Queerness in Natural History Symposium at the Linnean Society - Jess Tanner, Go & See Microbursary 2025-26
03/04/2026 | Author: Jess Tanner
Thanks to the support of a Go and See Micro Grant, I had the opportunity to attend the Queerness in Natural History Symposium at the Linnean Society in London. The event brought together a wonderful group of ecologists, historians, curators, and artists, all interested in making nature-based spaces and practices more inclusive for LGBTQ+ people, whose identities have long been marginalised across the environmental sector.
I was particularly inspired by the diversity of perspectives on the growing field of queer ecology and how these ideas can help shape more welcoming and inclusive outdoor environments.
As an ecotherapist and MA Arts, Health & Wellbeing student at the University of South Wales, my research explores queer ecology as an affirmative framework for supporting rural LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing through an outdoor movement-based practice. In a world where queerness can still be considered ‘unnatural’, and something that goes against nature, queer ecology can show us that just isn’t true - the land is diverse and full of complexity. However, not all nature spaces are equal, and I have often noticed the missed opportunities within my own field of practice to authentically include queer people in outdoor spaces. It's these kinds of barriers that continue to motivate me to bring more of my own queer identity into my work. By exploring themes of fluidity, kinship, and becoming - central ideas within queer ecological thinking - through a movement-based approach, I'm exploring how to create spaces where queer people can experience a greater sense of embodied belonging within their local nature spaces, in ways that feel inclusive and supportive of both human and ecological health and wellbeing.
My highlights of the symposium included talks on trans inclusive green prescribing projects, LGBTQ+ visibility in STEM education - and how the sciences can become a safer, more inclusive subject area for young LGBTQ+ people. There were also inspiring talks on LGBTQ+ field research, and the development of practical guidelines to make fieldwork safer and more equitable for queer field researchers, who often have to hide their identities. Hearing the diversity of perspectives from those working across the environmental sector, museums, botanical gardens, and education, showed how much amazing, creative work is already happening and how much potential there is to grow this work further.
Overall, the symposium reinforced for me the power of collaboration, creativity, and collective care in shaping more inclusive spaces, practices, and narratives. It left me feeling hopeful on the role that movement and the arts can play in helping to connect LGBTQ+ folks to their local landscapes and communities - and gave space to imagine a future in which the diversity of queer experience is acknowledged, celebrated, and deeply woven into the way we think about, engage with, and care for the natural world we are all part of.
Thanks so much again to the Wales Arts, Health & Wellbeing Network for supporting my visit to the Linnean Society, and to all of the organisers and speakers who made it such an enriching day.
by Jess Tanner
With thanks to:
