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2018 Baird Sustainability Fellow

Julia Mercer, Environmental Studies and Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies Majors

Baird Sustainability Fellow 2018

Julia Mercer '18

BAIRD E-PORTFOLIO

Julia Mercer is an Environmental Studies and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies double major and Spanish minor at Dickinson College.  Growing up, she participated in multiple conservation crews with the Student Conservation Association (SCA), where she developed hands-on skills, such as trail maintenance and riparian restoration, as well as a passion for conservation.  At Dickinson, she has pursued this passion further, leading trips to local farms with Students Interested in Sustainable Agriculture (SISA), and working for the Dickinson College Farm and the Peddler, a solar-powered, zero-waste bicycle coffee cart.  She is also a Student Project Supervisor at the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, an interdisciplinary speakers’ forum that invites experts in their field to Dickinson to critically examine current issues.

Julia is fascinated by the overlaps between environmentalism and feminism.  Her senior thesis project examines the role of the environment in women’s reproductive health and midwifery, specifically in the Pennsylvania region.  She hopes to culminate this project by constructing a functional midwife’s garden outside of Kaufman Hall.  In addition to serving as a public history site, this garden will be a resource for female-bodied members of the Dickinson and Carlisle communities who are interested in herbal remedies.