Pain, Pleasure, Plant
Part One: Thinking about tree planting in the summer? Here’s what you should be thinking about and doing now
Ian Stoesz
You will never see a mother black bear while telemarketing. You will never see an eagle poop while studying economics. You will never be eating your lunch and then have it stolen by a fox in Polo Park Mall. You will never watch an ant carry away your big toe nail clipping while sitting in front of your computer.
These are things I have seen, and they occurred as regularly in the woods as Tuesday and spaghetti in the city. I have been in a camp surrounded by 50 coyotes, chased a fox away that was eating bagels from my backpack, gained a couple of pounds in muscle and become “hard.” I have laughed hysterically entire summers through, thrown my shovel and screamed at the gods more than once, and come within inches from beating up a rookie. Through the great and bad of the job, I have gained experiences that could never have been attained another way; tree planting isn’t just a summer job, it’s a way of life.
Welcome to the first part of this Manitoban series that will explain the strange, brutal, exciting, rewarding and everything in-between world that is tree planting to the aspiring rookie planter and anyone else who has no idea what the job is like.
Where to go
Tree planting has been called over and over again the most difficult job, physically and mentally, that you can do in Canada — and that’s saying a lot. Among tree planters there is a great deal of speculation that army training is dramatically easier.
If you are considering tree planting this summer or in the future, you may already know some of the basics or have at least heard stories, but what you will need help with in the following weeks is information on actually acquiring the job. If you are an aspiring tree planter then get your ass moving, because crews are filling up right now.
Every province in Canada has tree planting, but the majority exists in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and the Maritimes, with seasons running roughly from May until early August. Each province is entirely different, so you should know before you apply the kind of land and company in which you want to work.
Planting in B.C. generally takes place on Vancouver Island and in the Prince George area. The most significant challenge here is the technical planting required. The unique feature of B.C. terrain is the extreme change from one block to another next to it. One block may be rocky and the next may be steep, slashy, swampy, crowded with mature trees, confusing or awkwardly shaped. These things are always changing, and it makes a routine impossible. This slows planters down, as they are constantly in a learning phase, but then it is expected that you will receive more money for each tree that you plant. More so here than anywhere else, planting smart is the only way to get the job done fast.
I’ve personally planted on inclines over 50 degrees steep. On one particular block, I remember one planter behind me rolling down, cracking his head on a stump, slowly getting back up and then running back to the cache to bag up. He received a concussion. The major advantage to planting here is that once you have completed a season, you are ready to plant anywhere. Expect long drives, bad access roads, lots of walking, tons of wildlife and phenomenal scenery.
Alberta planting is fast, fast, fast. Generally, here you don’t get very technical land. In fact, if you were to spend part of your contract in B.C. you wouldn’t ever have to think about how to plant a piece of land ever again. Expect an unreal amount of insects, which even bathing in a bucket of deet couldn’t stop. Of course tree prices are less here, but if you are ultra fast and ready to sweat then this may be for you.
Ontario planting in my opinion isn’t worth a dime — which you won’t make there anyway. For all the rocks, bugs and swamps, it’s not desirable, and for all the companies chasing contracts and excess planters, the price of trees has been driven down so far that it’s just an unfortunate waste of time for most people.
Maritimes planting is arguably even more difficult than Ontario, and I have heard rumours about year-long contracts, which is so scary that no rookies should be thinking about this.
Deciding your summer
Tree planting is a well-established and evolving industry with companies for every type of person. The last thing you want is to find yourself working for a company full of wankers as the only one who wants to make money.
Choosing your company can be tricky. Are you looking for a season-long party of foggy, marijuana-induced workdays with drunken, acid-laced weekends? Or are you looking for a professional, clean-cut, workaholic company? There are the hardcore companies, the party companies, the Christian companies, the crappy companies and the good companies. There are also the sleazy companies.
The first order of business is to search the Internet for companies and reviews. The highest producing and most reputable companies have a policy against the consumption of drugs, and employees generally act with decency towards each other. It’s a business. As a rule, party companies have the worst management and the worst contracts.
Ideally, you can get a job tree planting by asking a friend who has planted to recommend you to a foreman. If your friend is well liked and the company hires plenty of rookies, then you are set. If you don’t know anybody that can recommend you, or you’d rather not work for that particular company, then you have some searching to do.
Don’t be afraid to throw more than enough applications out there. If your last choice is all you can get, then take it and move to a better company when half of the rookies of a better employer inevitably quit. Sometimes the only way to get in is through the back door.
Think it’s easy? Read here
Before you go, let’s lay a few things down right now — each season is a gamble. Prices are always changing and you won’t know how much money you’ll make until the season is over. You get paid per tree, and most rumours of “big money” that you hear are pretty unreliable.
Go in expecting the first month to be the worst 30/31 days of your life, because you will not make money immediately. I regularly see rookies receive a first pay-cheque stating that they owe the company money because they did not earn enough to pay for the accumulated camp costs. At this point things become harder, since most rookies have already spent well over $1000 just starting up with equipment and personal gear. It’s a general rule of thumb among veterans that if a rookie can quit, he will. If you have the option to do anything else, it will look more and more attractive every single day you suffer.
One planter I know came from a wealthy family but has now seen two seasons because he didn’t give himself the option to quit. Last season he told me the story of a horrible day he had experienced.
“I was planting along all normal,” he told me, “and I sunk my shovel right into a wasp nest. Right away, two of them flew up my shorts and one bit me here on my thigh, and you know where the other one bit me? Right on the scrotum. I started screaming and hitting my pants. I just went to the cache and ate some cookies.”
Okay, you got that? From the moment you plant your first tree, you are seeing that kind of thing through to the end.
Rookies have few options for choosing foremen, but try to get one who suits your personality. It’s like choosing a puppy. But unlike choosing a puppy, he/she is bigger, stronger and smarter than you are. Also, try to avoid rookie foremen.
Good, now we shouldn’t have any problems acquiring the job. I suppose there is one more critical issue that far too many prospective planters miss out on: generally, foremen begin hiring crews in January. That means you should have already started on all this stuff, rookie. When I said start applying now, I wasn’t kidding.
For more information, company reviews and job postings check out:
www.tree-planter.com
www.canadiantreeplanting.com
www.replant.ca
