Gallatin Nature Society encourages accessibility in outdoor circles

Tucked in the corner of local tea shop Steep Mountain Tea House, a group of nature lovers were gathered with sketchbooks in hand ready for a nature journaling workshop put on by the Gallatin Nature Society (GNS). Leading this workshop was Christy Howard, founder and organizer of GNS.

Howard — who was born in Bozeman — explained that she started GNS around a year and a half ago after noticing a lack of accessibility in local nature circles. “It’s definitely about equity and diversity and just trying to make sure that Bozeman is for everybody,” she said.

Howard said that she has always been a lifelong nature lover. “My dad took us to all the national parks as a kid and he worked in Yellowstone, so nature’s always been kind of my thing,” she said. “My first major journal was pictures I cut out of Ranger Rick and National Geographic magazines that I stole from my dad.”

Nature journaling really kicked off for Howard during the pandemic, when she began using art to help manage her mental health. “The only thing [nature] requires is for you to be present. It doesn’t manipulate, it doesn’t care about numbers, it doesn’t care about disability,” she said.

To Howard, nature journaling can be a way to bring nature education to people who may not have the same opportunities as others. She often works with what she called underserved populations at the Bozeman Senior Center, Memory Care and Assisted Living Spring Creek and Eagle Mount.

”Because I work with different populations some of them may have different audio, visual and physical abilities. Nature journaling is still for them,” Howard said. She showcased examples of journals with photos instead of drawings and others with only writing.

“I have one person who survived cancer and now their journal is a list of reasons why they’re still here,” she said.

Howard emphasized that nature journaling doesn’t have just one look. “Many people, when they see nature journals, they’re thinking — oh my gosh they have to be perfect — but that’s not what it’s about,” she said. “Ultimately, nature journaling is simply a way to observe nature and look at it in new ways.”

Howard described her work with the senior community as both fulfilling and inspiring. “There’s just something about that joy and curiosity that we had when we were kids and just couldn’t wait to soak up everything, but still seeing it when you’re 70 and 80,” she said.

Howard said she doesn’t just work with underserved populations — she emphasizes inclusivity all around. She spoke about her experience as someone with lupus hiking in Bozeman, and how outdoor culture can be exclusionary. “On Bozeman trails, sometimes if you’re differently-abled or bigger, people will go like, why are you here?”

Beyond personal reflection, Howard also sees nature journaling as a form of what she calls “craftivism.”

Craftivism, which is a portmanteau of craft and activism, is a form of activism that uses crafts to create social change. She explained that she has witnessed how nature journaling can encourage eco-activism.

“Nature journalism is a form of citizen science,” Howard said. “Once you really start looking at something and start to care about it, you’re willing to protect it.”

GNS holds nature journaling workshops at Steep Mountain Tea House on the second Wednesday of every month from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information, visit GNS’s substack at https://gallatinnaturesociety.substack.com/ and follow @gallatinnaturesociety on Instagram.