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Thanks for sharing so much information on your site. My daughter who is
15 is interested in a summer in the bush. I'm curious if you would know
what the minimum age requirement is to do this in ONT. Also do you
happen to know any useful site for the Ontario tree planters?
This is what I replied:
I'm not sure if there is a minimum age requirement in Ontario, other than what provincial labour legislation would call for with any paid employment. That would be the key thing to check into, I would think. I'm sure there is similar legislation in BC, but we occasionally have kids as young as 12-14 who are starting to learn to plant, but usually they are the sons/daughters of the company owners or camp supervisors, so I think there are probably exceptions made for workers of that age in that kind of situation. Aside from those special cases, I can't think of too many young adults under the age of 18 that have started work as tree planters.
Unfortunately, I don't know of any sites specifically tailored to Ontario planting.
For the most part I would say 15 year olds dont know what they want to do. they might think they know, but they dont. So if she says she wants to try treeplanting, probably not. how ever, some kids are crazy and maybe she does want to try it in which case:
1. Any forman who agrees to hire her will have to worry about her quiting and not hacking it (as with any rookie).
2. A 15 year old could get into alot of trouble ina planting camp, especially some of the ones if been in. I would send any 15 y/o daughter of mine into the bush un-supervised.
3. As you mentioned, the younger ones usually start planting because of conections to owners and supervisors and whatnot. I would want her to have more than a working relationship with some one higher up on the food chain just as a precaution to any unforseen variables that may arise. Though, I suppose if there is a family friend or brother or somebody that already plants and is the source of ambition for her, they might provide enough peace of mind.
As a side note, I first started working on a farm and subsequently construction at 14, clearing scrub brush, falling trees and building roads. I didnt start planting them till I was 19 though
kingjames_2nd wrote:
2. A 15 year old could get into alot of trouble ina planting camp, especially some of the ones if been in. I would send any 15 y/o daughter of mine into the bush un-supervised.
QFT.
I was 18 when I started planting, and even I got into too much partying. Bush camp is not like sleepaway camp, and there's no way I'd want my hypothetical 15-year-old daughter there.
kingjames_2nd wrote:
2. A 15 year old could get into alot of trouble ina planting camp, especially some of the ones if been in. I would send any 15 y/o daughter of mine into the bush un-supervised.
QFT.
I was 18 when I started planting, and even I got into too much partying. Bush camp is not like sleepaway camp, and there's no way I'd want my hypothetical 15-year-old daughter there.
By the way, I ment I "wouldn't" send my 15 y/o daughter there...
I haven't done any planting in BC, but I know in Ontario the season starts at the beginning of May...when a 15 year old should still be in school! Most (all!) companies won't hire anyone mid-way through the season.
But when I was 15, I wanted to plant. Had to wait till I was 19, though!
I was 18 when I started, but I planted for a local company, so I didn't live in a camp. There was one kid on my crew there who did homeschooling in order to plant. So I guess in theory it's an option, although I agree about the previous comments about the problems of sending a 15 y/o to a planting camp.
Looking at the email her mother sent is enough for me to say no. Of course I would have to meet them to have a better feel on the situation but in general.
Unless there is some one to take her under there wing she is going to be exposed to a very free and volatile scene, can she handle these Big Ups and Big Downs?
Planting takes allot of personal will and determation you have to really want to do it and succed in order to be successful. You need some kind of vehicle to do this - get away from it all - make enough to pay for next years tuition - test your ability's - prove your self - and you need gas to run it - competitive realse - social reasons - Personal will power ext//
She may have the Gas but does she have the vehicle? It seems most people that are 15 and have a mom looking for them to do some summer work might not have enough invested interest to really go for it. Does she have bills to pay? I dont think she is going to be able to prove much to her mom as her mom is the one who found this job!
If this was her daughter looking for a summer job it would be a different story but then again there's always exceptions.
kingjames_2nd wrote:
2. A 15 year old could get into alot of trouble ina planting camp, especially some of the ones if been in. I would send any 15 y/o daughter of mine into the bush un-supervised.
QFT.
I was 18 when I started planting, and even I got into too much partying. Bush camp is not like sleepaway camp, and there's no way I'd want my hypothetical 15-year-old daughter there.
By the way, I ment I "wouldn't" send my 15 y/o daughter there...
Yeah, I gathered that from the context.
It's obvious from the e-mail that the mom has NO IDEA what planting is like, except that you can make money at it. I mean, when I started, my dad (who worked in forestry in the 70's) told me what it would probably be like, and even then I didn't know what I was getting myself in to until I was out there for a while. And I was a pretty grown-up 18-year-old (had been on my own for a year, paying rent and working 2-3 jobs before I decided to quit and go planting before uni).
And I think RedBaron makes a really good point, though. If the mom is finding her daughter a summer job, I doubt the girl is mentally prepared for it.
