So and Pinar Sinopoilos-lloyd and Nic Caddel

Co-founders of Queer Nature, Naturalists and Trackers

Twisp, WA

September 5th - September 6th, 2025

“It's a scratch and sniff world,” says So, a radical wildlife field ecologist and biologist. Based in the Methow Valley of central Washington, So a heir partner, Pinar, together established Queer Nature, a now 10-year-old organization aimed at creating spaces for members of the LGBTQ+ community to learn and practice place-based skills. They described their interests in human and environmental relationships, practicing practical, participatory, and self-network stewardship. Through a framework of ecology as the study of home, So and Pinar shared their deep-rooted knowledge and abilities of tuning into the animate world to study it with us.

The next day, we met with So, Pinar, and Nic, a Queer Nature collaborator and Semester in the West alum, in Twisp to orient ourselves towards observing wildlife. We gathered at a recently logged and cleared mountain path, the smoky air obstructing the forested landscape around us.

First, they instructed us to observe the environment and its “baseline.” Tuning into the space, we observed the sounds of birds, squirrels, and cows grazing nearby.

So trained our eyes to catch tracks, a practice they described as an act of investigation, exploring the impact and effect of different forces, and reclaiming information as you observe a space. We investigated ourselves, tracking our footsteps on the different terrain. Then we observed coyote, bear, and wolf tracks along the mountainside. We practiced “seeing before ID’ing,” observing the shape, size, sediment, and age of the track before interpreting. Seeing proof of animal movement and life through the lens of wildlife tracking helped us understand the complexity of ecosystems, influenced by forces we may not always consider.

by Rio Burk