to Farmer Bill & Mr. Sam for taking care of business while she is away.

One of Ms. Margie’s favorite things to do is to go shark teeth hunting at Topsail Beach, NC, when a chance getaway to the coast can happen! Well, yesterday was her big day & while beach combing that morning she just happened to find this ancient Morrow Mountain slate point! Most likely 6,000+ years old, carved of slate from the Urwarrie Mountains near Badin Lake in the Piedmont of NC. Its edges have been softened by the ocean but you can clearly see it’s uniform shape and where the edges were chipped away to create this important tool. She will be adding it to the quartz arrowhead she found at Topsail Island almost 5 years ago!

It seems indigenous artifacts are now on Ms. Margie’s search, along with shark teeth, when combing the beaches of Topsail!

!

03/10/2025

The American Woodcock is active at Minglewood Farm & Nature Preserve, once again! This elusive bird continues to make itself known every spring as it calls out for a mate! Each morning and evening, when the lighting is just right, the male emerges from the woods and positions himself on the ground in an open area on the edge of the forest, known as his “singing ground”. He repeatedly makes a short, buzzy, somewhat loud “peent” call to the surrounding females. After sounding a series of ground calls, the male takes off and flies from 50 to 100 yards into the air. He descends, zigzagging back and forth while singing his chirping song. This high spiraling flight also produces a melodious twittering sound as air rushes through the male’s outer primary wing feathers. It is really an amazing mating ritual that happens every spring here at the Preserve and throughout rural North Carolina. Aldo Leopold refers to the Woodcock mating dance as “the sky dance”. It is hard to film the Woodcock’s “sky dance” as it is usually performed in the dark of dusk or dawn. You cannot miss their distinctive call and song as they dance in the air!

We call this bird elusive as it is somewhat camouflaged and blends right into the leaf litter of the forest. Years ago when we were hiking with friends in Minglewood’s forest we had all walked right past an American Woodcock not seeing it, but, a young child stopped us to ask what this bird was that he had noticed blending into the leaves on the ground, right beside the trail! So, keep your eyes on the ground in these areas, you may just spot one, too.

To catch an American Woodcock this time of year you have to get out early with the dawn, or stay out a little late, toward the dusk of the evening. He likes the edges of forests where there is plenty of leaf litter and a field or meadow close by where he can perform his “sky dance” as needed.

Their populations have been declining since the 1960’s. This decline is largely due to the loss of habitat here in NC.

02/24/2025

We finish-up Minglewood’s celebration of Black History Month today, our last Monday in the month to celebrate a contemporary in today’s world, Rue Mapp. Mapp is an advocate in helping African Americans to get outside, enjoy nature and natural spaces. She is an inspirational leader, speaker, public lands champion, outdoor gear designer and a published author.

Rue Mapp is the founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, a non-profit organization and social community reconnecting African Americans with natural spaces through outdoor recreational activities. Mapp founded Outdoor Afro in 2009 and since then she has impacted tens of thousands of African Americans. Estimates suggest her organization has reached over 35,000 participants and volunteer leaders across 30 states, creating a network that actively connects Black people to outdoor activities and nature experiences.

Her endeavors have earned her national recognition by major organizations for promoting the importance of diversity in the outdoors. In 2010, Mapp was invited to the White House to participate in the America’s Great Outdoors Conference, and subsequently was part of the team that informed the launch of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative.

We celebrate Rue Mapp today and thank her for all the accomplishments she has made to reconnect the African American community back to the natural world! The natural world belongs to everyone.

02/17/2025

We continue our celebration of Black History Month by honoring Captain Charles Young. Young was an American soldier and was the first Black Superintendent for the United States national park system.

Charles Young was born in 1864 into slavery in Kentucky. His father escaped slavery and enlisted in the 5th US Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment near the end of the Civil War. His father’s service earned freedom for the family. Charles’ mother knew the importance of education. She sent him to the school for colored children in Ripley, Ohio and also home schooled him. Charles was invited to attend an integrated school, it was during this time that school leaders noticed Charles Young’s potential. He went on to graduate with honors 1881 and was the only African American out of the 21 students in that graduating class.

He attended West Point in 1884 as only the second black cadet to enter the Academy. Charles Young experienced extreme racial discrimination from classmates, faculty, and upperclassmen. He was subjected to a disproportionate amount of abuse because of his color. He did graduate in 1889 and went on to serve for 28 years, chiefly with Black troops—the Ninth U.S. Cavalry and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, Black troops nicknamed the “Buffalo Soldiers”.

In 1903, as Young served as captain of a black company in San Francisco, he was appointed superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, becoming the first black superintendent of a national park. Young’s greatest impact on the park was managing road construction, which allowed more visitors to enjoy it. Young’s men accomplished more that summer than had been done in the previous three summers. Captain Young’s troops completed a road to the Giant Forest, home of the world’s largest trees, and a road to the base of Moro Rock. By mid-August, the wagons of visitors could enter the mountaintop forest for the first time.

In his final report on Sequoia Park to the Secretary of the Interior, he recommended that the government acquire privately held lands there. This recommendation was noted in legislation when it was introduced in the United States House of Representatives.

02/10/2025

Today we continue our celebration of by sharing with you another mover and shaker for the natural world. We celebrate with you Wangari Maathai, the founder of the Green Belt Movement and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Wangari Maathai was born in rural Kenya (Africa), in 1940. She attended college in the United States obtaining degrees in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964) and a Masters of Science from the University of Pittsburgh (1966). She continued studies in Germany and Nairobi and was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree.

She became involved with the National Council of Women of Kenya from 1976 to 1987. While serving in the National Council of Women, Professor Maathai developed the broad-based grassroots organization, the Green Belt Movement (GBM), whose main focus is poverty reduction and environmental conservation through tree planting. Today GBM continues to engage women in planting trees, protecting critical forests & watersheds, and empowering communities around the world. Wangari Maathai went on to serve as Kenya’s Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources and was appointed Goodwill Ambassador to the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem.

In recognition of her deep commitment to the environment, the United Nations (UN) named Professor Maathai a UN Messenger of Peace in December 2009, with a focus on the environment and climate change.

Wangari Maathai died in 2011 at the age of 71 after a battle with ovarian cancer. She is celebrated today as a key environmentalist for East Africa and a climate change educator that made her research and activism heard around the world. In Africa March 3rd is Wangari Maathai Day, celebrating her dedication to improving the environment and women’s livelihoods.

02/03/2025

Throughout the month of February we would like to celebrate Black History with our followers here on Instagram and Facebook. We will dedicate our throughout the month of February to some of our lesser known African American environmentalists that have contributed to the betterment of our world and added to our knowledge of the natural world.

Today we want to share with you an interesting man named Solomon Brown. Brown was the first African-American employee of the Smithsonian Institute and served under three Smithsonian secretaries. He was a naturalist, a map maker and poet, along with accumulating many other skills. One of his first jobs was working in the D.C. post office as the post master’s assistant. It was during this time he worked with Joesph Henry & Samuel F.B. Morse with the installation of the first Morse telegraph.

In 1852 he was appointed to the foreign exchange division of the new Smithsonian Institution by his former boss at the Morse Telegraph Company, Joseph Henry. In 1864, he became a museum assistant and by 1869 he was the registrar in charge of transportation, registry, and the storage of animal specimens and materials received by the institution. Out of all the three secretaries that he worked with, he worked closely with Spencer Baird. Baird was a successful ornithologist and Brown spent a lot of time assisting him.

He rose in the ranks despite a lack of formal education, writing letters that help document the experience of a free Black man during the Civil War. He educated himself on natural history and was the source of many illustrated maps and specimens, giving talks such as “The Social Habits of Insects.” He is remembered to this day on the grounds of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where several trees have been planted in his honor.

01/13/2025

This evening you can watch the first full moon of 2025 rise on the eastern horizon at 5:27pm. This full moon is named the Wolf Moon because some say wolves are more likely to be active at this time of year, giving humans the opportunity to hear their howling more often in January. Here in the foothills of North Carolina we won’t hear any wolves during this moon but we may hear the occasional howl or hunting cries of the local coyotes off in the distance.

This Wolf Moon promises to be an eventful one. You will also find the planet Mars in its bright red form rising on the NE horizon alongside the full moon. You will see a shining object right below the moon that looks like a star, this is the planet Mars. Mars will disappear behind the bottom of the moon around 9:16 pm. ET and reappear behind the upper right of the moon at 10:31pm. ET.

and watch the Wolf Moon rise tonight and if you have it in you, go back out and keep an eye on the planet Mars as it comes and goes behind the . It’s going to be beautiful on the remaining snow! !

01/05/2025

Almost 4” today!

12/14/2024

Minglewood wrapped up our 2nd session of programming for App State Academy at Middle Fork. During this last session we studied the solar system with an emphasis on moon phases. We wrapped up the last lesson by creating these great moon phase mobiles so the kids could take them home and hang in their rooms. We also shared moon pies to celebrate the great work the kids had had done over our time with them! 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌙 🌞🌎🪐💫🌠
We look forward to returning in January for a new session! 🌱💚

Address

238 Minglewood Road
Westfield, NC
27053

Telephone

(336) 351-2945

Website

http://minglewoodpreserve.org/

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Our Story

Who We Are

Minglewood Farm & Nature Preserve is a 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission to teach sustainable food production and environmental stewardship. We provide meaningful environmental education opportunities for all ages through curriculum-based field trips and classroom programs, workshops, and more. We work primarily in Surry, Stokes, and Forsyth Counties, spreading awareness and inspiring care for our local food system and native ecology.

How We Got Here

Minglewood Farm & Nature Preserve was established in 2014 by Margie and Bill Imus and is based at their 65-acre property in Surry County, North Carolina. Minglewood represents decades of Margie and Bill’s love for their local environment and community.

In 1987, Bill and a partner opened a successful restaurant, the Cumberland Café, in Winston-Salem, NC where he realized the need for locally grown seasonal produce delivered directly to restaurants. Acting on this passion, they bought land in Surry County and began farming full time to supply produce to local restaurants and flowers to Margie’s floral shop. Over many years they have restored the former to***co land to native forest and productive farmland, realizing the transformative power of working with the land.

Living and laboring on their property has fostered a profound appreciation for a healthy, diverse ecosystem and a deep knowledge of organic farming and native plants & animals. Margie and Bill decided to transition to the nonprofit world and establish Minglewood to share their knowledge and help nurture others’ relationships with nature through education.

Why Our Work Matters

Minglewood provides important experiential learning opportunities for both children and adults that bring students into nature. We believe this is critical exposure for developing respectful human-nature relationships and a land ethic supporting environmental sustainability. We aim to demonstrate the many ways that people benefit from nature, bring awareness to local environmental issues, and inspire younger generations to become future environmental leaders.

We continue to grow our capacity for providing effective environmental education with the help of our supporters and the surrounding community and are excited for the future of Minglewood!