Spring/Summer 2024

Wildlife Field Techniques for LGBTQ+ Learners with home range wildlife research - swan valley montana, July 2024

This is a five-day course with lodging provided that introduces aspiring biologists and wildlife professionals to common research tools and techniques for terrestrial mammal research. This course aims to help fill a need for supportive spaces for new or continuing learners in the conservation biology space. We are proud to be co-hosting and sponsoring this course with Home Range Wildlife Research and Swan Valley Connections in Condon, Montana—an incredible destination for ‘charismatic’ mammal ecology.

Link to course registration page here (currently full with a wait list)

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Weaving Earth’s ATTUNE program - Fall 2023 - Summer 2024 (open to anyone by application, but centering those with less advantage in accessing similar programming)

Queer Nature was honored to co-guide at Weaving Earth’s yearlong ATTUNE program this past year (concluded in June 2024). Stay tuned for future involvement and collaborations in relational education with our friends at Weaving Earth!

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Trailing, Seeing, and Witnessing other Animals with Queer Nature and Filip Tkaczyk - April 4th - April 7th, 2024

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Update 3/14/2023: Over the past 6 months, So’s Dad fell ill with an aggressive form of leukemia and passed away. Summer 2023 planning is currently very impacted and may result in less programs than last year while we take time to be with our family at a very difficult and unprecedented time.

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See below for past course descriptions

Queer Wildlife Tracking Field Evaluation - April 2023, Vermont

LGBTQ+ trackers and naturalists are given the opportunity to receive a professional certification in an affinity-based clinic that displays their level of achievement in identifying a wide variety of tracks & sign from local mammals, birds, and invertebrates, and other animate forces that create traces or impressions on substrates and surfaces. Cybertracker and Tracker Certification North America are world leaders in offering standardized professional certifications in the art and sciences of wildlife tracking. Queer Nature has been honored to host the first professional evaluations for LGBTQ+ groups—of which this is our second running.

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The Language of Animal Bodies: Tracking through a Somatic Lens — Queer Nature hosts Willem Larsen, April 30-May4th (2022)

Queer Nature hosts tracker and eco-philosopher Willem Larsen for a unique perspective on the the tracks we animal bodies leave behind. In this three day experience you will learn to speak the language of soils and substrates and interpret the behaviors that generate tracks and track patterns from a somatic perspective.

Location is North Central Washington. Only a few spots are available due to the intimate study required of this class.

Registration for The Language of Animal Bodies is now live! Click here

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Wildlife Tracking & Trailing in the Shrub Steppe, May 17th-19th 2022 - Central WA high desert

Taught by Pinar and So! Join us in the study and adoration of the incredible creatures of Washington's eastern deserts through their tracks, trails, and sign. Since this is a shorter class (one evening, one full day, and one half day), LGBTQ+ folks who live within a half day’s drive from Central WA or who will be in the area already are encouraged to sign up! This is probably not the best course to take if you will be traveling long distances just for the course.

REGISTRATION FOR WILDLIFE TRACKING & TRAILING IS LIVE

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Queer Stealthcraft hosted by Rewild Portland - Monmouth, Oregon - June 13th-17th, 2022 (Live)

(Registration is now live, please click on the link in the title above. Interested folks who are Black and/or Indigenous, please note that there is a code that will reimburse the registration cost if you wish, just contact us at queernature.info@gmail.com to inquire! Anyone else with any financial barrier at all, please also contact us to figure things out)

Stealthcraft” refers to means of blending into your surroundings, going unnoticed, and collecting strategic information about your environment. A diverse set of skills fall under this umbrella, such as camouflage, concealment, stealth, evasion, and tracking/counter-tracking. These skills may be commonly associated with military and hunting cultures and so may feel inaccessible to queer people, especially women, femmes, and trans folks. However, such skills don’t have to be about being an aggressor or predator; they can derive from truly knowing how to belong, and from the quiet power of the witness. (Read more at link above)

Please note that generally speaking, participants must bring their own food and water to QSC, which this year is a three-full-day and two half day class.

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Sacred Harvest & Fur-On Rabbit Tanning with guest instructor Jessenia Eisenmann - **QTBIPOC ONLY** - Mid June 2022 (June 7-9th), Duvall, WA

We are very excited to host a QTBIPOC only course on processing and relating to rabbit bodies for meat and fur. Home-raised rabbits are one of the most efficient and low-impact ways to acquire lean protein for humans. Jessenia will be lead instructor with Pinar co-hosting. Please click on the title above to get to the registration page!

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queer Survival and evasion lab with jessie krebs - August 11th-15th, Whidbey Island, WA

We will co-hold this space with friend, colleague, and ally Jessie Krebs - a former SERE instructor for the USAF, accomplished wilderness guide, and star of the National Geographic series Mygrations. This course can be seen as a more advanced version of Queer Stealthcraft that incorporates more survival curricular pieces with an emphasis on minimalism. Jessie is an incredible person whom we can’t wait to introduce to you!

Registration for Survival & Evasion is currently full due to a need for a very small class size as well as drawing from our wait list for queer stealthcraft. let us know if you’d like to be added to the wait list.

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Cybertracker track & sign field evaluation with Marcus Reynerson. Labor Day Weekend 2022, western washington

Marcus Reynerson is our friend, mentor, and a Specialist and Evaluator certified through Cybertracker. We are excited to connect him and his expertise to more folks in our communities! In this course, we hope to invite folks to a very field-based tour of diverse tracks and sign and evaluation of participants current level of knowledge. Please note that this is structured as a field exam and therefore can be stressful for many people but also creates a very unique learning environment that we haven’t experienced anywhere else. Please read a thorough description of the course on the Eventbrite page!

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Taxidermy Bird with Divya of Gotham Taxidermy - September 23rd-26th, 2022, methow valley wa

This will be a weekend-long introduction to bird taxidermy (Starlings) for anyone who is 2SLGBTQ+, taking place at a retreat center in the Methow Valley with all amenities. No animals were harmed for the purposes of this course.

Registration is now LIVE

Sample of Past Skillshares (Not a full list)

Queer Stealthcraft, Whidbey Island Edition - Sept 9th - 12th, 2021

Due to COVID, our regular annual Queer Stealthcraft venue in Oregon was not accessible, so we held the course in the fall on Whidbey Island, WA.

queers & wolves: field trip to Mission: wolf - May 25th-27th, 2018

4 PM, Friday - 8 PM, Sunday (2 nights), Boulder County, CO > Westcliffe, CO. Must register for details.

Join Queer Wilderness Project on our first field trip! This is a queer-specific event for LGBTQ2+ folks. This is an addition to our wildlife tracking series where we will be visiting Mission: Wolf in Westcliffe, CO. This is a camping trip. We will have the honor of spending time with one of the most incredible creatures of Turtle Island—wolves. These keystone species have had a legacy of being persecuted since settler colonialism through extirpation across this continent. As integral parts of the ecosystem, there are wolf sanctuaries that care for these beings who for various reasons cannot be released in the wild. They are there as ambassadors to continue the fight extinction through education.

We will have a chance to witness them being fed as well as offer volunteer time back to the space that cares for our awe-inspiring ecological kin. Interspersed with our time at Mission: Wolf, we will be going on tracking wanders in this beautiful country. We will have ample space to connect as queer folks and perhaps be blessed by a chorus of wolf howls! 

Space is limited; registration is required. 

If you have concerns about gear, let us know. Women’s Wilderness has some gear that they can lend to support accessibility.

Sliding scale: $50-$80
If finances are a barrier, please, email us at queernature.info@gmail.com

Logistics info: Folks need to bring tent, overnight items, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc.

Bring your own food (one potluck dinner—we will have access to an outdoor kitchen)

Date: Friday, May 25th – Sunday, May 27th

Time: Departure 4PM from Women’s Wilderness parking lot in Boulder, CO, Return Sunday at 8PM

Intro to bird language - may 6th, 2018

8 AM - 2 PM, Boulder County, CO. Must register for details.

Do you ever wonder what the birds are saying? They are saying a lot more than even their beautiful songs! Birds have incredible powers of observation and evasion, and they use these powers to engage in “recon,” warn others of danger, and at times communicate specific information about threats like nearby aerial or ground predators. Mounting research on bird communication reveals what indigenous peoples have known for a long time—that songbirds are the key species in intricate interspecies communication systems that exist in many different ecosystems and natural communities. We, like many other species, have an ability to tap into this ‘real live twitter feed,’ yet Western science has historically focused on other aspects of orthnithology like taxonomy and species identification, failing to appreciate that birds themselves provide constant live-streams of data about their (our) environments. When we appreciate that birds do this, we can become better (and more respectful) naturalists and allies to our other-than-human kin, and we can also become alerted to the presence of other beings around us like bobcats, weasels, hawks, and owls.

This all may sound intimidating, but actually, getting a handle on bird language is a lot easier than it seems. It’s not about being able to identify every bird you see, it’s more about being able to categorize songbird behaviors and vocalizations into several broad categories, learning who a handful of the most common species in your area are, and using these as keys to help you observe and pattern the songbirds that live in your own backyard. Your backyard, favorite hiking trail, or the nearby park can then be a stepping stone for pushing your naturalist skills further and further. Engaging in relationship with your avian neighbors will reveal you more about your environment than you might have thought possible!

Wildlife tracking series - jan 28, Feb 25 & mar 25, 2018

10 AM - 4 PM, Boulder County, CO. 

Wildlife tracking is an ancient human activity where science meets art—where quantitative analysis and deductive logic meets interpretation, imagination, and story-telling. Tracking is about discerning biographies of our non-human (and human!) neighbors by examining details of the landscape. It is about beginning to build relationship with those who might often be around us but who are rarely seen. Wildlife tracking is an essential skill for building situational awareness, entering into the role of hunter or scout in an ethical manner, and many other endeavors such as citizen science, bird-watching, and wildlife photography.

Queer Wilderness Project is excited to announce a winter tracking mini series in 2018, consisting of three day long workshops, each spaced a month apart. We have designed this series with feedback in mind from previous tracking classes, where we learned that participants would be interested in learning this skill and building relationship with non-human neighbors over a series of classes as opposed to trying to pack an overwhelming amount of information into a single day.

Participants are encouraged to sign up for all three, but are also welcome to sign up individually based on availability and accessibility. Because of the nature of this skill and also due to the weather conditions in Colorado, we cannot guarantee a specific focus for each workshop this far in advance. Rather, activities, locations, and areas of focus will be based on seasonal conditions. Most of our time will be spend outside wandering if possible unless winter weather prevents us from doing this safely. Snowshoes will be provided if needed. During the course of the three workshops, we will be sure to cover topics such as clear print identification, animal sign other than prints (such as scat or territorial markings), animal behavior as relevant to tracking, and the art of trailing.

QTBIPOC Pine needle basketry - Sunday February 4th, 2018

10 AM - 4 PM, Boulder, CO. 

This event is for QTBIPOC (queer, trans black, indigenous and people of color). We ask white queers to respect this POC-focused learning space. 

In this skillshare, we will focus on the art of weaving. You will be introduced to the coil-method of basketry required for pine needle baskets. We will take advantage of the themes of winter, engaging in an indoor nature-based craft that lends itself well to internal reflection, emotional processing, and crafty camaraderie. Creating containers in these ancestral ways is a powerful experience for anyone, and crafting taps into our creativity and problem-solving capacities, offering both insight and a practical product!

Mentors of this program will be Jasmyn Hinton and Pınar Sinopoulos-Lloyd. This workshop is designed so that participants will be able to take home their own finished or almost-finished small pine-needle basket made out of locally and ethically harvested see3 (Ponderosa Pine in Arapaho) needles. Feel free to bring special items that we will teach you how to weave into your basket, like beads, shells, pieces of leather, or whatever your imagination can dream up!

spinning yarn on a drop spindle with guest instructor jasmyn hinton – December 3rd, 2017 

10 AM - 4 PM, Boulder, CO.

Spinning Yarn on a Drop Spindle is a class for those new to spinning yarn. In the 6 hour class you will learn about various types of wool, the mechanics of spinning yarn and how to spin! This class will also go over plying and finishing the yarn you’ve spun. Provided in class will be a sample of wool to spin, as well as a top whorl drop spindle to take home with you.

friction fire & Feast - November 11th, 2017

10 AM - 6 PM, Boulder, CO.

There are many methods of making fire without a match, but in this workshop we invite you to explore a particular fire-by-friction technology that is relatively easy to learn. We will provide materials and instruction for the technique of bow-drill, a method of fire making with variations deriving from several parts of the world including Northern Turtle Island (North America), the Balkans, the Near East, and North Africa. We will also offer instruction on useful types of fire-structures and fire-tending. Come explore this vital element with us!

In this workshop we will introduce a new element that goes very well with fire: Food! This workshop will be two hours longer than most of our workshops, which will allow us to slow down around the fire and test out some low-tech cooking skills, which hopefully will result in a shared dinner together. Participants are encouraged to bring their favorite root vegetable, but food will also be provided by the instructors.

self-defense and equine connection with guest instructor crystal middlestadt – December 3rd, 2017 

10 AM - 4 PM, Happy Dog Ranch Foundation, Inc. Littleton, CO.

In the fourth skillshare, we will explore the way in which self-defense is embedded in nature as a means of survival. Self-defense extends beyond protection and warding off attacks--it also includes the protective features of healthy relationships and positive connections. After a guest instructor, Crystal Middlestadt, leads us through physical self-defense techniques, you will also get to explore the nature of relationship in a herd of horses. This equine piece will be lead by Jess Dallman, one of the core Queer Nature team who is a wilderness therapist and equine therapy practitioner. We will take advantage of the themes of horse dynamics, engaging in congruent communication and opening to relational contact. Self-defense and equine connection are a powerful experience for anyone, offering both new skills and personal insight!

Intro to Herbalism with guest instructor Michelle Castor of Agua y Sangre – April 22, 2017

10 AM - 2 PM, Boulder, CO.

Blooms, Bears, and Bitters: an introduction to herbal medicine for the gut, the mind, and the transition of seasons.

In this class we will talk about how we can call on & accept support from our herbal allies to help us adjust and flow during the transition from winter to spring. We will begin by briefly introducing herbal medicine as a concept, and then dive into the importance of creating connections with plants, how to speak to them, and how to ask & receive their permission to call in their medicina & magic. We will then discuss in detail a handful of plantitas that are perfect for supporting us in the transition of springtime—when things are starting to bloom, our digestive systems are coming out of hibernation, and our minds + spirits could use some extra love. We will finish the class by making our own springtime remedio—a nourishing herbal vinegar.

Michelle Castor, owner of Agua y Sangre Healing, is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Herbal Educator, and Wellness Promotora. She weaves a passion for healing justice with her background in curanderismo & ancestral magic, western herbal medicina, and massage therapy. Central to her work is compassion and a commitment to providing transformative, empowering, and nurturing care to all people, without judgment. Learn more about her work at www.aguasangrehealing.com, and find her on FB: Agua y Sangre Healing // IG: @aguasangrehealing

Intro to wildlife tracking – february 12, 2017 

10 AM - 3 PM, Nederland CO.

In the third skillshare, we will focus on the art of wildlife tracking. You will be introduced to track identification, movement (re)patterning, and signs of wildlife activity. Tracking requires (and elicits) attention and focus, heightening our senses and awareness. We will also demonstrate the art of inner tracking—the awareness of the movement patterns within us, and how they relate to external tracking. Wildlife tracking was an intimate process for our ancestors. In light of the current cultural themes around romance and love, join us in a deep exploration 1of self and Other—who knows, you may just fall in love with the intimate details you discover!

Pine-Needle Basketry & Cordage – January 8th, 2017

In the second skillshare, we will focus on the art of weaving. You will be introduced to the coil-method of basketry required for pine needle baskets, and you will also get to explore the process of making cordage (i.e. rope) from natural materials. We will take advantage of the themes of winter, engaging in an indoor nature-based craft that lends itself well to internal reflection and emotional processing. Creating baskets and cordage in these ancestral ways is a powerful experience for anyone, and crafting taps into our creativity and problem-solving capacities, offering both insight and a practical product!
 

Firecraft – October 30th, 2016 

12 PM - 4 PM, Boulder, CO

Have you wondered how it’s possible to make fire from “rubbing two sticks together?” Though it’s not always quite that simple, most cultures have at some point depended on a type of fire-by-friction technology, often involving two or more pieces of wood. Friction fire making is a fundamental survival skill, but fire is also a rich symbol of hearth and home, and a potent elixir of community. Deepening a relationship with fire by learning how to create it from natural materials can be transformative on many levels.

There are many methods of making fire without a match, but in this workshop we invite you to explore a particular fire-by-friction technology that is relatively easy to learn. We will provide materials and instruction for the technique of bow-drill, and can also get into the more advanced technique of hand-drill if participants are interested. We will also offer instruction on useful types of fire-structures, fire-tending, and using fire as a tool for carving and/or hardening wood. Come explore this vital element with us!