Nature and the outdoors have always been a sanctuary for me. One of my fondest memories as a kid was running through fields chasing fireflies until I was forced to come inside. As I got older, it became my place to dream. Most of the life I live today was and continues to be manifested on a trail, hammocking between some trees, or sitting in my kayak.
Hello, my name is Tyler Moore. I am a 28-year-old queer individual who uses he/him pronouns. I was born and raised in Bloomington/Ellettsville, Indiana. I am the founder of a local community organization, and I am in the process of transitioning it into a non-profit organization, Queer Indiana.
In 2018, I graduated from Ball State University with my Bachelor's in Advertising after one of the roughest times in my life. During my last semester, my grandfather passed away, and my dreams of venturing out of Indiana and into a wider world were cut short. After graduating, I moved back home to start my career and to take care of my widowed grandmother. The Tyler that returned home, though, was a lot different than the Tyler that left in 2014. During my 4 years at Ball State, I grew to love and understand my queerness so much more. I had a diverse community of other queer people and a place I felt very safe to be more authentically myself. Returning home, I found that I had to face the person I had left here, someone who wasn't comfortable with their queerness, who masked and suppressed rather than embraced their own authenticity. I also no longer had that bubble of community and the support that came with it. So in 2019, I decided to take things into my own hands and start Queer Indiana.
In 2019, Queer Indiana was a lot different than what it is today; we were still figuring ourselves out and who we wanted to be. The only thing we knew was that we wanted to foster and create a queer community, and that's about it. As we all know, 2020 brought unprecedented change to the world, with the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, if I wasn't sleeping or working, I was in nature. I was very fortunate that amazing outdoor recreation was right outside my driveway and was one of the only things considered safe to leave the house for. While in lockdown, I started having conversations with friends and other queer people online, and a conversation unfolded that changed my entire outlook. One of my friends is transgender, and was in the middle of her transition. She confided in me about how going on a hike by herself wasn't something she was comfortable with. She was concerned that she wouldn't be accepted in either a male or female gender presentation, and feared the trouble that could bring when enjoying the outdoors, especially in rural America.
I had never faced this dilemma, even as a gay man. But, I am white, cisgender, and can pass as being straight fairly easily, so I've never felt that fear around going out within nature. I never saw the immense privilege I had, how it allowed me greater access to outdoor spaces. That is when I decided to merge my passion for nature and the outdoors with my passions and desire to foster a queer community.
In 2021, Queer Indiana was "refounded" with a mission to cultivate and grow safe places within nature for the queer community to enjoy safely, sustainably, and responsibly. Nature does not judge, it has no bias, and we believe Nature is for everyone. In 2022, once it felt safe to gather in groups again, we held our first event season. Our events cover a wide range of outdoor recreation activities like fishing, kayaking, plant ID hikes, pride hikes, camping, invasive education, and weed wrangles. Currently, we serve Monroe and its surrounding counties in Southern Indiana, with the hope to expand as we continue to grow as an organization. Many of our events have an educational aspect to them to expand people's knowledge of the outdoors in hopes it fosters a greater sense of understanding and responsibility around nature. You'll also find that most of our events are collaborations/partnerships with other amazing organizations. Community is a pillar of who we are, and what better way to grow and build a larger community than with collaboration and partnership. Last year, in 2023, we launched an online Discord server, creating a safe virtual space for queer people to gather. The Discord is set up to allow members to share outdoor locations, gear, everyday adventures, and even organize outside of our official event schedule. We are always looking for more active members to join, even if you aren't in Indiana or close to the region we serve you are still very much welcome.
We just kicked off our 2024 event season, which is our largest to date! We have 9 months of events spanning from March to November and are so excited about each and every one of them. Here is our 2024 event calendar:
March 23, 2024: Pride Hike
April 20, 2024: Spring Flora Nature Walk with Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
May 20, 2024: Weed Wrangle & Invasive Education with Bloomington Parks and Rec
June 15, 2024: Pride Hike
July 20, 2024: Birding with The Rainbow Birders
August 31, 2024: Kayaking
September 15, 2024: Pride Hike
October 5, 2024: Mushroom Identification Hike with Spencer Pride CommUnity Center
November 16, 2024: Birding with The Rainbow Birders
You can find specific details about all of our events on our Discord Community and on our social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram. If you are interested in collaborating or partnering with Queer Indiana on future events or would like to get involved, please reach out via email at queerindiana@gmail.com. Our goal is to reach nonprofit status by year's end and we have so many exciting things being planned for our future, and we’d welcome you to join us on any of our many adventures.
Nature is for everyone!
Tyler Moore - founder, Queer Indiana.