Landowner Stories - Carolyn Toben and Timberlake Farm

Timberlake Farm is more than a valuable piece of property to Carolyn Toben. The 165 acres of woodlands, meadows and ponds located on Rock Creek Dairy Road off of 140 between Greensboro and Burlington is a sacred place. Carolyn Toben spent thirty-two years of marriage with her husband, Boyd, on the farm. They raised a family and together learned to live life as students and servants of the land. When Boyd died in 1999 after a long fight with cancer, Timberlake Farm became a living legacy of Boyd’s life and values. Sharing in Boyd’s belief that land is a gift rather than a commodity, Carolyn Toben consulted with sons, Steve, Tim and Scott, about the future of the farm. Together, the family decided to put a conservation easement on the property through the Conservation Trust and the Piedmont Land Conservancy. “The easement will advance the health of the environment for decades to come in perhaps a small, but meaningful way,” explained the Toben family.

Carolyn and Boyd Toben bought Timberlake Farm in 1967. At the time of purchase, it suffered from severe neglect. Overgrown fields, inaccessible woods, and erosion were just some of the property’s many challenges. Boyd worked tirelessly through wilting summer heat and bitter cold winds for three decades to restore the farm. “Our father’s labor of love gave the natural world space to breathe and thrive and opened a window for family and friends to experience the extraordinary beauty of the natural world,” recalls Steve.

Carolyn pursued two higher education degrees while Boyd worked the farm. Looking back, she realizes the most important education she received during their years together on the farm was not from the university, but from Boyd and his loving care of the land. “We were shaping the earth and it was shaping us,” Carolyn said.

Carolyn felt a deep responsibility to continue Boyd’s legacy of living in close relationship with the earth. After witnessing the abuse of land both around her farm and in her travels, Carolyn came to the conclusion that the fundamental problem behind society’s environmental crisis is its disconnection from the natural world. She educated herself by spending time with others who shared the came conclusion and came back to Timberlake Farm with a new mission. Together, Carolyn, her family and trusted friends created Timberlake Farm, Inc., a nonprofit organization to give others the same opportunities to connect with nature she and her family had on the Farm. “I want Timberlake Farm to be an earth sanctuary and learning community dedicated to affirming and renewing the human-earth relationship,” Carolyn explained.

Let by the Toben Family, Timberlake’s small staff and board of trustees direct the Farm’s stewardship and programs. The Farm offers earth awareness programs for children, supported by student interns from local colleges. In the fall of 2002, Timberlake initiated the Seventh Generation Teachers’ Program, devoted to developing practices of mindfulness to the natural world in education. The Farm makes its three story “treehouse,” dedicated to the memory of Boyd Toben, available for group meetings and retreats. Timberlake also recently initiated a new “membership community” for regular visitors seeking a place where they can deepen their personal connection to the earth. For more information about Timberlake’s programs, visit their website at www.timberlakefarm.org.