Taking the Classroom Outdoors
Cheryl Laughlin, Pacific Southwest Region
November 27th, 2023
This series checks in with resource assistants, to share how they found their way to the Forest Service and their ongoing work to serve the public here in the Pacific Southwest.
Farrah Masoumi reflects on her time as a resource assistant in Idaho in August 2020. “Getting to live somewhere as spectacular as the Sawtooth National Recreation Area was a wonderful bonus!” (USDA Forest Service photo by Sarin LoMascolo)
You might be thinking, “I’ve been to lots of national forests, but have I ever met a resource assistant?” Odds are pretty high you have. Resource assistants are sprinkled throughout our national forests. These paid interns help almost everywhere, from a forest’s front desk to teaching visitors more about the land around them. Along the way, resource assistants discover where they might want to land in the USDA Forest Service.
And many of them, like Farrah Masoumi, might travel across several states and national forests to find the perfect fit. Which means these internships are working, to help students and forest visitors enjoy their experiences. We’re glad Farrah found her way to the Pacific Southwest Region.
Meet Farrah Masoumi, Tahoe National Forest
Farrah started her Forest Service journey out of her hometown of Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and a minor in sustainability from California State University, Northridge. Then she just kept going north — actually over 1,200-miles northeast to Missoula. At the University of Montana, she pursued a master’s degree in environmental studies with an emphasis on environmental education.
Why environmental education? “After teaching in a traditional classroom for several years, I wanted to figure out a way to bridge teaching with another passion of mine — sustainability. This brought me to the to the world of environmental education. So I decided to go back to school and learned about all the amazing opportunities in public lands.”
Within a year of graduating, Farrah found the Resource Assistants Program, through a joint effort of the Idaho Conservation Corps and Northwest Youth Corps. In June 2020 she interned in Idaho for seven months as a resource education assistant on the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
From YouTube to Botswana
Farrah Masoumi teaches students about the importance of “Leave No Trace” on the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in September 2020. (USDA Forest Service photo by Sarin LoMascolo)
You might recognize Farrah from her lively take on “Leave No Trace” in this Sawtooth National Recreation Area YouTube video. Or how about Farrah and fellow Ranger Sarin LoMascolo’s fun and helpful “10 Essentials for Hiking”? As Farrah points out, “Getting to live somewhere as spectacular as the Sawtooth National Recreation Area was a wonderful bonus!”
Soon after, Farrah landed as a social science natural resource specialist at the Yuba River Ranger District on the Tahoe National Forest. Pretty quickly after, she discovered the forest was looking for someone to bring educational experiences to the forest. And that is how she became the forest’s conservation education program manager.
And she’s not finished yet. “Because of my work at the Sawtooth, I gained connections that led me to many unique opportunities. I will be the new host of the Washington Office run FSNatureLIVE distance learning program. Plus, I’m an education specialist on an international programs project that took me on an official trip to Botswana.”
Teaching Through Tough Times
Farrah Masoumi shows campers how even though the tree is dead, it serves as habitat for decomposers. June 2020, Sawtooth National Recreation Area. (USDA Forest Service photo by Sarin LoMascolo)
Farrah has also seen a challenging side of the job as she hustled to provide classroom programs during COVID-19. “We worked to create virtual lessons and make educational videos on topics like stream surveys, rock cycles, and more for teachers and students. These digital programs received great feedback from educators,” Farrah shared.
And Farrah is also the first person to praise all the wonderful mentors in the Forest Service who create these kind of projects including her direct supervisor, Susan Kranz. “She was so supportive and enthusiastic about any of my ideas, especially when it came to figuring out creative ways to do classroom programs during the pandemic.”
Plus, more thanks to her colleague Sarin from the videos on the Sawtooth for her active role in creating virtual programs. “All this work was important because it provided folks with a positive and memorable experience on the forest and with Forest Service staff,” Farrah added.
From resource assistant to environmental education, Farrah offers this as her guiding light throughout, “This field offers the chance to help folks connect and care about the environment, not only on our public lands but also in their own backyards. By fostering relationships between people and our land and water, I hope they become stewards and make educated decisions to protect our planet.”
Want to become a resource assistant? The Resource Assistants Program offers an immersive internship for current students and recent graduates.