Marilyn Willrich tells us about the Earthly Wellbeing Weekend which took place this month

Marilyn Willrich is co-Director of Zebra Uno Limited (Est.2003) – a successful media company whose core focus is digital media and communication. Marilyn later co-founded Zebra Access CIO (Est.2005) because of her passion to ensure accessibility for the Deaf community.

This then led to her co-found Deaffest (Est. 2006), the UK’s leading Deaf-led Film & Arts Festival, which celebrates the talents of Deaf filmmakers and artists from across the globe.

Marilyn is also the pioneer of the Earthly Wellbeing Retreat which is taking place in Cornwall this September, inviting people from across the country to enjoy an accessible holistic weekend. I spoke to Marilyn to find out more about this unique retreat:

Hi Marilyn, can you tell us what was the inspiration behind this weekend? How did the idea come about?

I have delivered various workshops in recent years regarding what we can do in our homes and local communities to reduce our carbon footprints and plastic pollution since joining Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), and consequently setting up a Deaf group to voluntarily help clean beaches once a month.

In addition to this, I became aware of the lack of accessible information after posting what I had learned in British Sign Language (BSL) online and receiving an overwhelming response from the Deaf community that were not aware of the impact such products were having on the planet.

I later realised that many other mindful practices such as yoga, crystal healing, avoiding food waste, and other areas of knowledge that improve our overall wellbeing are inaccessible due to content being posted online without subtitles or sufficient access for BSL users.

This realisation then inspired the retreat to come to life by bringing professionals from a variety of wellbeing spaces together to allow equal participation for likeminded individuals that may have not attended similar retreats due to a lack of access.

The Earthly Wellbeing Retreat weekend is important to me as it is an opportunity for individuals that are interested in yoga, meditation, crystals, reducing food waste, saving the earth, and improving their mindfulness to come together and focus on their wellbeing whilst being guided by a variety of experienced professionals.

I have undertaken most of the planning in terms of making the arrangements for the retreat weekend myself, whilst the tutors have been working hard preparing their contributions to the upcoming events.

What can participants expect from the weekend? What will be there?

Participants should expect an immersive and informative experience over the course of the weekend with a variety of enlightening and educational materials that should inspire them to enhance their wellbeing for years to come.

The weekend includes talks on saving the earth and reducing plastic consumption, avoiding food waste, and crystal healing, in addition to yoga and meditation practice.

The event is unique as although many wellbeing retreats exist, it is one of the first retreats that is fully accessible for both Deaf and hearing participants that also provides a platform for Deaf professionals in the wellness industry

The retreat is accessible for all as BSL interpreters will be present throughout the weekends events to ensure that information will be translated for non BSL users.

You personally deliver workshops on the topic ‘Is the earth dying?’ and other environmental concerns –  what inspired your passions for this?

Many animals that are native to the UK including, birds, fish, and dolphins, die from unintentionally consuming plastic products. Whilst there have recently been less plastic products such as straws being washed up on the beaches since the ban, there has been an increase of (face) masks being found ashore.

Witnessing the affects of plastic pollution first hand shocked me into changing my own habits and inspired me to lead workshops to raise awareness within the Deaf community.

Do you think there is enough accessible information around about earthy matters / environmental concerns? If not, what do you think should be done?

The lack of accessible information on such matters caused me to share what I had learned in BSL to allow others to learn more about their impact on the environment.

Statistics, advice, and case studies should be shared in an accessible format and although subtitled content is great, there should also be options for BSL users, whether that’s in the form of Deaf presenters or in-vision interpreters.

This would ensure that this information is truly accessible for all and would allow Deaf individuals to contribute to saving the earth.

What is next for you, after this?

Saving the planet, one workshop at a time! If this Earthly Wellbeing Retreat weekend is a success I would like to make it yearly if possible.

In Marilyn’s spare time she volunteers for SAS (Surfers Against Sewage), has formed a SAS BSL/Deaf Group, and gives talks in BSL about: Saving Earth, ECO, and Plastic Prevention.

For further details please email Marilyn at marilyn@zebra-access.com 

Please note the Earthly Wellbeing Retreat is currently aimed at adults over 18s only due to the location and intensity of the programme.