to every single summer. it s shifting landscape as a barrier island. every single day i come out here, it s a little bit different and i think that s all really inspiring because sometimes, we think of nature as this immutable, sort of unchangeable thing, but nature is really dynamic. i sort of came to my identity as a queer person later in life towards the end of college. i sort of had to admit to myself that i was trans in some way. i identify now as trans feminine and non binary. my pronouns are they/them. so at kind of a young age, i found myself inspired just walking through this community. i did not really know why i was so jazzed up. i knew about the lgbt history. before homosexuality was decriminalised, living an openly gay life was difficult in some states. isolated towns like cherry grove became safe havens for america s marginalised lgbt communities. i was pretty young the first time i visited the sunken forest. i was a volunteer. i was maybe 13, 1a at the time. and i thin
forest but it is a faith that occupies the lgbt community. we went there to find out why. fire island national seashore is a national park. it s a barrier of 17 towns, 50 miles away from new york city. many of them are known for their long standing lgbt communities. the sunken forest is a globally rare ecosystem. it s a very uncommon habitat. it s the fact that those holly trees are growing as close to the ocean and in such high density as they do right here that makes this place unique. the forest sits behind two dunes, making it appear to be below sea level. they protect the trees from ocean salt spray and allow them to grow as tall as the dunes. the sunken forest would not exist if it weren t for this delicate balance. too much salt spray could kill the forest. not enough, and the forest wouldn t have the minerals and nutrients that the ocean provides that feeds the trees.
that makes this place unique. the forest sits behind two dunes, making itappear to be below sea level. they protect the trees from ocean salt spray and allow them to grow as tall as the dunes. the sunken forest would not exist if it weren t for this delicate balance. too much salt spray could kill the forest. not enough and the forest wouldn t have the minerals and nutrients that the ocean provides that feeds the trees. i grew up in mastic beach, which is sort of a lower income community on the south shore of long island. fortunately, mastic beach also happens to be one of the only places that you can walk onto fire island. it was a space i returned
to the american flag was this big, beautiful rainbow flag, and i think it was the first time that i encountered a queer environment, queer space, queer community. eventually, i started leading programmes and actually, when i was 16, i started working as a park ranger. i ve worked at fire island national seashore now for over ten years. there was this really significant grassroots effort that dates back all the way to the 1930s to actually create a national park, a national seashore, here at fire island. part of that was actually just an attempt to prevent robert moses and new york state from constructing a highway across the length of fire island. robert moses was a polarising urban planner in new york city. he was instrumental in the rapid construction of highways after the great depression. because the island is so narrow, a road across it would have completely reshaped the landscape. it would ve threatened unique habitats like the sunken forest. in order to protect these towns, each
so, don t go away. we are off to the us where around 50 miles or so from the heart of new york city is a little known national park called fire island. it has 32 miles of shoreline, forest but it is the place that it occupies in the story of the lgbt community. we went there to find out why. fire island national seashore is a national park. it s a barrier of 17 towns, 50 miles away from new york city. many of them are known for their long standing lgbt communities. the sunken forest is a globally rare ecosystem. it s a very uncommon habitat. it s the fact that those holly trees are growing as close to the ocean and in such high density as they do