Nature preserve offers visitors a unique experience

Editors note: This is the first of a four-part series on agritourism in Walton County.

When John and Bill Wilkerson inherited their 350-acre farm in northern Walton County, neither had any idea the future would hold stewardship of what would eventually be called Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve.
Chufa and velvet bean growers by trade, the Wilkerson’s knew with rising taxes and property values, creating a new enterprise was essential for survival of the family’s acreage. By setting aside a portion protected through a 501(c) (13) corporation, they could be assured preservation of the property’s natural beauty, and offer an environmentally friendly burial alternative.
With a 100-year-old sawmill on location and Wilkerson ingenuity, the total package is offered for an eco-friendly burial.
Caskets can be manufactured into temporary furniture pieces before their final destination. John’s philosophy is to grow a tree, turn it into lumber, fabricate the lumber into a casket, send it home with shelves so it can be used for storage or a table, and then finally send it back with the deceased in it.
At Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve each grave is surveyed with markers, brass at the head and aluminum at the foot to clearly identify each site in the natural environment. To date, 22 people have been buried there, including local hero Tim Padgett, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2007.
The Preserve offers more for the visitor than the green burial experience. There are bamboo groves, hayride tours, native flora and fauna exploration, a turpentine collection demonstration, a boardwalk stroll over Lake Barbara, or a simple quiet experience in the open-air chapel.
Throughout the grounds you will find numerous Rustaphorians – rusty metal sculptures created by John from scrap metal. The Rustaphorians have a spiritual leader named Nessie, a likeness to the Loch Ness monster, fabricated from stainless steel.

Getting there:
From South Walton, take U.S. Highway 331 north to U.S. Highway 90 in DeFuniak Springs. Turn right, then left on C.R. 83. Go 10 miles and the Preserve will be on the right.
Hours: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Thursday - Sunday.
Requested donation: $10
www.glendalenaturepreserve.org
Phone: (850) 859-2141
297 Railroad Avenue
Defuniak Springs, Fla.