Tours and Group Visits
Plan Your Visit
Most visits involve a guided tour provided by a member of our staff, highlighting our management strategies, production facilities, site history, and the significance of agroecology. Visitors will learn more about the practice of farming, the development of community, and the environmental impacts of production. Before your scheduled visit, we'll reach out to get more information and offer opportunities to customize your experience. Please allow at least a month between your visit submission request and the requested date.
Tours:
We provide tours to many groups, including K-12 groups, college classes, working professionals, and volunteer organizations.
We provide tours to many groups, including K-12 groups, college classes, working professionals, and volunteer organizations.
We aim to provide relevant content, meaning the content is tailored to the age and background of our visitors. Tours can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on group size and the group's desired level of detail. The video above should give you a relative idea of what a farm tour typically looks like.
Programming:
We have developed programming covering a range of topics in the form of hands-on activities.
We have developed programming covering a range of topics in the form of hands-on activities.
As an Educational Farm, our main goal is to teach agroecological concepts to both students and the public. These activities are designed to further connect students with agricultural topics in an engaging and hands-on setting. We have guided activities exploring topics such as soil erosion, soil properties, entomology, plant life cycles, transpiration, water movement through soil, nutrient utilization, and more. We have activities for many age groups, including Elementary, Middle, and High School. These activities take anywhere between 20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the activity and the size of the participating group. When planning your experience, talk to our staff about what topics would be most pertinent to your group.
Volunteering:
We invite you to slow down, take a breather, and reconnect with the land while helping support our farm and mission.
We invite you to slow down, take a breather, and reconnect with the land while helping support our farm and mission.
Volunteers are the heart and soul of our farming operation. So much of what we do relies on the participation and time our volunteers donate. That being said, we aim to make the volunteering experience fun and collaborative! Common activities our volunteers participate in include weeding beds, planting crops, painting signs, and much more! Please speak to our staff if you think volunteering would be a good option for your group. All volunteer days are paired with a tour, and public volunteer days are scheduled for 3 hours, including breaks and touring. Private volunteer days have more flexibility, but if you are scheduling volunteering as part of your visit, we recommend allotting at least an hour.
Public or Private?
We welcome groups to attend public volunteer days, which will be advertised on our Get Involved page. If you are a club representative and would like us to keep track of which members attended our volunteer days, feel free to contact our farm manager, Sara Snyder sasnyde4@ncsu.edu, for more information. If you would prefer to schedule a private volunteer day for your group, please fill out our visit interest form located below with more information.
Faculty
Bring a class or lab out to the AEF! We are available to create custom farm experiences for your class, or offer the farm for your teaching needs.
Some examples of classes using the farm are: Nutrition classes learning about the relationship between the farm and the dining halls, an entomology class collecting insects, a crop science class taking soil samples, and an English class learning about student farms and discussing the NC State book of the year.
We offer place for small scale research plots in an organically managed system. This includes short and long term projects and demonstration plots.
Come out to one of our educational events, or even teach one yourself! Check out our events calendar or contact the farm manager about teaching possibilities.
Facilities
Our farm infrastructure is designed to host groups and tours, big and small. We have a pavilion designed by NC State Architecture students that can accommodate up to 6 picnic tables and 40 participants. The pavilion can be used for eating lunch, leading activities, or as a gathering space in the event of rain or unfavorable weather. We have 8 market garden blocks that we maintain, providing a multitude of space to showcase agroecological production practices such as cover cropping, pollinator-friendly farming, permaculture food forests, and much more.
| Popular Features and Amenities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Organic Management Practices | Covered Gathering Area | Food Forest |
| Food Processing Area | Many Production Practices Utilized | Conventional Management Example Plots |
| Other Teaching Farms Nearby | Safe Environment for Children | Beekeeping On-site |
| Restroom Facilities Nearby | Porta-Potties On-site | Ample Parking On-site |
| Close Proximity to Main Campus | Flexible Curriculum | Refrigerator On-site |
| Space for Crafting or Paper Assignments | Collaborations with Yates Mill County Park |
We are an operating production farm, meaning that there are some basic steps we ask visitors to take to keep everyone safe and happy!
- Wear Proper Safety Attire
- Closed-toe shoes and sun protection are needed! A hat and sunglasses are also highly recommended.
- Drink Water
- Even in the winter months, staying hydrated is important! We have water refill stations available, so make sure to bring a water bottle!
- Bathrooms
- We do NOT have a permanent toilet installed on site, so we highly recommend using the bathroom before you arrive. We do have a porta-potty on site for guest and visitor use, and there are permanent restroom facilities at the Yates Mill Park Visitor Center, which is about a 7-minute trail walk away.
Pricing
We are currently updating pricing information, and will begin charging for visits occurring after March 1st, 2026. Formal quotes are available after completing the group visit interest form, linked below. Any charges will be disclosed before scheduling your visit.
This change allows us to devote increased time and resources to developing our outreach programming. We appreciate your support!
| Group Type | Discounts | Price |
|---|---|---|
| K-12 Groups | Free for students that qualify for free and reduced lunch | $5.00 per child Minimum of $50 |
| College Courses | Free within the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at NC State | $100.00 |
| Other Groups | Requires quote |
Logistics
Proximity
We are within 15 minutes driving distance from NC State's main campus and within a 7-minute drive from Centennial Campus. We are located across the road from the Howling Cow Creamery, and nearby other Lake Wheeler Field Stations.
Our address is 4400 Mid Pines Road, Raleigh, NC located off of Lake Wheeler Road.
Parking
We have ample parking to fit around 30-40 cars everyday, and can make more space upon request. We regularly accommodate bus parking as well.
Collaboration with Yates Mill County Park
We are very fortunate to be located right next to a public trail connecting us with Yates Mill County Park. Adding time to explore Yates Mill Park on the day of your visit can enrich your experience by further highlighting ecosystem services, as well as introducing visitors to the rich history surrounding water-powered gristmills in Wake County and the greater State of North Carolina. Tours of the mill itself can be scheduled with Yates Mill directly, while their visitor center is open to the public from 8:30 am - 5 pm every day.