Earth Day: Reconnecting with Our Planet

April 22, 2025

A stylized illustration for Earth Day. A white globe showing the continents is encircled by silhouettes of various animals, including elephants, giraffes, a rhinoceros, and birds, along with trees like palm trees and acacia trees. The text "HAPPY EARTH DAY" curves along the bottom of the image in a simple, sans-serif font.

Each year, April 22 is marked as the global observation of Earth Day, a time to collectively raise awareness and promote action to protect the planet. For trans, BIPOC, and disabled communities, rekindling our relationships with the earth is increasingly (and importantly!) becoming more top of mind.

As people who are disproportionately impacted by environmental issues and climate change, we are the ones bearing the brunt of systemic inequities in access to clean environments and resources. This doesn’t just impact our material well-being but has profound implications for our psyches and spirituality. 

“I felt happy. Nature held me close and seemed to find no fault with me.”
–Leslie Feinberg in Stone Butch Blues

It is understandable to feel despair about the impact humans have on the environment. And yet, there are thousands of civilizations throughout human history that have practiced and are practicing relationships of reciprocity with the land around them. Many trans and queer activists have long been at the forefront of environmental movements (e.g., Indigenous Two-Spirit activists resisting pipeline construction, māhū teachers and leaders working as protectors of Mauna Kea), advocating for land sovereignty, sustainability, and community healing.

 Trans justice and environmental justice are inherently linked, and both call for:

  • Community-led solutions that center the voices of those most impacted.
  • Transformative justice instead of carceral or punishment-based systems.
  • A reimagining of care, survival, and thriving that challenges the hierarchical status quo that treats anything deemed “non-normative,” whether human or non-human, as less than.

If you’re seeking ways to get outside (safely as a queer and trans person) and to support movement work to protect the planet, check out these organizations:

  • The Venture Out Project – The Venture Out Project promotes equity, justice, and belonging through facilitated backpacking and wilderness trips for the queer and trans community in a safe and inclusive environment. Whether it’s camping trips in New England, queer trail work crews in Yellowstone, or rafting trips in Utah, they offer LGBTQ+ folks the opportunity to get outside, find community, build connections, and become leaders as their authentic selves.
  • Wild Diversity – Wild Diversity is a nonprofit organization that aims to help create a personal connection to the outdoors for Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color (BIPOC) & the LGBTQIA2S+ communities through outdoor adventures and education.
  • Queer Nature – Queer Nature is an education organization that teaches ecological awareness and place-based skills in order to build interspecies alliances and an enduring sense of belonging.
  • The Disabled In Nature Project – The Disabled in Nature Project challenges ableist norms in environmental education and advocacy by highlighting the diverse ways disabled people connect with nature. It serves as a platform for sharing stories, artwork, and resources that promote inclusivity in outdoor experiences.

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