LGBTQIA+ Icons Protecting the Planet

By Genesis Harshell

During the month of June, we'll be celebrating the amazing LGBTQIA+ researchers and environmentalists who have dedicated their lives to conserve the planet for generations to come. Tune in each week to see who we feature next!

Pattie Gonia

“If we want to make a climate movement where people are actually joining it, we have to make it inclusive.” – Pattie Gonia

For our next feature this Pride month, we would like to highlight the artist, environmentalist, activist and drag queen Pattie Gonia. By sharing photos of skiing, rock climbing and enjoying the wonder of nature, Pattie has taken the social media world by storm with messages of diversity, outdoor immersion and environmental advocacy.

With over half of a million followers on social media, Pattie has encouraged the LGBTQIA+ community, people of color, plus-sized people and other historically excluded groups to be included in outdoor spaces. To pursue this mission further, Pattie co-founded the organization Outdoorist Oath, which strives to foster an outdoor community for underrepresented groups.

Pattie Gonia has reached countless people across the world with social media, connected people to nature and performed at climate-themed drag shows across the nation, while also relaying the urgent need for inclusivity.

Today we celebrate Pattie Gonia not only for their work as an artist, but also for their determination and activism to save the planet and all living things!

J.C. Raulston

In 1975, Raulston began his work as a horticulture professor at North Carolina University. It was in this same year that the 35-year-old Raulston came out to the world as gay.  

Raulston is celebrated for the work he did to establish the North Carolina State University Arboretum, now known as the JC Raulston Arboretum, as well as his contributions to the horticultural renaissance for the nursery industry in the United States. In 1978, Raulston created of the Lavandula and Labiatae Society, which served a safe space for queer individuals in botany, horticulture, landscape, public gardens and even amateur gardening to be themselves, make connections and learn about other queer professionals in the industry! What started as small local gatherings, had grown into this network having over 300 members across 34 states by 1990. Raulston would support this network through annual meetings and distribute mailings at his own expense until his passing in 1996. 

Raulston changed landscapes, literally and socially, forever creating a safe space for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Today we can celebrate Raulston’s legacy by visiting the JC Raulston Arboretum and continuing to support his mission to “plan and plant for a better world.” 

Photos © Paul g. Wiegman, JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, IkonPass CC BY