Noah Baars’ Post

Making Queer Ecology More Mainstream Matters - a way to make the environmental movement more inclusive? What we see when we grow up, about what we are educated and how this all is presented, matters. In recent years, discussions and topics around environmentalism and social justice have met, giving rise to an emergent field known as queer ecology. This interdisciplinary approach seeks to explore the intersections between sexuality, gender identity, and the environment. As we navigate a world grappling with climate change and biodiversity loss, understanding the importance of queer ecology becomes more crucial, read why in our blog here: https://wix.to/laK1L5H #RainbowAlliesUnited4BioDiversity #biodiversity #diversity #queernature #queerecology

“There is a gap in our language where the twin meanings of Queer could be separated, between sexual orientation and the spirit that seeks beyond institutional dogma. The definitions are so entangled because members of the queer community, uniquely, were born with an invisible identity that can both be buried and uncovered. Gay and trans people learn to apply the spirit of queerness at the internal, individual level—uncovering our own suppressed personal truths that are at odds with everything around it—and we call that being queer. The spirit of queerness is applying that inquisitiveness externally, challenging power structures beyond our sexual identities. Queer Ecology is applying the spirit of queerness to the kingdom of life and the nature of reality. If we see Queerness as the force that drives us past barriers, then applied to ecology, it drives our society and science toward greater accuracy and precision. It is the study of the protrusions of truth that jut through our shifting cultural sands to reveal the illusions of our foundations and institutions. It is the willful desire to uncover more of these truths, to dig deeper into the sand, and to understand the true shape of reality.” Was asked to write an essay about Queer Ecology, which was a dream as someone who’s been writing about queerness and ecology and climate for years. I think Queer Ecology lends itself to many definitions and interpretations but I wanted to explore what it might mean in relation to shifting worldviews, particularly in response to climate change and biodiversity loss. Hope you enjoy

Call for Submissions – Succession III: Queering the Environment – Rebellion A Network in Canadian History and Environment - NiCHE Series Proposal Deadline: April 5, 2024 Series Publication: June 2024 Series Editors: Jessica DeWitt, Estraven Lupino-Smith, and Addie Hopes In ecology, succession is a series of progressive changes made in a community over time. These changes often lead to higher diversity in an environment. In June 2020, we published the first Succession: Queering the Environment series that explored the changes that occur within environmental history and related environmental studies when queer people, non-humans, systems, and ideas are centred. And in June 2022, we published Succession II, which explored unruliness, care, and pleasure. Join us for the third installment of this now biennial series for a deeper dive into unruliness, Succession III – Rebellion. Full CFP: https://lnkd.in/gZx7cyRV #environmentalstudies #queerecology #ecology #environmentalhistory #environmentalhumanities

Access to clean #water is a growing challenge worldwide. Despite the challenges we face, such as ecosystem complexity and #gender inequality, the experts agreed that the future of restoration is bright. Drawing on the experience from initiatives such as “Regreening Africa” and a #restoration network platform in #Brazil (...). Restoring our ecosystems will require a global effort and worldwide collaboration if we are to achieve the goals set out during the upcoming Decade. Learn more about the interaction between #trees and water and the re-greening of #Africa: #WorldWaterDay #WaterForPeace 💧🕊️

One week to get your proposals in for our Succession III: Queering the Environment series! In ecology, succession is a series of progressive changes made in a community over time. These changes often lead to higher diversity in an environment. In June 2020, we published the first Succession: Queering the Environment series that explored the changes that occur within environmental history and related environmental studies when queer people, non-humans, systems, and ideas are centred. And in June 2022, we published Succession II, which explored unruliness, care, and pleasure. Join us for the third installment of this now biennial series for a deeper dive into unruliness, Succession III – Rebellion. https://lnkd.in/dXfQJd6m #environmentalhistory #environmentalstudies #environmentalhumanities #queerecology #ecology #queerstudies

Shelley Budgeon discusses the key premise of ecological feminism communicated by artistic exhibition, and the ways in which it evokes ecological possibilities based on non-hierarchical, multiple interdependencies as an alternative to those that promote exploitation and extraction of value. #climateactivism #climatechange #cop28 #Ecofeminism #ecology #environmentalism https://lnkd.in/eGT46hsQ

Despite access to clean #water is a growing challenge, ecosystem complexity & #gender inequality, the experts agreed that the future of restoration is bright. Learn more about the interaction between #trees & water & the re-greening of #Africa:

🍃Could 2024 be the year that Rights of Nature enter the political mainstream? 🌍 Two new coalitions of scientists, lawyers, philosophers and artists have joined the global campaign for ecosystems and other species to have legal rights and political representation. The More Than Human Rights (Moth) project and Animals in the Room (Air) are exploring bold tactics to further their cause, including authorship claims for forests, policy advocacy on behalf of bears and whales, and fungal strategies to spread ecological thinking. Read the Guardian's article about these new and important cases and how the Rights of Nature movement is gaining momentum around the world! #RightsOfNature #2024

Excited to share an article I published with Cultural Survival on the critical topic of Digital Sequence Information (DSI). In this piece, we explore the impact of DSI on Indigenous rights, benefit-sharing, and the ongoing global discussions surrounding genetic resources. As these issues continue to shape policy and practice, it's important to center Indigenous voices and perspectives in these conversations. #IndigenousRights #DigitalSequenceInformation #BenefitSharing #Biodiversity #CulturalSurvival #DSI

We continue to think about power and empowerment in #ourlandscapes. Next up: #humility. More from the potent paper we shared last week: "Conservationists could also pursue epistemic humility by transparently reflecting on their #positionality in relation to the context, goals, and assumptions about empowerment that inform their work (e.g., Duffy et al., 2021; Pienkowski et al., 2023). Such humility could help in the reevaluation of the boundaries of power placed around #knowledge in ways that recognize and embrace diverse ways of knowing and being (Moon & Pérez-Hämmerle, 2022). Here's where it gets really challenging: "Yet, empowerment is not a panacea; its relevance and forms will manifest in different ways across diverse contexts. Top-down and externally imposed forms of empowerment, regardless of intentions, run the risk of disempowering those who have the most to gain and lose from empowerment in conservation. This risk may be magnified when social scientists or disempowered groups are peripheral to empowerment efforts in conservation contexts; when conservation failures or successes lie within researchers’ comprehension of key social science terms, such as empowerment and equity; and when both factors impede the ability to meaningfully move social theory into practice (Martin, 2020)." https://lnkd.in/dS2iJNta