By Alexis Puchek

Amy grew up in the Dallas area in Arlington on the edge of town, running around the fields and the prairie. She’s always loved nature and the critters that live in it, knowing from an early age that she wanted to become a wildlife biologist. Her time at A&M for college and her master’s degree centered her focus on waterfowl, bats, songbirds, and endangered species. Though, as much as Amy appreciated wildlife, she struggled with the effects that humans have on nature and habitat and eventually left the field after sixteen years of working throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Tennessee.

After a break from her career as a wildlife biologist, she went back to school to become a mental health therapist and found ways to bring nature into the conversation. Through Amy’s journey, she’s helped articulate and lead people through healing with nature to improve mental health. She focuses on how strengthening your relationship with nature can infuse mindfulness and ease the struggles we have. After ten years as an ecotherapist, Amy changed career courses again and is now writing a memoir about being adopted, exploring her evolving identity, and finding healing in nature.

Through our conversation, Amy exuded enthusiasm and empathy through her learned experiences with wildlife education, to the connections she strives to bring for individuals in their relationships with nature, and the community that can be fostered for individuals sharing space and interests.

We’ll learn more about Amy’s personal journey and what that means for the ways in which she shows up authentically to build community and a love for nature.

What got you into birding?

Amy remembers the clunky pair of binoculars and field guide her mom had when she was a kid at home. Her mom always had feeders up around the property, and she can remember fondly when she was 11 or 12, sitting in the backyard trying to use the field guide to identify the birds. At that time, it was a fun hobby, with no knowledge that people could go out into the world, to new places, and identify species through birding.

When Amy was in college, her initial path started her down Herpetology, studying snakes and amphibians. She quickly found it was difficult to be a wildlife biologist as a female in a male-dominated world, and that it was even more of a struggle to fit in with a field like Herpetology. Around this time, she found an empathetic, caring, and open professor who “took her under his wing,” and introduced her to waterfowl and wintering geese in the Texas rice prairies. She fell in love with the work and the sense of belonging she felt in this field.

During the pandemic in the last two years, Amy attended an online panel discussion centered around ‘queering nature’ through Vermont Audubon during Pride Month. Amy’s mind was “blown apart” when she learned how limiting biologists tend to construe nature: centering it around males and females, and what that means for reproduction. She also began to see how these narrow perspectives affect wildlife conservation and management and, ultimately, can lead biologists to make inaccurate assumptions and decisions. She remembers that as a kid, when she was confused or troubled, she could look to nature and build a broader understanding of the world around her. The realization of how heteronormative biology and how many of the spaces we all participate in, can be limiting, helped her confront and come to terms with her own queer identity.

What is Let’s Go Birding Together?

It’s a fairly recent program started by National Audubon across many chapters of Audubon in the United States, including Travis Audubon. Let’s Go Birding Together (LGBT) is specifically created as an opportunity for people who identify as LGBTQ and allies to enjoy birding field trips in an inclusive and welcoming environment.

Depending on where you are outdoors, it can be very scary for some people because it doesn’t feel safe. A big part of creating the LGBT program was to create a safe space for people who do not always feel safe outdoors. Travis Audubon hosts Let’s Go Birding Together field trips the last Sunday of every month.

As Amy began to explore her own identity, she started seeking out an LGBT community where she could fit in, which really stemmed her interest in being a part of this program.

How can someone get involved with Let’s Go Birding Together?

Everybody is welcome, whether you identify as queer or not, and you don’t have to be ‘out.’ We don’t ask you to divulge your identity or your pronouns, your participation in that disclosure is as much as you feel comfortable. Travis Audubon has created an easy way to sign up for the monthly field trip, and know that you’ll be in a safe, welcoming, and queer-friendly environment. We should all be able to celebrate and enjoy the outdoors together.

Why do you think it’s important to have LGBT field trips?

“It breaks my heart that anybody would feel like they can’t go and be outdoors, because the outdoors and nature can be so therapeutic. It’s so important to me because it’s such an important relationship in my life. It breaks my heart that that anybody would feel like they cannot have that in their lives because of fear of physical safety due to other people.

Being in a group that is explicitly safe where you don’t have to worry about who you are, how you look, and what you say or identify about yourself is so important. It is incredibly freeing to be able to show up and just be yourself, and it’s a great way to find connections to others who are likeminded.”

What would you say to individuals who might be hesitant in attending?

“Know that this is a no-pressure environment. If you sign up and change your mind because you’re nervous, or plans change, that’s ok. You won’t take a spot from anyone else, and we would encourage you to sign up even if you’re still unsure about it.”

Amy also wants you to know that she is open and more than happy to have a conversation with you prior to attending. If you need to talk or ask questions, her email is available on the Travis Audubon LGBT events page, and she understands how vulnerable new experiences might leave you. No matter how big or small your worries may be, she’s there to help.

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It was my absolute pleasure speaking with Amy, and I applaud her in being able to talk openly about her journey and where she is on it. We all have different lived experiences that put us on our own unique paths – we celebrate your intersectionalities and identities – and we hope to see you on an LGBT walk when you’re ready.