Queer Adventure Collective is bringing representation to rural communities
BY EMILY WARNER, IMAGE BY IVAN SMUK
Megan Atkinson moved to Bottesford three years ago and quickly felt that something was missing. She told the BBC, “I’ve been part of outdoor groups in Devon and the Peaks, so felt an LGBTQ group more locally was missing.”
In response, she created an outdoor group for LGBTQIA people called Queer Adventure Collective, designed to give queer people a “safe space” which isn’t in a pub or bar.
She said that many queer people, especially those from smaller, rural communities, feel isolated by their sexuality. Queer Adventure Collective was designed with those people in mind, and it offers an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, meet like-minded people, and share new experiences.
The group’s first meeting was at Attenborough Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire, home to kingfishers, bitterns and otters. It attracted a diverse range of people – some from rural areas who had struggled to connect with other members of the queer community; some from the city of Nottingham who were keen to explore the outdoors.
Since then the group has only expanded, having met up at Leicester National Space Centre for a live astronomy experience, and at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire for a walk and kite-flying social.
Atkinson added, “I think with communities like this it gives people a safe space, if they are questioning or finding things difficult. It is good to have people around you that you can talk to. I am super excited to see where it is going to go and hopefully have a positive impact on people’s lives.”
The group’s next activity – a picnic and cycle – will take place on 21 April, when they will be hitting the trails of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. And they aren’t the only group of queer nature lovers in the UK.
In 2020, Ailish Breen started Queer Out Here, an LGBTQIA walking group based in the northwest of England. Lakes Queer Adventurers is a Cumbria-based queer adventure group, dedicated to exploring the beautiful Lake District. And in the South, there is the Queer Hiking Bristol group or the Cardiff Queer Bike Gang.
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