For the Birds: Birdwatching, Saving the Earth, and the LGBTQ Community

Early on, Gregoriah Hartman loved to hike and watch birds. In a world that can sometimes be cold to nonbinary and queer folks, ze enjoyed the quiet piece of nature and the trails, miles with nothing around but beautiful scenery and wildlife to observe.

Unfortunately, as much of a refuge as nature can offer to outcasts, not every queer person has an affirming experience when they set out into the great outdoors. Despite efforts to be more inclusive, the culture of outdoor enthusiasts is still very white, hetero, and upper-class. Many who find themselves outside of those demographics don’t get invited to the outdoors, or don’t feel they have the resources to do things like hiking. Hartman, field organizing associate for the Audubon Society, wants to change this.

“I got involved with the Audubon Society as a volunteer ages ago, and was a birder throughout my youth,” Hartman explained. “I was always interested in nature and hikes, but birds always stood out to me. Through some friends, I found out about this job opportunity and thought it would be the perfect role, applied for it, and got it.”

In zis position, Hartman works on all kinds of different projects every day with the Audubon Society. Ze works with many different organizers throughout the U.S., helping to pass different laws and make changes on a legal level to protect the environment. With a background fighting for human rights and abortion access, ze was the natural choice to take over and help out at an environmental nonprofit centered around advocacy. Hartman works remotely with the base in New York from Colorado so that ze can still enjoy the wildlife and nature in Colorado. And even better, it affords zim the chance to get out into nature with those who share zis interests.

Birdwatching is essentially the act of getting outside and observing birds. Whether that involves an intense mountain hike or an urban walk, a notebook and field guide to record info about birds or simply a keen eye for wildlife hiding in the trees, is strictly up to the hiker. This is one of the reasons that birdwatching can be a good activity for the beginner outdoor fitness enthusiasts. The welcoming environment of the Audubon Society helps drive that message home even more.

“I’ve been working with non-profits for a while, and you always deal with some microaggressions,” Hartman admitted. “They’ve been really good about avoiding those. They always use my pronouns or correct themselves. I’ve had to deal with other places that don’t do that. They do a lot of advocacy in getting queer people out into nature. In June they have an LGBTQ program called Let’s Go Birding Together, so we can all go out in nature, and it’s not like a few miles into the hike you find out someone’s a homophobe.”

This is one of the reasons that many queer people aren’t willing to just get out there and hike. Organized hikes with strangers leave people open to microaggressions and all-out homophobia from those who don’t affirm queer identities, and the idea of being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with folks who aren’t accepting isn’t a very appealing idea.

“As many queer people will tell you, what seems like an innocuous and welcoming activity to straight people can be a profoundly uncomfortable experience for those in the LGBTQ community,” explained the Audubon Society’s website. “In that way, Let’s Go Birding Together is intentionally welcoming of the LGBTQ community and the people who support them, and is designed to be a space where people can be themselves without fear of judgment or worse.”

In addition to getting more people outside, Hartman hopes that sharing the message of nature’s beauty with more queer people will help highlight both LGBTQ and environmental issues.

“I talk to people about climate change quite frequently, and a lot of people are still denying that humans are causing it, so I really try and strive for sharing scientific facts with folks. I try to tell them there is research to support that humans are the one causing this.”

As the culture of outdoor activity  becomes more welcoming to queer folks, events like LGBTQ birdwatching hikes will be a common occurrence, and the relationship between preserving the Earth, staying healthy, and affirming sexual preference and gender identity will become even stronger.

“I think making sure you make overtures to the community that has been marginalized, understanding their aversion to participating, and letting them know we want to make sure everyone is welcome will make a big difference,” Hartman said.