White Heron Retreat
Healing Nature Retreat in Delco, NC
Step into stillness and reconnect with the natural world. White Heron Retreat is a peaceful sanctuary in Delco, NC, where nature, healing, and community come together to help you breathe, reflect, and begin again.
A Sanctuary Created By Our Hands & Living in Our Hearts.
Our sanctuary was created by our hands and lives in our hearts. We feature two types of hiking trails with places to explore as well as quiet spaces to rest and rejuvenate. The loblolly forest trail features a shaded canopy where you’ll find cool breezes on warm summer days. Our forested wetland is ecologically diverse and features abundant native plants. Our bridge connects the old and the new way of life and was created by repurposed trees from the old farm road.
Our honey bee farm is buzzing with life and offers pure wildflower honey along with an immersive bee hive and training center. That’s right, you can literally experience what it feels like to be in the hive without getting stung. Our seasoned master beekeeper and beekeeping supplies are of the highest quality and include instruction. Classes and lectures are catered for all ages and skill levels. They can be given on site or at your location.
The Fun Doesn’t Stop There!
We will have monthly gatherings and special offerings along the way. Sign up for our newsletter and bring a friend. Each event will have a different theme so everyone will discover or rediscover something they love.
Regularly, we will be open Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm and on special occasions. If you have an idea or an event of your own, contact us and get permission to hang out after hours. Small groups can gather for a variety of reasons, be creative and design your own experience. Children and therapeutic or service related animals are welcome. Some areas are wheelchair accessible.
Please wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to be a part of nature. We simply help Mother Nature with her housework and keep the trails as natural as possible. Please, leave nothing behind and be sure to remove all trash and food products when finished. Remember, all creatures inhabit this land. We are simply and respectfully sharing it with you.
Discover Connection After Adversity Through Nature
We all experience adversity and grief over losing our connections or stability in life. Divorce, bereavement, illness, injury or simply the progression of life as our friends and family move on in their lives…
Adversity or hardship is a highly personalized experience defined within the parameters of your own unique life and the methods in which you react to your life experiences. What one person may view as traumatic doesn’t necessarily affect another in a traumatizing way. Certain aspects of adversity are easier to communicate, while other aspects may lie dormant or purposely hidden for the long term. Reconciling adverse experiences is a necessary component to a happy and healthy life. If you are feeling stuck, there are remedies to overcome your definition of grief.
Overcoming Grief
When you want to scream, cry, and freak out inside your head
but you are trying like hell to keep yourself together and
breathe while faintly smiling at the world.
You don’t want people to fight back or take pity on you.
You don’t want to be judged for your action or inaction.
You simply want to be nowhere on this earth
because every location seems to be a painful reminder.
The only answer is unconditional love.
To have someone say I love you, and I am here by your side.
We can sit quietly in peaceful sanctuary and
I will hold you in my heart until you are ready to begin again.
~Amy Olmedo, White Heron
Our society is not set up to help individuals go through the grieving process well. Moreover, we are not taught how to deal with long term grief, especially if the event was traumatic. These stagnated feelings stick with us and permeate our existence. Even though we may have a smile on our face, the isolation of sadness, anger or despair remains beneath our eyes, the windows to our soul.
Discover Connection To Your Creative Self Through Nature
As creator’s for the aesthetics of life, we need the proper time, space and perception to create our best works of art. Whether you are a teacher, writer, musician, artist, photographer or practice the physical arts, our sanctuary is the perfect creation vacation. Step out of the busyness of the world and into a space that speaks to your essence. Here, beauty knows no bounds.
Our society is set up to keep your mind and body busy and wanting more. We are over-scheduled and under-valued in our world. We are rewarded by overspending and under-estimating quality. What if more is the antithesis of what you really need to search within, and uncover your truth? The truth that lies within all of us.
The red-shouldered hawk soars through the sky, and perches high upon a loblolly pine.
The intermittent screech is sounding a call, and a lesson for me to embrace.
Today, the lesson is my choice, and I need to let go more to genuinely hear my call.
A brightly colored green anole rustles through star-shaped leaves, and leaps upon a bee box.
The protruding red and white spotted neck is a message I long to grasp.
Am I ready to change my perception, and grow as one with the golden horizon?
My eyes venture towards the buzzing honey bees oscillating in front of their home.
From birth, they know their true calling, and perform nature’s magic everyday.
From sunrise to sunset, they are busy keeping their community in balance with the universe.
Near or far, we are an integral part of the larger community we designate as home.
If your calling is to create aesthetic beauty, start within.
Step off the busy road, and onto this fertile ground, allow the energy to flow.
Sit back and relax or gently walk the trails, a moment is waiting for you to discover.
Peel back the layers of perceived reality, and find your true self.
These mystical moments, in the space between the trees, is your magic waiting to happen.
~Amy Olmedo, White Heron
FAQS About White Heron Retreat
What are the Delco Lights?
In the early 20th century, southeastern North Carolina became home to variety of immigrants from Europe. New Berlin attracted German and Hungarian farmers, many of which grew corn and tobacco. Delco Lights were widely used in the rural south before efforts to bring electricity occurred during the Great Depression. In 1918, a tiny town in Columbus County, formally named Brinkly, New Berlin and Pershing built a high school using Delco Lights. Residents were so proud, they renamed their town, Delco.
What's Delco's History?
From the beginning, this farming community felt like home. It was like stepping back in time to when your neighbors treated each other as family. We are perfectly situated a few minutes off the main highway so convenience to modern amenities is never an issue. We feel as though we live on vacation and merely visit the hustle and bustle of civilization when we want to. Plus, our honey bees are extremely happy and healthy which means they will aid local farmland and produce the best honey possible. Within minutes are several farmer’s markets and natural attractions.
What native species are in Delco, NC?
We already have identified and protected over 90 native species of plants, animals, birds, and fungi and are still working! For your visit, we suggest you download the free Seek by iNaturalist app from National Geographic, and if you are into birds calls, the free Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell Labs. [Click here] to print a native species PDF of what we have already located. Go on a scavenger hunt. If you find something new, be sure to take a picture and share it with us. Better yet, take us there.
What's near the White Heron Retreat and Honey Bee Farm?
We’re only about 20 minutes from other natural attractions:
*Lake Waccamaw: is North Carolina’s largest natural freshwater bay lake at almost 9,000 acres and is home to the Waccamaw Siouan Indians. According to legend, thousands of years ago an immense meteor appeared in the night sky. The flames were as brilliant as innumerable suns as it crashed to earth forming a deep crater. The surrounding swamps and rivers flowed into the crater as it cooled, creating Lake Waccamaw, a vibrant cyan lake which is why they are known as “People of the Falling Star.”
*The Green Swamp a distinct pine savanna ecosystem, holds many plant and animal species, including intriguing plants such as sundews, pitcher plants, and Venus flytraps.
*The Belville Riverwalk Park
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Fair Bluff River Walk (Columbus County 50 min)
Abbey Nature Preserve (Pender County 30 min)
Moore’s Creek Battlefield (Pender County 25 min)
Miller’s Pond in Castle Hayne (New Hanover County)