QTPOC Healing in the Outdoors

This project aims to provide a safe healing space as well as a space to strengthen community for Queer and Trans people of color (QTPOC) through a 2 night 3 day camping trip in the North Cascades National Park. Queer and trans people of color have been historically excluded from spaces such as the outdoors and through this project we aim to connect the QTPOC community with the outdoors. Many studies have shown the incredibly positive emotional and physical effects that being outdoors has—especially in places like the North Cascades— on someone’s health and wellbeing. Access to the outdoors is incredibly exclusive and only easily accessible by certain groups such as wealthy white families and particularly white cis men. Within the Queer community we face oppressive structures day to day and often that is physically and emotionally exhausting. The idea of chosen family with the Queer community, especially the QTPOC community is incredibly important and for many the QTPOC community is their chosen family. Being outdoors and being able to step back from our daily lives can be incredibly grounding. We will engage in community building and healing activities such as day hikes, reflective journaling, edible native plant lessons, and other naturalist activities. The aim of this project is to provide a place where members of the UW QTPOC community can come together, heal together, and build community with each other. Overall this trip is meant to be grounding and reflective and ultimately helps in connecting members of the QTPOC community to the outdoors.