Pride in Nature
- Joe Brown
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
On 18th June 2026 Journey joined KPMG's Breathe Network, DfT's LGBT+ Network and DEFRA's Pride network for a special Pride Month event celebrating the environment, championing sustainability, and recognising the profound intersection between nature and queer identity. This unique event, generously hosted at KPMG's Canary Wharf offices, featured insightful presentations from experts in the field - Robbie Blackhall-Miles and Ellie Leech - followed by a fireside chat, a Q&A session and an opportunity for networking.
Firstly, the wonderful Melanie Knight, recently honoured at the British LGBT Awards as the business ally winner (and deservedly so), and KPMG colleague Michelle Allen opened the event before handing to Robbie Blackhall-Miles, who is an Honorary Lecturer at Bangor University's School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, where they earned their MSc in Biodiversity Management from the University of Kent. Robbie also holds an honorary professorship at Nottingham University where they lecture in Plant Conservation. Robbie is a highly respected 'hands-on' restoration ecologist, actively working both in the UK and internationally. Their expertise includes understanding the impact of climate change on plants, conserving vital shrubland habitats, and leading Plantlife International's efforts to protect rare Arctic Alpine species in Wales. They are a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and has written extensively on horticulture and conservation:
"The green stripe of the original Pride flag was deliberately chosen to represent nature, signifying that queer identity has always been intrinsically linked to the natural world. This event explored this historical connection and its modern implications for environmental stewardship within the LGBTQ+ community."
Robbie shared their story that ranged from coming out at 14 in the early 1990s to the present day working with farmers in the Welsh Highlands near where they live, via a drag career in between. We heard about how male homosexual behaviour was first observed of all things in the Cockchafer where smaller males dominate the larger ones (cue giggles), and also about Robbie's favourite beetle, the endangered Rainbow Beetle that they lead in the conservation efforts for in Eryri National Park. One of the main take-aways is that nature is a kaleidoscope of every different gender presentation and sexual behaviour imaginable, and that humans are a part of the natural world and so the queer community is far from 'unnatural'.
Ellie Leech is the Head of the British Trust for Ornithology’s Ringing and Nest Record Scheme, leading a team focussed on logistic development and volunteer support; through the latter, she has become increasingly involved in the Trust's EDI initaitves, primarily, but not solely, focused on making surveyng more accesible for women and the LGBTQ+ community. As a volunteer for her own Schemes, she spends much of the spring and summer immersed (literally) in her beloved gravel pits, monitoring the nests of Reed Warbler and trying to avoid those of wasps, then much of the autumn and winter keeping them clear of willow.
Ellie gave us an insight into navigating a sector which remains predominantly cisgender men through the lens of a trans woman and how she and her colleagues adapted to her relatively recent transition while working on the conservation front line: yes, pink waders are available! It was a fascinating take on gender identity and belonging, the audience were in awe of Ellie's warmth and candour and how with her expertise, professionalism and confidence she is thriving in her career and smashing down barriers as she goes.
After we heard individually from Robbie and Ellie, Anjali Goswami FRS, a renowned evolutionary biologist, moderated a fireside chat Q&A with them both, exploring further the themes touched upon in their presentations before asking questions about inclusion and belonging in a sector which still struggles to achieve representation, and what had drawn them both so strongly towards conservation in the first place.
It was a fantastic event exploring an intersection that maybe many in the audience hadn't much considered before, and enabled wonderful conversations during networking afterwards where people from two very different, but in some ways very similar, sectors mingled. An overriding sentiment is that nature does not judge humans who do not conform to gender or attraction 'norms' which is perhaps why so many LGBTQ+ people are happiest when surrounded by nature, and people like Robbie and Ellie work so tirelessly to be its defenders in the face of persecution and environmental pressures: a clear metaphor for the queer experience we feel.
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