Nata Reforestation and Management (aka Nata)

[somesilviguy]

I've been hired to start work with Nata in Prince Gorge, BC in early May as a rookie and I'm curious if anyone here as worked for these guys before? Or anyone has heard good/bad things? It'd be cool if I could sorta know what to expect from 'em so any input would be helpful. Thanks a bunch

[Mr. Amazing]

I know they were a Christian-focused outfit that used to plant a fair bit in the North (Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, etc.). Actually I just met a spiffy girl who planted for them a mere 2 years ago. There will be trees to be planted for a pre-determined price... 'Nuff said!!!

[Seabass]

Anything on these guys? All I know is they're working out of Prince George, 60/40 rookie/vet split this year (100 person camp) and a Christian outfit

[Richianity]

Someone made an awesome trailer for this outfit...very epic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNuOzS1fgd0

3:50.....ohh I've been there!

[Screefhead]

I did an end of the year contract there a few years ago.

Basically, Spectrum/Windfirm type prices with an over the top "Christian" emphasis. Drinking + smoking weed was prohibited in camp, nobody eats dinner before grace is said, usually dont work on Sundays. Camp life was dull to say the least.

Most foreman also plant so you're expected to throw all your own plots. You'll probably waste a good hour a day walking to some far away central tree cache. Land varied from slashy to bad as you'll see anywhere(including the coast) shiite. But, ground was usually soft and planters were allowed to slut em in. Prices were generally 10 - 12c . I don't what others were averaging but I made about 50 -$75 less a day there than most places I've planted.

On the plus side you get paid extra tree price if you work a longer day or a bunch of days in a row. And you will get paid ... more or less on time.

[sillyis]

Ahh yes, Nata, I was a rookie there in 2006, gave them four seasons. Yes they are a heavy sided christian camp, Yes they will fire you for smoking pot, Drinking is okay tho. They pay their planters very low, 10cents in PG - Cut to length prices were 11cents. Their northern work isnt any better - 10 - 15cents. Some of the stuff I did in tumbler was comparable to some of the coastal work that I've done, but for half to a third the tree price. They do not cater to vegetarians or vegans. They usually have rookie cooks and a very low food budget. I went to sleep hungry most nights.

I went back this year to help a buddy with his crew and ended up walking out mid season, due to the prices and quality expectations. Might as well been working a bcts contract in merrit and get paid fairly for it orr what I did was head to alberta and got paid the same prices for slamming trees into the ground green side up. woot rips and mounds!

I've since left and worked for Brinkman, Osprey and NGR.

I'd say to all experienced planters stay away, ha rookies to.

[Skydivemic]

Anyone from Nata recently ?
How are they ?

[Chocolatej]

Anyone from Nata recently ?
How are they ?

Finished my season there this year. I was only there for a shift though. Prices were low, food was bad (food shortage was an issue some nights), camp life was dull (although admittedly we didn't try to integrate). Our crewboss was really nice and did a good job but that wasn't enough to stick it out with them in August heat.

[Skydivemic]

Would u work there again ?
Witch compagnie are u from ?

[Chocolatej]

I can't imagine myself being back there.

They just seemed totally out of touch with the rest of the industry, no one seemed to have worked anywhere else. The owner actually told me he wanted to re-name the company "Leader Reforestation". I could make a list of everything that was wrong (I did and then deleted it), but I was only there for a shift so I have limited perspective. Overall I'd say rookies are better off just about anywhere else.

[Scooter]

The owner actually told me he wanted to re-name the company "Leader Reforestation".

I would imagine that that would go over well with the current Leader. (To clarify, this is sarcasm).

I wonder if the owner knows enough about the industry to realize there already is such a company.

[Chocolatej]

The owner actually told me he wanted to re-name the company "Leader Reforestation".

I would imagine that that would go over well with the current Leader. (To clarify, this is sarcasm).

I wonder if the owner knows enough about the industry to realize there already is such a company.

He was clueless. I didn't bother bursting his bubble. If he actually takes a step towards the name change I'm sure someone will.

[Mike]

Updated contact info:

Nata Reforestation and Management
2615 Syms Road
Prince George, BC

Email: admin@nataram.com
250-970-0220

Steve Ardell
email: steve@nataram.com
250-612-1733
http://nataram.com/

[Pristine]

Would u work there again ?
Witch compagnie are u from ?

I worked for Nata for four seasons.
They are a small scale planting company, definitely a lower end planting company.
Nata is a rookie farm, but the returning planters and foreman are extremely loyal.
The owners are two upstanding brothers who are nice to work for they have a good atmosphere about them. Because they stay in camp and are very involved in camp life Nata does not have that impersonal feeling you might get from bigger companies where the owners are less involved with the planters.
They don't have much May work (unless they get sub-contracted to finish another companies spring trees) so there main season usually starts early June.
Nata relies solely on one West Fraser contract by Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge. They have the same contract every year based on business rapport so don't except much variation from season to season.They depend a lot on obscure odd job contracts and private wood lots.
They are not up to par to bid in the big leagues with most other planting companies anymore.
In the last two season there tree prices have gone up a bit but you could probably make more money somewhere else if you did your research.
There camp is usually 40-35% Christian college students trying to pay there tuition so it has a different feel to the company compared to other planting camps.
The owners are also Christian so don't except many wild parties, much more work focused and a lot of people just go to bed early on nights off.
The camp amenities are not very good, the food in the last two seasons is on par with prison chow, before that they had a better cook (the current one is not as good).
So if you want a tame camp that's more work focused and sober (there's still a good amount of party planters, so you wont have a problem finding your groove).

[Sunwatersoil]

I’ve held off on posting this for some time out of respect for someone who worked in mid-management there, but as they are no longer returning I feel released to share my experience.

As retrovertigo once said on these forums “Nata is like a free summer camp for local PG kids, literally getting dropped off by their parents to work for .10c per tree”. I agree.

I planted with Nata for my rookie season in 2016. I had other options but wasn’t all that well informed of the good qualities of a planting camp at the time so I decided to cast caution to the wind and go with the first foreman and company who showed interest in hiring me.

My rookie training involved being taught the shovel technique in grass-mat between the tents at camp, in short, I learned a whole lot of nothing. In fact upon being released into the block for the first time the only substantial training I received all season was by a Quality Checker who feared that we’d fuck it up. To be fair this was not a fault of the owners Dave and Steve but rather our Foreman was quite unprepared to take on the responsibilities of a 12 pack that had six rookies. He left before our season was done and no longer works in the industry. I did have a chance to get to know some of the other foreman and those that I respected and stayed in touch with have moved onto other companies.

Food was dismal. Although they did hire a full time baker who put together some decent block treats. Vegetarians and vegans were purchasing supplemental food on days off. Occasionally at dinner the cook decided not to prepare a separate dish for the vegans/vegetarians and would just tell us to grab more salad. It was my understanding at the time camp policy was that the cook was allowed to pocket any unused money budgeted but not used in purchasing camp food. Sounded pretty absurd to me. There was a lot of complaining by everyone mid-season as exclusively sausage, eggs, beans, and toast was served for breakfast; I believe variety is key to keeping a camp stimulated as many days can blur together. Dinner for the carnivores wasn’t awful, lots of lasagna, meatloafs, and roasts. He was not asked to return for many reasons some I’ve decided not to mention.

For the 2017 season I heard poor reviews of the food in camp but I’ve heard better of the 2018 season.

Some of the Foremen and second drivers were reckless in their speeding on bush roads and I brought up my concerns a couple times. It takes a lot of courage for a rookie to tell their foreman or senior planter that they’re not comfortable and feel unsafe but in my experience they were receptive and understood; sometimes they just get carried away and become overly confident. On another crew the second driver was not able to make a turn following their speeding foreman and had it not been for a large metre ditch before a cliff’s edge there would be six crosses on a logging road outside Chetwynd. Understandably that driver lost their driving privileges for the season.

Dave and Steve run a Christian camp but other than an unofficial Sunday bush church it’s not too apparent. As they hire many students from bible colleges around Canada and many of their Foremen are also Christians but it’s not a prerequisite to advancement.

The season I was there the gender balance was heavily skewed male, with six women and 50 men. I found there to be quite a bit of cock sizing and numbers bragging which in my view wasn’t conducive to a positive camp environment. I do know that since then they have hired a female crew-boss. And in terms of camp atmosphere I know of at least one person who decided to keep their orientation a secret and felt the camp was not queer friendly.

After a camp meeting midway through the season the owner Steve gave me the impression that he ‘provides young adults with the opportunity to experience planting first and making money second’ this rubbed me the wrong way as it became apparent now why the prices in camp were low. Often 10-11 cents for pine and 11-12 cents for spruce for some of the greenest BC land I have ever seen even since then. I’ve heard that they raised the prices since then, an average of 12 c is often quoted.

I wish I had held onto my my payslips from that season. Know your minimum wage rights; keep track of your portal to portal times, and a personal record of your daily earnings! We did not receive itemized daily production with our paycheck as I’ve now learned other companies provide.

My advice to anyone who is considering Nata is that although every planting camp contains some great people some companies are very different from others. Inform yourselves of silviculture workers rights, watch the Replant.ca training videos, shop around for good camps and crew-bosses, and talk to experienced planters.

[redxiv7]

You got different pricing per species? Or is that just a statement of understanding stemming from your lack of experience?

[Sunwatersoil]

Pine was typically priced a cent lower than spruce. Or spruce was typically priced a cent higher than pine. Depends how you look at it.