Redding, Cali., October 25, 2024 — Envision yourself as a middle school math teacher who loves the outdoors and is not satisfied with your current career path. That’s exactly the situation Brenna Jones found herself in nearly 7 years ago. Her job as a teacher felt stagnant, with little opportunity for growth. Teaching the same curriculum year after year, while rewarding, had started to wear thin. In 2017 Jones heard about an exciting opportunity to join a one-week training camp to learn more about wildland firefighting and a career in natural resource management during a one-week training camp. No commitment on the back end, just a week to learn more about a different career that engages ones love of the outdoors, physical fitness, and teamwork. Would you take the week to try something new?
“I was coming from a female dominated career and thinking a male dominated career in wildland fire. The fact that it was put on by women and for women drew me towards the training,” she said.
Jones applied for and attended the 2017 Women in WildFire Training Camp on the Los Padres National Forest. Although excited about the training, she didn’t anticipate the training would change her career path.
