Dickinson alum Lizzie Wilford isn’t doing what she thought she would be doing the year after graduation.
An art major, she spent her years studying ceramics, photography and the value of aesthetics. Today, she holds a one-year position as a coordinator at the Dickinson College Farm, situated on a 200-acre spread just outside Boiling Springs. She puts together programs, organizes events and helps to run its sustainable education program. And she couldn’t be happier.
“I am so excited to be here,” Wilford said, looking around the vast land dotted with greenhouses, sheep, chickens and barn cats. “I’ve always been interested in education, and this is truly a place for students of all ages.”
A SEED Grows
It’s hard to find something not to love about the farm. The land, peppered with rolling hills and scenic views, was donated to the school by an alumnus in the 1960s with one caveat—it couldn’t be developed.
At first, according to Wilford, the school did very little with the land. It sat unused and undeveloped. Dickinson had a student garden that began to outgrow its space at the campus in Carlisle. It then was proposed that the donated land be used as a farm.
In 2012, Dickinson student Heather Livingston started the SEED program on the farm as a senior project with help from farm manager, Jenn Halpin. SEED (“Sustainable Earth Education”) was meant as a living laboratory, designed to provide agricultural instruction for members of the community.
Today, the program is thriving, run by Dickinson students and recent graduates. It offers classes to the community on a variety of topics, including soap making, wild plants, remedies, art on the farm and composting.
“We like to offer our groups customized classes, depending on what they are looking for,” said Wilford. “At the end of the month, we have a group of Girl Scouts coming to do a class on outdoor art. We’re going to look at animals, have an informational tour, and do some nature photography.”
SEED also functions as a way to connect current Dickinson students with the greater community. A student educator runs most classes, while student volunteers support the lesson. In fact, the best part about SEED, according to Wilford, is that it can involve many different parts of the community, including ones with little connection to agriculture.
“We run a ‘Farm, Cook, Eat’ program at LeTort Elementary,” she said. “It’s a weekly program after school. One of our student educators will teach about where good food comes from.”
The SEED program, essentially, allows people throughout the community to work towards a single goal—the vibrant life of the farm.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Wilford. “We think so, at least.”
Full Circle
Of the 200 acres donated to the school, a total of 60 are currently used for the farm’s purposes. The land is divided into livestock and production fields. A barn on the property was renovated for use, and greenhouses were put up for growing produce.
“We work on a rotational grazing schedule,” said Wilford. “The animals are moved around year to year. Cows like tall grass, so they’ll be in a field one year. Sheep like shorter shrubs, so they’ll go in next. Then chickens go through and dig out what’s left. The fields then become a pasture and get planted with alfalfa.”
The farm has a growing number of animals. It currently has laying hens, meat birds, sheep and cows. The farm offers a CSA (Campus Supported Agriculture) to the community. Members can sign up for a share of vegetables, eggs or meat from the farm. The farm also sells vegetables to Dickinson’s dining hall.
According to Wilford, one of the greatest parts about the farm is the opportunity for students and community members to develop skills they wouldn’t otherwise learn.
“I was an art major, not a science major, so before coming into this, I didn’t know a whole lot about how compost worked,” she said. “I’m learning so much.”
The land is also teaching Wilford the value and reward of hard physical work.
“We harvested garlic this summer,” she said. “Some students who planted it last fall were here to harvest it, so they got to see it go full circle. It took a day and a half, and it was so hot outside at times we wondered why we were doing this. Then, we harvested enough garlic to cover the entire floor of the barn.”
She paused, and her face broke into a smile.
“You look at that, and it’s pretty rewarding.”
To learn more about the Dickinson College Farm, visit www.dickinson.edu/farm. For more information about SEED, including scheduling a group, contact Lizzie Wilford at farmcoordinator@dickinson.edu.
Author: Rachael Dymski
