Roy and Silo are a pair of male penguins who raised a chick named Tango in the late '90s at the Central Park Zoo. The split-gill mushroom has about 28,000 different sex types.
These are just two of the thousands of examples of queerness in nature, knowledge Clean River Partners Community Engagement Coordinator Heron Mahr said could've helped them feel more comfortable with their identity growing up. That's why Mahr, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, helped spearhead a new group to get queer and questioning youth ages 11-17 into nature.
It's called QUEERY.
"As humans, we think in a very binary sort of way: 'You're a man or a woman,'" Mahr said. "We have examples in nature, all around us, that there can be so much more abundance and so much more diversity. And that's something that I think more young people could benefit from knowing, that it's not weird to feel different. You know, it's okay to not fit all those little checkboxes. It's actually a great thing."
QUEERY stands for Queer Unity, Environmental Education and Recreation for Youth, and Mahr plans to start recruiting in August using gender and sexuality alliances at Northfield and Faribault schools.
But first, Mahr is fundraising to match a $10,500 grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' No Child Left Inside Grant Program helping get the program off the ground. Donations can be made at GiveMN.org/CRP , which has already fulfilled over half its goal.
"A big part of the club will be that educational piece around queerness in nature and what examples we can find right here close to home," Mahr said.
One example Mahr gave is the wood frog , which lives in the Cannon River Watershed.
"Specifically, female wood-frog tadpoles," Mahr said. "If their environment that they're growing up in gets too hot, they're able to sex reverse and become male, as a way to increase their chances of survival. So if we're looking at that through a very human lens, it's like, well, wood-frog tadpoles can be trans in order to survive and have a better life."
Mahr noted they also plan to have some fun while the group is at it.
"We will hopefully be doing some paddling on the river, kayaking, hiking for sure, birding," Mahr said.
They said it won't just be recreational outings.
"We'll be doing some caring for the land ourselves," they said. "Probably some invasive-species removal or just some sort of restoration work as volunteers. I think it's nice to have this program have a good balance between, you know, activities that are simply for fun, recreation activities that are educational, and then activities that give back to this beautiful land and water that we're appreciating."
While the pilot cities in the grant includes Faribault and Northfield, youth from any community is welcome. QUEERY is completely free, and transportation will be provided for far-away outings.
"Then, in terms of disability access as well, I want to encourage anyone to join this program," Mahr said. "There are so many ways to experience the outdoors. And we will adapt activities as needed to make sure everybody gets to experience the wonder of nature."
While the connection with nature and discovery of all the diversity within it are at the forefront of QUEERY, Mahr also said they hope it provides role models with whom queer youth can relate.
"I view it as a huge privilege and responsibility to be an activity leader who is outwardly queer, specifically trans and nonbinary," they said. "I think working with young people and having them see these potential role models they could look up to that are proudly queer, it's so important. And it's such a special opportunity to connect and to learn from someone or hear from someone who has gone through a lot of the tough parts of figuring it out.
"It's a big deal. It's meaningful to be an example for young people that things can turn out OK, and to tell your story of how you navigated things and came to find out who you are. There's so much great potential there, and I look forward to it."
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