Events

Explore the Pollinator Garden in winter as we prepare beds for seed sowing and shrub planting. While the garden is dormant, there is a lot of hands-on work to do in preparation for the spring. Learn about the history of Gateway’s garden, seed sowing techniques and what we’re planning for the 2025 growing season. Light volunteer work will include spreading dirt, prepping beds and some digging. Feel free to join us for all or part of the morning.

For this event we’ll have some tools to share, but please bring vine cutting tools and gloves if you have them. Registration is required and the mandatory volunteer waiver included below needs to be signed before the event. Park at the Family Services lot, located at 1200 S. Broad Street, W-S, and walk on the paved Salem Creek Greenway path to the first Forest Trail kiosk where the group will meet.

Come experience a spring equinox forest therapy walk at Gateway Nature Preserve to celebrate the beginning of the spring season. We will slowly walk no more than one mile and pause throughout to receive various invitations to seek relationship with the forest community with all our senses.  Forest therapy is a growing global movement to connect spiritually with the earth, express reciprocity, and receive benefits for mind and body.  We will focus on the season of expanding light and growth in the forest as well as the invitations for our own lives. Our guide will be Craig Schaub who has been trained by the Forest Therapy School and has been leading walks in the Winston-Salem community. The walk will cover paved and unpaved trails, so please be prepared with appropriate footwear.

This event is free but there is a suggested donation of $3-5. Any donation is very much appreciated and will be used to continue our mission. You can make your donation at https://gatewaynaturepreserve.org/support/donate

As we continue to restore Gateway Nature Preserve’s meadow habitat, join us for a morning spent clearing invasive plants and preparing the meadow for spring germination. Our work will be focused on the Birding Platform area, where we will show Southeastern Wildflower seeds and remove kudzu. In this event, we will be clearing the weeds in a rectangular area behind Birding Platform and sowing Southeastern Wildflower seeds for spring germination.  There are also patches of kudzu in front of the platform that we will be removing along with some garbage pickup.  Time permitting, we may also clear an area in front of the platform for wildflower seed sowing. We’ll have some tools to share, but please bring gardening rakes, lopper shears, hedge shears, and gloves if you have them. Registration is required and the mandatory volunteer waiver included below needs to be signed before the event.

Join us for an exciting and hands-on day of nature exploration at Gateway Nature Preserve! This family-friendly event is perfect for curious minds of all ages to dive into the world of freshwater ecosystems and discover the amazing creatures that call our creek home. We will search for aquatic macroinvertebrates, embarking on an exciting scavenger hunt along the creek, conducting Water Quality Testing and reporting it with NC Stream Watch. Learn what makes a healthy waterway and how we can all help protect local water resources.

In this event, we will working in the Pollinator Garden beds, doing Spring preparation work for the flowers and shrubbery. Volunteer work will include weed removal, mulching, spreading dirt, some digging, and light trimming. We’ll have some tools to share, but please bring wheelbarrows, gardening rakes, hedge shears, lopper shears, and gloves if you have them. Registration is required and the mandatory volunteer waiver included below needs to be signed before the event.