About our guest author: Melody Starya Mobley’s experiences as the first black woman serving as a forester for the USDA are remarkable: both for the firsts she embodies and for the years of abuse and oppression she experienced within that system.
Now, Melody shares her personal stories to create positive change for groups historically excluded from accessing American natural spaces.
With the few federal protections that exist currently being stripped away, it’s more important than ever for stories like these to be told. Learn more about Melody and watch her documentary The Dark White Forest on her website at starya.org.
Image credit: Kirth Bobb
Isolation erodes positivity
Starting my forestry career meant moving to a rural community after living in urban areas my whole life. I was isolated and alone. I didn’t have any friends or a vehicle to get to the city—there wasn’t even a church in my denomination within reach. To top it all off, there were no other people of color in my rural communities of 200 people (Skykomish, WA) or 100 people (Mt. Hebron, CA).
Going through the Equal Employment Opportunity process also made it difficult to find or maintain a positive perspective. The USDA Forest Service accused me of various falsehoods, my director lied about my performance ability, and my colleagues isolated and hazed me. I’ve written elsewhere about the extent of this treatment, including the persistent stigma attached to my presence and the repeated physical and sexual assault.
While I ultimately prevailed thanks to my careful documentation and tenacity, the mental impact led to me being suicidal for many years. It has taken just as long on potent medication and regular psychiatric counseling to overcome those feelings of worthlessness.
Repetitive work can lead to depression
Unfortunately, the job provided no relief. It’s extremely boring to take the same measurements over and over again—especially during inclement weather on steep slopes with lots of thick understory and brush, and hordes of biting insects like mosquitoes and ticks. Monotony and boredom bring mistakes that risk timber sales worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, or foul measurements used to write prescriptions to improve forest health.
That kind of tedium can also lead to clinical depression that significantly interferes with foresters’ daily lives. Major depressive disorder lasts a minimum of two weeks, but the side effect of low self-esteem can last for years and is very difficult to overcome. Sometimes, it’s so severe that it lasts for a lifetime, like mine.
Symptoms of major depressive disorder include:
- persistent low mood
- feelings of worthlessness
- suicidal thoughts
- debilitating loss of interest in activities (including the work tasks that brought me to the rural area to begin with)
Finding community is crucial for a forester’s mental health
Good mental health is critical for optimum work performance in all fields, but it’s especially crucial when the work is repetitive and monotonous like it is early in a forestry career.
It’s difficult—physically, emotionally, and mentally—to plant hundreds of seedlings each day, mark hundreds or more acres of tree thinning units, clean campgrounds and restrooms, lay out roads, complete hundreds of stand examinations taking the same measurements again and again, and climb trees to collect cones for seed extraction.
Finding community is a beginning forester’s best defense against lingering mental impacts, and that can begin with finding a mentor to help establish connections.
“Good mental health is especially crucial when the work is repetitive and monotonous like it is early in a forestry career.” — Melody Mobley
Read more of Melody’s writings
on the American Green blog.