Nature & Outdoors
Photos courtesy of Turtle Island Preserve
Sanctuary in the High Country: Discovering the Quiet Magic of Turtle Island Preserve
By Julie Farthing
“Today, more than ever, America’s children need contact with the real ‘real,’ instead of the plastic, contrived, and controlled, animated, AI-manipulated, diffused, watered-down, ‘real’ world.
“Turtle Island’s stated motto has for decades been, ‘simply real.’ We love it, and live it; and open our doors to guests who want to touch, taste, and smell the gratifying and substantial real, that has been real forever. The experiential, educational activities, for all ages, give folks meaningful, foundational touchstones of reset, towards healthy directions and values amidst our challenged, unsettled, limited, transitional, modern, culture.
“We at Turtle Island Preserve share real experiences with our guests, based on the ancient nature of our planet, and our traditional, cultural, proven, mountain lifestyles.” — Eustace Conway, Founder of Turtle Island Preserve
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The Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina hold secrets whispered on the wind—secrets of deep time, resilient nature, and human intention. While many visitors flock to the well-trod paths and tourist towns of the High Country, a different kind of destination awaits those seeking genuine communion with the wild. Turtle Island Preserve is more than just a piece of land, it continues a family legacy of nature-based, experiential education.
The Preserve is the creation of Eustace Conway, a modern-day frontiersman whose life has been devoted to preserving and teaching a way of life intrinsically tied to the land. In the footsteps of his grandfather, C. Walton “Chief” Johnson, who founded Camp Sequoyah in Weaverville, NC, in 1924, Conway attended and worked at the camp throughout his childhood which inspired his own 1000-acre Turtle Island Preserve.
Stepping onto the property is like crossing a threshold into a simpler, more rugged era. The air is cleaner, scented with pine, woodsmoke, and damp earth. The landscape is a tapestry of steep wooded slopes, clear mountain streams, and fertile bottomlands, all managed with a philosophy that prioritizes ecological health over convenience.
The Preserve’s namesake is significant. “Turtle Island” is the creation story and name for the North American continent used by many Indigenous peoples. This name evokes a deep respect for the land as a source of life and sustenance, a philosophy that permeates every action at the Preserve. Conway and the community that stewards the land aim to foster an understanding of humanity’s place within the ecosystem, not merely on it.
Turtle Island is not a museum; it is a living teaching space. Here, the emphasis is on doing—on learning the skills that sustained generations of mountain people. While the story of Eustace Conway has played out before us on the popular television series, Mountain Man, Turtle Island Preserve maintains a focus on its core mission: conservation, education, and the practice of simple, meaningful living. It is in this philosophy that Turtle Island offers retreats, camps, and volunteer opportunities to those searching for connection to the mountains themselves. The classrooms are log cabins, open-air kitchens, and shelters built by timber harvested on the land. Visitors find themselves immersed in a curriculum that includes everything from sustainable timber harvesting and natural building techniques to fire-making by friction, basket weaving, campfire cooking, and identifying edible and medicinal plants.
Camp director Carolyn Jordan has been a part of Turtle Island from its earliest days—when it was simply Eustace Conway’s vision—through its development, experiencing both its successes and challenges. This long involvement grants her a unique and valuable understanding of the Preserve. She wants all guests to experience the true beauty of Turtle Island:
“At Turtle Island Preserve, we invite folks to see with their eyes, feel with their hearts, and do with their hands in the spirit of community. These simple human attributes can become clouded in today’s culture, which is filled with push buttons and screens. Turtle Island is real and simple, taking both young and old back to life’s simple joys: harvesting a carrot from the garden, building a campfire, watching a crawdad in a clear mountain stream, conversing around a blazing bonfire, learning how to make your own basket and feeling the cool earth beneath your feet. We offer a supportive, intentional environment where guests of all ages can build self-confidence, self-esteem, meaningful connection, and a lasting relationship with the land—guided by mentors whose lives reflect the values they teach.”
Following, we provide a listing of spring and early summer events at the Preserve. For more information on the many opportunities available at Turtle Island Preserve, be sure to check out their website at turtleislandpreserve.org, or find them on Facebook and Instagram.
Spring Events at Turtle Island Preserve
Families Learning Together | May 9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
FLT is Turtle Island Preserve’s annual spring fundraiser to promote sustainable and natural living through the teaching of earth skills from a wide range of instructors. It is a wonderful opportunity to return to nature and connect with skilled artisans and teachers who will be demonstrating primitive skills and crafts, while enjoying live mountain music, witnessing examples of historic building practices, and joining demonstrations in food, blacksmithing, woodworking, knives, survival, blade sharpening, plant foraging and so much more. A special area will focus on kids, with storytelling, flute music, drumming and puppets. This outdoor, rain or shine, fundraiser benefits upgrading the preserve’s facilities and expanding programs and camp scholarships for its summer camps. turtleislandpreserve.org/families-learning-together
Wildheart Women’s Retreat | May 14-17
Wildheart Women’s Retreat is an invitation to find your path back home to yourself, to be quiet with the beautiful land that encompasses Turtle Island Preserve, and to connect with other women in a supportive, caring community setting. Develop skills in broom making, basketry, medicine making, off-grid cooking and nourishment, and fire making. Other areas of focus may include movement/yoga, bodywork, breathing, herbs/medicinal plants, edible plants, cordage, fox walking & wide-angle vision, and dancing. turtleislandpreserve.org/wildheartretreat
Mending: A Sewing Survival Intensive | May 23, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Mending: A Sewing Survival Intensive is an immersive, hands-on sewing and repair intensive focused on low-tech, hand-based mending practices rooted in Appalachian and working-class traditions. In an era of climate instability, supply chain fragility, and disposable consumer culture, this workshop treats sewing not as a hobby, but as a survival skill. Participants will learn foundational hand-sewing techniques for extending the life of everyday garments and gear—without the use of machines or electricity. Emphasis will be placed on adaptability, repair triage, and making do with limited materials. turtleislandpreserve.org/mending-a-sewing-survival-intensive
Boys & Girls Camps | June 14-20 (Boys); June 28-July 3 (Girls)
Turtle Island Preserve’s unique overnight summer camps offer natural living experiences and exceptional outdoor education. At the Boys Camp, campers are taught to appreciate the finer things in life: the beauties and wonders of nature, the value of health and strength, the fellowship of true friends, the essential worth of high ideals and sound character. “We are here to help boys become balanced young men.”
Girls Camp delights the senses and awakens deeper callings. Campers work together to gather and collect items found in nature to create beautiful works of art and useful tools that will last a lifetime. From making natural dyes and ink from walnuts, to hafting their own tools, Girl-Power is a cornerstone of the program. “We are here to help girls become empowered with self-confidence.”
For more details on all these programs and camps, plus registration information, visit turtleislandpreserve.org.