Catalyze discovery. Create community. Spur growth. These are the intentions driving this year’s third annual LGBTQ Outdoor Summit, to be held in Estes Park, Colorado, in September. The Summit is an opportunity to bring both the conservation community and the outdoor industry together, with the mission of boosting inclusion and representation of LGBTQ people in the outdoors.
How the LGBTQ Outdoor Summit Breaks Down Barriers
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Hannah Malvin is the founder of Pride Outside and co-organizer of the LGBTQ Outdoor Summit, along with Elyse Rylander of OUT There Adventures.
“Barriers to creating a positive outdoor space for the LGBTQ community may include transportation, cost, know-how, lack of free time, safety concerns, feelings of exclusion, and lack of outdoor role models,” she said. “It’s so important to be boosting relevancy, representation, and inclusion so people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to play and work in the outdoors.”
The LGBTQ Outdoor Summit has evolved over the past three years. The first event was held in Seattle in 2017 for LGBTQ professionals to meet and connect with one another, share ideas, and form a group identity. In 2018, the outdoor summit took place in San Francisco and largely built off of the first year’s discussions.
“Attendees stayed on the NatureBridge Golden Gate campus, ate meals and stayed in the dorms together, explored our beautiful venue, talked around the campfire, and got into deeper, more personal discussions about identity, community, equity, and the outdoors,” Malvin said of the event’s second year.
“This year, in the Rocky Mountains, we aim to take advantage of our beautiful setting to enjoy time outside together exploring and building skills, and emphasizing solutions-centered conversations around supporting LGBTQ individuals and building a more equitable public lands system, conservation community, and outdoor industry.”
What You Need to Know About the 2019 LGBTQ Outdoor Summit
The third annual LGBTQ Outdoor Summit will take place September 26-29, 2019 on Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne Ancestral Land at the Estes Park, Colorado YMCA in the Rocky Mountains.
Participants should register to attend the event by September 18th. You have the option to purchase a one-day pass ($80), three-day pass ($225), or three-day pass with meals and lodging included ($295).
Here are more ways to get involved and support the LGBTQ Outdoor Summit:
- Join organizations such as The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, Patagonia, Keen, and REI in being a sponsor for the outdoor summit
- Participate in the outdoor summit’s resource fair as a business or group
- Submit a proposal by June 30th to lead a session at the outdoor summit
“I’ve enjoyed meeting amazing people across the country and helping bring them together to build community and support equity in the outdoors,” said Malvin. “It’s been heartwarming to see people who have felt alone or hidden find community and connectedness.”
