This year, we hosted the fourth Annual Whole Women’s Retreat at the Dickinson Farm. The Whole Women’s retreat was initiated by Jessica Libowitz ’15 as a way for female-identified people to have a safe space to come together to discuss topics related to women’s issues. For this year’s retreat, the theme was Know Your Strengths. During this event, we asked members to participate in activities relating to intersectionality, self-reflection, health consciousness, and art. Activities included a farm tour, soul collage, yoga, vegetable stamping, writing reflection, and farm pizza. From these various activities, participants gained the ability to acknowledge aspects of their identities and strengths. These activities and discussions were led by Dickinson students, faculty, and staff.

Aside from our discussions, we learned about the mechanics of the farm. Lizzie gave us a farm tour and showed us the greenhouses and the compost piles. The compost is food waste from the dining hall at Dickinson, which is used to grow food that ends up in the dining hall again. We also had a chance to feed the sheep on the farm. Most of the participants especially enjoyed this activity. For many, this is the first time they interacted with farm animals. On our tour, we saw student volunteers hard at work weeding and moving compost. Any interested Dickinson student can volunteer at the farm. The farm also hires students during the school year and summer. For more information, visit the Dickinson website or follow Dickinson College Farm on Facebook.

We would like to thank all the students, faculty, and staff that participated in the retreat. Furthermore, we would like to thank Donna Bickford, Jenn Halpin, Lizzie Wilford, and Kim Wampler. Thank you to the faculty and students that led activities: Erin Crawley-Woods, Leah Miller, Jacqueline Amezcua, and Danielle Melnick. We hope to see you next year’s retreat! Please subscribe to the Women and Gender Resource Center’s e-newsletter for information about the 2018 retreat.

Written by The Women’s Retreat Coordinators (Sara Johnson ‘18, Kayleigh Rhatigan ‘19, Zhuoxuan (Ariel) Li ‘19