BTLT In the News: “LGBTQ+ trail meet-up to build belonging in the outdoors”
Times Record | Katie Langley
LGBTQ+ trail meet-up to build belonging in the outdoors – Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and Queerly ME will host the final of 3 spring ‘trail mixers’ focused on the LGBTQ+ community Sunday afternoon at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick.
Two Midcoast organizations are teaming up again this spring for free outdoor meet-ups aimed at connecting LGBTQ+ community members.
Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and Queerly ME will host the final of three spring “trail mixers” Sunday afternoon at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick.
“Trail Mixers create an affirming outdoor environment for LGBTQIA+ people and allies to engage with each other in nature without feeling the pressure to conform to the constraints of binary identity or heteronormative expectations,” Kyle Warnock, Queerly ME executive director, wrote in an email.
The event is open to everyone, with a focus on the queer community, said Lydia Coburn, BTLT communications manager.
“We definitely acknowledge that the outdoors have not been historically a safe space for many communities, including the LGBTQIA+ community,” Coburn said. “We intentionally invite people out and say, ‘Hey, you are definitely welcome here. We’d love to have you come and enjoy these spaces just as much as anyone else.’”
Participants at this weekend’s trail mixer will get to know each other on a one-hour walk led by Coburn.
“We ask some silly, fun icebreaker questions,” Coburn said. “We encourage folks to talk with their neighbors and their partners on the trail, and then talk to a new person each time.”
Coburn said discussion topics might include things like: “Name an LGBTQ author, artist or celebrity who inspires you” or “What would you tell your younger self?” or even “If you were a bird, what kind of bird would you be?”
“Participants are encouraged to initiate conversations with people they haven’t met before; every time a conversation prompt is proposed on the walk, participants are told to ‘mix it up’ and find a new person to talk to,” Warnock wrote.
After the walk, participants will gather for snacks at Wild Oats Bakery and Café.
The land trust and Queerly ME first partnered in 2021 and have planned various programs for LGBTQ+ Mainers since. The groups held their first trail mixer in fall 2023, with plans to hold three meet-ups every fall and spring. The organizations had two mixers already this spring, on March 2 and April 5.
“When group conversations happen with the mutual understanding that the space we hold for each other is fundamentally affirming and celebratory of LGBTQIA+ identities, our personal support networks and sense of community belonging can flourish,” Warnock wrote. “Resources, stories, and experiences are shared during our Trail Mixers in a way that uplifts everyone involved and enables the creation of long-lasting, meaningful relationships between participants.”
Coburn and Warnock said the trail mixers have grown in popularity since they began. The biggest walk yet had 75 participants, they said.
“It’s really an intergenerational space,” Coburn said. “Folks who are in their early 20s show up; we’ve had parents show up with LGBTQ kids that just want a space to hang out in, and we’ve also had people in their 70s, 80s show up and want to come on the walk.”
The two organizations are planning a special trail mixer on the morning of Brunswick Pride on June 14 to facilitate friendships ahead of a busy festival day. More meet-ups are coming in fall 2025.
“The outdoors are such a beautiful space of healing, and fun, and curiosity, and wonder, and peace, and everyone should have the ability and the opportunity to experience that,” Coburn said.
More information on the trail mixer and other upcoming events are available on the BTLT and Queerly ME websites.
