Almost two years ago when Jonathan the producer of this
podcast and I were beginning tree speech.
We saw how the pandemic was allowing more people including
us to be outside and experiencing nature as part of
an everyday routine. All we knew was that we loved
trees and that we were interested.
Stood in exploring our relationships to them.
Since that time we have been constantly surprised and
delighted to further understand the extreme reach and
interconnected intricacy that trees have within every aspect
of our experiences and the events that affect our society
and world. We have not found one area of
our Modern Life that is not touched in some ways by trees
and our very survival is reliant on.
Mum trees also serve as a constant example of how an
ecosystem will Thrive best when it supports the needs of all,
its diverse members in this episode, I speak with Megan
Buell, the founder of trees, the transgender resource, education
and Enrichment, Services organization that she created
and leads to provide, transgender education to small
towns and Rural America located in South Bend Indiana trees.
Has expanded to develop their Treehouse and inclusive.
Physical space. Containing a resource Library,
research areas a meeting room and a place for understanding
and empathy to take root. My name is Dori Robinson and
this is tree speech a podcast where we strive to listen to the
forest through the trees. This week's episode was written
and recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the wabanaki
Confederacy. Penacook It and Pawtucket
people. And in New York, on the land of
the Lenape tribes as well as in Indiana on the land of the
Peoria. Tribe tree speech is co-written
and produced by Jonathan's out, Nur with a light theater, guilt.
In this country and around the world.
The rights of transgender people have been continuously
politicized as politicians use gender identity as a hot-button
issue to prey on misconceptions and a lack of understanding to
scare their voters. This fear-mongering leads to
discriminatory practices in every area of society and life
from federal policies to school regulations military.
Bands to Medical discrimination and bathroom bills to sports
Fields. Even worse anti-trans, rhetoric
creates a divide as groups of people are labeled and seen as
other leading directly to violence toward the transgender
Community, as a result of a perpetuation of false narratives
and harmful stereotypes. Under Megan's leadership, trees
has identified, a need for education in the underserved
communities, which lie in the rural fabric of this country and
their mission is to focus. Their educational efforts in
cities towns, and communities of 25,000 people or less, with the
goal of using education, to change the culture in these
areas and create a more inclusive environment for
transgender identifying individuals to live and enriched
Safe and successful Life free of violence and discrimination.
I'd like to offer definitions and Clarity regarding several of
the terms Megan, and I use during our conversation first,
the word transgender is a term used to describe people whose
gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at Birth.
Gender identity, is an individual's personal internal
knowledge of their own gender. For transgender people, the
biological sex they were assigned at Birth and their
gender identity do not match. Transgender is an umbrella term
regarding gender identity and so individuals in the transgender
community, may use other terms to be more specific.
We'll have links in our show. Notes to learn more about these
definitions and tips on how to be a supportive Ally including
by using proper terms and pronouns.
Megan Buhl is a lifelong resident of Indiana.
She has been a leader in the transgender Community locally,
regionally and nationally and has served on nonprofit boards.
Transgender advisory committees and is a regular Collegiate
guest lecturer. Megan began trees ink as a way
to pay it forward to the transgender Community.
After living in transitioning in a small town environment and
successfully traversing the challenges It was an honor to
speak with her about her life and her nonprofit and how the
metaphor of trees guides it all. Let's listen, Hi Megan.
Hey, how are you? I'm well, how are you doing
today? Doing well.
Thank you, great. So let's just jump right in.
On your website, the story of Of trees Inc, begins in early 2012,
you went from thinking what if to writing how to in an old
beat-up notebook, the idea for trees began to sprout today.
You have a sapling tomorrow, a forest, what led you to this
change in thinking. Again, thank you for having me
just to introduce myself. My name is Megan Buell.
And my pronouns, are she, and her and I founded the
organization as part of a giving, back to society, as a
way to increase visibility and help communities be better
prepared for when a trans person comes into their environment.
So really the, the work is Community Development based on
behalf of the transgender Community as I was growing up
and being confused about myself. There was a lack of resources in
my community visible. People someone to connect with
and it it's time. I made my growth really for a
long time. And I just thought it was
important to help others by creating safer.
More inclusive spaces. And so the organization kind of
sprouted from seeing so many people have to leave small town
and Rural communities to go to other places to find connection
resources and people like themselves.
And why can't we just turn that 180 in and make wherever they
are the best place for them. Yeah.
Why can't we like you said going from what if to how to, which is
a really interesting way of thinking of of Going from this
might never happen to. I can make this happen and I
will make a plan, and I will make the list it mirrors of my
own journey in a lot of ways. Because I never thought that I
would be at this point where I can be out and proud as a
transgender woman. And so it was always a huh.
What if, but never really going to happen and so, starting
trees, was that what if I started an organization, what
would it do? And what would it look like?
And what? Even last and we're coming up on
our eighth year anniversary in January.
So what ifs to how to's? Yes, can we hear more about your
journey? So I grew up in a small
conservative Midwest City, where there were, and this was at a
time when there was no internet, there was no cable television.
So we were limited in the exposure of anything that was
gender diverse. So, the things that I was
thinking about and feeling about me, Self didn't match anybody
else in my community and my schools even even in the college
time. So I just put store them all
away as one connective experiences and watched how
other boys were growing up and tried to mimic what they were
doing and how they were acting and played the part for a long
time. And then in the mid 90s, late
90s, I You know, I got connected on the internet to a word called
transgender and I read what it was about and I started to read
some biographies of some folks, identified as transgender.
And those things that I had been hiding, those experiences
started to make more sense and think of it, as a puzzle, and
those pieces of the puzzle started to fit together, and the
picture got clearer and clearer. We're as I learned more about
what it was to be trans and and I knew I was on the right path
to finding out more about myself than I had ever known before
where I thought it was problem. But in fact, it was just a
missing definition and and it gave me direction in my life and
I kept pushing forward and learning more and starting to
understand. And and here I am running late
and organization based on that. Every of that one word that
filled in all the blanks for 35 years of my life, really?
That's an extraordinary thing that that's suddenly having the
word for something gave you the power to be yourself.
So there, there are a lot of people out there that may not
have run into that word yet. Or that definition, that may be
struggling. And a lot of those people are in
areas of the country that have limited access.
Us to the internet or resources or books, or even a person that
looks different to them. And you know, the work of trees
is really mobile education, and I go there and I just try to
have conversations with folks and say, yeah, this is okay.
It took me a while to find it and figure it out and, you know,
you can be who you are, wherever you're at, and we just have to
create a safer culture. In those communities, tell me a
little bit more about what that's been like, first year was
scary, because you create a nonprofit organization, you
know, out of scribbles on a notebook.
As you as you read, you, you never know if anyone is going to
find this as important as you are and you would need to
support. I would, I would take our our
mission, in our information, to private events and some other
events and the Reaction from people.
When they read it was focused and small town.
And Rural communities was like, oh my goodness, we so need this
and nobody is doing this. And I did do a national search
and there's there's no organizations who are set up as
a mobile unit working in small town and rural community.
So I knew we had something very unique but it was still tough to
get those conversations started because I couldn't just go
writing in this small town with my bullhorn.
Earns a day. Let's talk about transgender
stuff. Yeah, they would be like, here's
the exit to the town, you know, the other side of that, stop
sign, keep going. So we really focused on those
people that had that reaction at those events to say, hey, let's
work together. Rent me a room at your Public
Library. I'll come in and do the talk.
We'll have a conversation connect to, you know, people in
your network to resources, inherently.
We're finding people want to do the right things, but they're
afraid. To do the wrong things so they
don't do anything so if we can get them a resource that helps
them you know maybe be the first domino in their community and
start conversations. It's a lot of communications
work and respectful Communications at that.
Maybe that that town has a chance to change on its own
organically. And we don't have to be there to
nurture that or cultivate that we are planting the seeds of
diversity. And hoping that those
communities then cultivate that inclusive culture.
And, you know, it just takes somebody to go in and I use my
own personal stories. I put myself out there to in a
way, humanize it for them because they're probably only
getting stuff off the internet or over dramatize things on
television. And I just want to tell, you
know, I'm simple. Simple people trying to live a
life that may not be the same life that you're living.
Doesn't make it better or worse. It just makes it different and
they should all have a chance. But unfortunately what's
happening is either somebody is living.
They're afraid and they start to think that suicide is their best
option or they're being forced to leave or Worse.
They're being killed and that has to stop that has to stop.
So are a lot of our mission really is embedded in Saving
Lives, one way or another and using education and resource
building now. As those tools, but it's not
easy. If it was easy, everyone would
be doing it right. No, it's not easy.
And you do mention saving lives in your mission and in your
vision. Can you tell us more about the
services that you offer in order to do that?
Well, it's really education. I will go and talk to anybody
anywhere anytime because that one conversation and sharing my
own personal stories, could make a connection and make somebody
go. Oh well okay.
Not so bad because it's more than likely contrary to what
they're being told elsewhere. We're not working directly with
the Trans Community but we can connect the trans Community to
service providers and friendly places, competent Healthcare and
other agencies. So we're like the Clearinghouse
in the distributor of good resources.
But what we do in our trainings really is to help organizations
and community members learn how to To think before they speak
communicate and effective and respectful way, and understand
that everybody is coming from different places and we have to
take that into consideration when we work together, play
together, Network together and live together.
It's nothing more than that. So our service is education to
make us safer better world. So people can Can grow and go
from Sprouts to full-fledged oak trees and Powerful.
You know, when I when a gender diverse person doesn't feel part
of the community, the community loses because there's one less
person in their midst. That isn't contributing
communities are best when everybody feels.
They can contribute and be part of that community.
And so it's a win-win all the way across the board.
It really is. It's just such a powerful thing
and it it's reflected in all parts of our world that we are
better when we are inclusive. How did the tree metaphor begin?
I really started to just think about what it is that we're
doing and we're planting something for planting an idea
for planting a thought process, where we're starting really from
scratch. We have no idea what this thing
is going to look like, I'll call it micro, do it really had a lot
of the same kind of Growth layers as a tree with and trees
became us. But the metaphor really is about
growing something that makes the planet a better place.
When you walk inside, you feel that Vibe of inclusivity and
welcome this. And and that everybody is, is
allowed in and it's not a space just for gender diverse, people
trans people it's for the whole Community because Our real hope
is that maybe a non-binary person is sitting next to a
cisgender person and maybe sitting next to a trans person
and they're just working under computers doing her own stuff,
but that's what chips away at that stigma when they can just
meet another human being and realize that their, they have
more things in common than different.
That's what we want this space to help nurture in the
community. And so the test run here, in
South Bend, which is my hometown is The hope that we can have a
treehouse in every Community. Right.
Absolutely. Yeah.
Just a lot of different ways to connect to the community that
don't always have to be queer related.
They're just regular stuff that goes on in the community and
then people come in and I realize that you know it just
feels like a cool safe. So so you've created this
wonderful safe space while we're on the metaphor of trees and
growth, where are some of the places you've been and Brought
your mobile education, so we decided that it would be Indiana
and states that border Indiana. And we started to make
connections and do some work then somebody would find out
about us somewhere else. And if I could make it work, I
would go. So I've gone as far away as the
eastern part of Kansas Western Missouri.
Several places in Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia,
Pennsylvania. I do some regular Work in the
western mountainous areas of Virginia and even flew out to
Oakland California but what we're finding is that people
want information, they're really want information.
So the invitation so our invitations come from all
different places in a lot of it really has started to become
from college campuses and for us that's like the biggest bang for
our for our time dollar. Because in a classroom or on a
college campus, you may be talking to 30 40, 50 or 60,
small towns and rural areas for one conversation.
And those people could be the ones that go back.
The story that connects with that is me being out in proud
and stand in front of a group and talking about my own
experience and the organization. Maybe there's somebody in the
audience who is wondering, if they could come out and be proud
of who they are, And I got a message about nine months after
I had gone to a small College in Central Illinois.
From a student who was in the audience and they told me how
from the moment they heard me talk about my challenges, but
also how far I had come from those challenges that they had
come out to classmates and their parents and their Professors and
they felt so so confident that they could also do that.
And it was because they were in the audience where I spoke I did
not go and tell everybody to go in to come out and try this but
you never know who's listening. So the story the message is is
powerful in itself and from my perspective, it's just my life.
I've had been fortunate to be responded to after a talk by
parents of trans kids. Who have told me that prior to
meeting me, they were worried about their child's future
because all they had ever seen were the stories of murder and
The Stance around suicide and how tough it is.
And then they meet me and they find out that I run an
organization. I'm a elementary school
substitute teacher, I have regular jobs, you know and
they're like you gave me more hope for my child and I ever had
before? Yeah, I mean I will do this
forever because it has impact like that what an extraordinary
thing to Simply stand there and your existence gives people hope
that that you get to be the the model that you didn't get as a
child. The I don't find my my life
particularly interesting. Ha ha ha ha.
Everyone else seems fine my life interesting enough that they
kind of nudged me even to write a book so I'm writing it for
them. Not well then tell us more about
the book. I'm working with a writing team
who think this is very important and so we've kind of modeled it
as from the start the opening of The Treehouse and backing up
into why this is important to your organization, how they got
started my youth, some of my story.
These are growing up some of the stories of being a teacher
places. I've gone, it's just stories of
how I became me. So, you have a book.
You have Treehouse, what are your plans for trees in the
future? I really think like a good
Maple. We're splitting into good to
trunks on this, right. The Treehouse itself is
operating kind of as a community resource center.
Let's let's get this refined. So we can offer this Two other
communities to try to duplicate the template for it.
So I'd love to see treehouses pop up in other communities,
whether their urban areas or rural areas or wherever somebody
could support them just to be a safe space in community.
So I'd like to see that. But the the mobile education
part of it is really where my passion is and what started.
All this. Need to get that out to those
areas. So I will continue to do that
above. And Beyond even my time with
your organization because you know as a good nonprofit We
don't stay with these things forever.
But I'd like to hand it off to someone to run and duplicate the
community center part of it. And, you know, my my retirement
plan is to travel throughout the country and got a college
campuses and do the work and putting everybody in the
direction of trees and the tree houses.
And, and Keep the momentum going changing communities and
cultivating safe spaces, within them.
There's lots of lots of seeds to be planted.
I can imagine that in your time, going to different places
speaking with different people that you've really encountered,
quite a few Gatekeepers along the way.
And of course, there's higher up, Gatekeepers and legislation
and in are in politics and all this is there a message, you
would want to share with Gatekeepers.
Near and far, or is there something you would want
Gatekeepers to know? Sure, trans people are just
people and they're they're worth your life is different than the
person standing next to them. But we all are different than a
people. We stand next to.
And again, not one way is better than the other.
And we have to get past thinking that we're right.
And somebody else is wrong. Legislation is not going to
stop. From existing all it's going to
do is make it harder for them to it to exist and we're going to
continue to lose lives when we do that, let people be who they
are and the goal should be, everyone should have be able to
have a happy fulfilling and Rich life in this country and too
many people are trying to stop that because they somehow think
that it's going to change their ability to have a happy
fulfilling and Rich life when it really doesn't.
You don't have to manage it, you don't have to control it just
because you don't understand it. Learn about it.
Have conversation with me and you'll find out that it's
nothing more than one sliver of my whole identity and I think we
can all coexist very peacefully in the forest.
It's not all one type of tree and they all don't look the
same, there's lots of different trees.
The canopy, you see from this guy is not made up of one.
Type of tree. So let all the trees grow and
prosper and multiply and make this place a better place.
Where do you find? Hope I find hope when somebody
walks into the Treehouse and says this place is needed in
every Community, says, places needed in our community.
I want to support you or I hear from a parent who says, I heard
you speak and it changed the way.
That I have chosen to support my child because those are all the
things that give me hope that trans people are going to
continue to live and prosper and you know, be happy in this
country. So the feedback when somebody
says that hearing about trees are meeting me changed how they
view the trans Community. Then I'll have that again that
conversation with anybody anywhere because it just might
be one person. Whose life and Direction and
view of the world changes. Again, what a pleasure it is to
speak with you, you are such a bright light and you're doing so
much for so many and you're doing it with such this warm.
Wonderful sense of humor. It's really such a pleasure to
speak with you today. Thank you for making the time,
you know, the humor part. I didn't always laugh at it but
I found that when I can make a joke about it.
It then the pressure in the room because this is a top, this is a
topic that, you know, people don't want to like, talk about.
But if they can hear me, make a joke, then they laugh a little
and everybody takes a deep breath and we come out.
I'm not coming to teach you something that you don't want to
learn. I'm just here to share stories
and help you out. If you're stuck on a word or
stuck on a concept and maybe give you an example of how this
looks in the real world and compare it to something.
You're more familiar with, you just open the conversation and
that small shift, that small shift makes an enormous
difference. Yes, Meghan, thank you for being
brave to create this community and brave to share your story.
Thank you so much Megan for speaking with us today.
Thank you again for for finding us.
And for inviting me in enjoyed this conversation as well.
And I look forward to listening and sharing them in length.
People know who you all are, as well to find out more about
Megan. And the work that is being done
at trees. Please visit we be trees
dot-org. There is also a place on the
website to donate as 100% of this organization, is funded by
donations, as well as contact information for Megan.
If you are interested in her coming to your community, we
will have a link to the He's website in our show notes while
growing increasingly, visible in popular culture, and daily life.
The trans Community still faces, severe discrimination stigma and
inequalities to name a few. Despite a recent US Supreme
Court decision. That makes it clear that trans
people are legally protected from discrimination in the
workplace. There is still no comprehensive
federal non-discrimination law. That includes gender identity,
which means trans people may still lack recourse.
If they face discrimination, when seeking housing or dining
in a restaurant, additionally, there is a lack of HealthCare
coverage often because doctors or providers refuse to care for
transgender individuals based on their gender identity, the
widespread lack of accurate, identity.
Documents among trans people can have an impact on every aspect
of their lives. Including access to emergency
housing or other public services without identification.
One cannot travel register for school or access, many essential
services, and finally trans people live in poverty, at an
elevated rate a rate, which climbs dramatically for Trans
people of color, a report by the national black Justice Coalition
and the national Center for transgender equality.
Found that anti-transgender bias coupled with Structural racism,
meant that transgender people of color experience, devastating
levels of discrimination, including high unemployment
rates as well as 41 percent. Having experienced homelessness
at some point in their lives. This is why Megan's words are so
dearly needed right now as transphobia, rages nationally in
the United States, causing strife and violence in its wake.
Recently anti-lgbt Q upon And have introduced and passed laws
to ban transgender youth from participating in school sports
from kindergarten all the way through college levels.
These laws would barred. For instance, transgender girls
from participating in sports with cisgendered girls or girls,
who sex is biologically, female Idaho became the first state to
try to enact such a ban last year, but was blocked by a
federal judge and 27. Other states have Opposed
similar legislation to give some perspective.
Let's focus on Ohio for a moment where the Cleveland seen
reported that since 2015 of the 400,000 student athletes in the
state, only three transgender students competed at the high
school level nonetheless for political purposes.
Ohio considered a cruel ban on transgender students in sports.
Thankfully this element has been removed rather than protecting
In fairness in sports as they claim to the laws, instead have
targeted only a few students in each state preventing them from
participating. In athletics, with dignity, like
their peers Megan pointed out that there are a variety of
trees in the forest and though they are not all the same.
They each helped create the beautiful unique canopy.
There is indeed such a wide diversity in nature, which can
be easily seen, but has also been scientifically proven the
Nashville. Tree conservation.
Corporation has stated that among tree species.
There are three Sexes male. Female and trees that have
perfect flowers, which contain both male and female components,
some tree species, even change sex.
In addition to trees, there have been copious studies regarding
plants, fish insects, amphibians birds, and animals.
Changing sex, gender, diversity exists, across species of every
kind as well. There is much we can learn from
trees and nature in regards to the many ways that Diversity is
able to thrive. It is the variety of its members
that makes an ecosystem, strong and resilient and our society
functions in the same way, we are inspired by the work that
Megan does to create a safe and enriching life for the
transgender community in places where it is so needed.
And that work is all of ours to share.
There are many actions that can be made to advocate for the
human rights dignity and safety of all within our families,
businesses schools, communities States and world and we will
include resources in our show notes.
Our laws and cultural norms should reflect the fundamental
Dignity of each human being. This means continuing to
fiercely support, the transgender Community.
As we work towards a world where it is no longer necessary to do.
So, thank you for joining tree speech today.
We are so grateful to Megan deal for sharing.
Her story in the story of trees. Ink to learn more about Megan
and trees, please visit we be trees dot-org to learn more
about our podcast and episodes. Please visit tree speech.
Podcast.com we're thrilled to be able to offer interviews,
creative insights and stories about the natural world we live
in and the trees who guide our way.
Please also consider supporting us through our patreon every
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