The Treeplanter's Guide to Canada

[Nate]

There have been a few threads on the boards about the cheapest places to stay or the best places to eat in the towns we've all worked in, spent our days off in, or at the very least have stopped for coffee in. Instead of having a bunch of uncoordinated threads, I thought we could try a little social media project - a public google map for treeplanters with listings for the best places to eat and sleep, buy gear, get gas, and things to do on days off.

Click here to check out the Treeplanter's Guide to Canada

Everyone on these boards knows of at least one or two gems - whether it's the cleanest laundromat in Edmonton or the most kick ass pie and coffee in Quesnel or the best damned burger in Northern Ontario. If you have a few minutes to post a reply to this thread with some suggestions I'll put them up on the map, or you can edit the map yourself. If everyone can chip in an idea or two it would go a long way towards creating a valuable treeplanting resource.

Some ideas on what to post:

- Best places to eat; restaurants, cafes, burger stands, pubs.
- Cheapest accommodations in town; motels, hostels, college dorms.
- '24 Hour' or 'Open Late' resources. Sometimes it's impossible to find any place open after 9p.m., which can be a real pain in the ass. Knowing where the 24 hour grocery stores/gas stations are can be a real help.
- Quality places to get basic services; laundromats, barbers, car washes, etc.
- Diesel gas or Cardlock locations in remote areas.
- Treeplanting company head offices.
- Equipment stores (outdoor gear, planting supply, whatever).
- Things to do on days off. Surfing spots, skydiving places, disc golf courses, chill beaches, anything interesting.
- Pay showers.
- Whatever else you can think of that others might want to know about!

To Edit The Map:

First off, to edit the map you need a gmail account. They're free at gmail.com (it's handy to have one anyway for storage - I use one as a back-up for important documents).

Once you're logged into your account, open the map, and you should see an "Edit" button appear next to the map's description.

From there search for an address you'd like to add. When the little pointer thing pops up, click on it and it brings up a little window with the address and some options hyperlinked in blue at the bottom of it: "Ger Directions", "Search Nearby" etc.

Click "Save to My Maps" and select the Treeplanting Map.

Then bring up the Treeplanting Map and (making sure you still have "Edit" selected) click on the entry you've just added. Change the icon to whatever's appropriate, then modify the title and description, and you're good to go.

[somesilviguy]

What a fantastic idea and what a daunting load you're undertaking for people.

I tip my proverbial hat to you sir!!

[Sebastian]

A fine idea, and I"m sure I'll refer to it over the course of the summer. I threw in what I could remember off the top of my head for Burns Lake, Smithers and Houston.

[krahn]

two thumbs up. this could prove incredibly useful if people take part.

[Tally Ban]

Brilliant!!!!!! I've had this as a block thought for 10 years!! Finally the technology is starting to catch up with my block thoughts!

[Dogmusher]

it was bushcuteyputey , now we have tally ban

[bush]

i am bushcuteyputey.

[Dogmusher]

oh I thought it was bushninja ? damn

[bush]

they took my cuteyputey. but i am bushcuteyputey.

[Nate]

This (i.e. substituting happy words for sad words) is just about the only type of explicit censoring you'll see the forums doing. Certain 'sad' words will automatically be translated by the forums into other 'happy' words. Treeplanting gets a bad enough rep as it is for its lack of cultural diversity in some corners, and throwing around degrading slurs for the fun of it takes it a little too far on a public forum.

If they're used in an intelligent context (which is a little hard to imagine happening here, but possible) that's fine, but otherwise not.

We know the intent isn't to be offensive or malicious in 99% of cases, but the results can be. We're not going to start weighing the "political correctness" or appropriateness of usernames like Tally Ban, unless there happens to be complaints. We all know what the no-no words are, and this is a public forum, so it should be fairly common sense what words are going to be modded.

[Scooter]

Hm. I was confused for a second when you pointed out Tally Ban. I thought it meant a ban on tallies, as in, "to enforce dog-fuckery so you don't plant any trees and therefore have no tally for the day."

[Dogmusher]

Hahaha Scooter ! may be it is . sorry Nate I ruined your thread , I couldn't help it
I'm still sceptical about "tally ban" being less pejorative than "cuteyputey", not that the word itself is , but it's use is , often.

[Nate]

Hahaha Scooter ! may be it is . sorry Nate I ruined your thread , I couldn't help it
I'm still sceptical about "tally ban" being less pejorative than "cuteyputey", not that the word itself is , but it's use is , often.

I can see your point, but that's the type of grey area we'd like to avoid moderating. Interpreting what people "intend" with their names/posts is a slippery slope, and this community hasn't had any real problems with that sort of thing, nor would we expect it to, so it's hopefully safe to trust that the intent is harmless. Slurs are much more clear cut.

All posts get hijacked on these boards; eventually they make their way back on topic (sometimes).

[Scooter]

By the way, how much does a seque weigh?

[Richianity]

Where oh where are the civil liberties warriors? (LOL!)

Censorship is for the weak, Comrades.

/hijacking

[Scooter]

As I mentioned in the Forum rules, you are more than welcome to be racist, but only as long as it's against the Scottish. And that's only because I have a Scottish background.

(Nothing to do with the Scotsmen who have been posting here!)

[Tally Ban]

I'll happily change my name at the request of anyone who finds it offensive. The name is a wordplay based on tally's (those things you hand in to get paid) and the Taliban (the regime that once controlled Afghanistan).

I can conceive of two ways in which the name might be offensive:

1) Offensive because the name evokes the repressive ideology and human rights abuses of the Taliban. An analogous username might be "The Stalinator" or "Foremanazi."

2) Offensive because the word "Taliban" is a possible pejorative term for Middle Eastern people, regardless of their religion or ideology. I have never heard it used this way, but can conceive of very ignorant people throwing the word around like this.

There is nothing racist about the pun, and there is no attempt to elicit a positive or negative response by evoking stereotypes.

The name is, I think, at the worst, insensitive to people who connect strongly, for one reason or another, to the human rights abuses of the Taliban, or to people sensitive to racism, who might find a word like Taliban, when used as a user name, but without any other context giving it a pejorative meaning, to be nonetheless offensive. I am curious to hear other peoples views on the subject.

Again, I'm happy to change my name at the request of anyone who is sincerely personally offended, and not just looking for an excuse to derail another thread on this message board.

[Dogmusher]

Again, I'm happy to change my name at the request of anyone who is sincerely personally offended, and not just looking for an excuse to derail another thread on this message board.

It's pretty much what happened , your username is just fine

[southwestrepresent]

Good, but I think you need to put the small town drug dealers in here too
it could safe tree planters hours in town walking around asking people who has pot

[Guillermo]

This is an awesome idea. I've added a few locations, but this forum thread needs a permanent link somewhere on the replant website. It could be an invaluable resource for vets and rookies alike.

[Scooter]

I'll try to remember to do that in a couple weeks, once I'm unemployed and have a bit more time to fiddle with the website.

[TheHamsterizer]

There have been a few threads on the boards about the cheapest places to stay or the best places to eat in the towns we've all worked in, spent our days off in, or at the very least have stopped for coffee in. Instead of having a bunch of uncoordinated threads, I thought we could try a little social media project - a public google map for treeplanters with listings for the best places to eat and sleep, buy gear, get gas, and things to do on days off.

Click here to check out the Treeplanter's Guide to Canada

Everyone on these boards knows of at least one or two gems - whether it's the cleanest laundromat in Edmonton or the most kick ass pie and coffee in Quesnel or the best damned burger in Northern Ontario. If you have a few minutes to post a reply to this thread with some suggestions I'll put them up on the map, or you can edit the map yourself. If everyone can chip in an idea or two it would go a long way towards creating a valuable treeplanting resource.

Some ideas on what to post:

- Best places to eat; restaurants, cafes, burger stands, pubs.
- Cheapest accommodations in town; motels, hostels, college dorms.
- '24 Hour' or 'Open Late' resources. Sometimes it's impossible to find any place open after 9p.m., which can be a real pain in the ass. Knowing where the 24 hour grocery stores/gas stations are can be a real help.
- Quality places to get basic services; laundromats, barbers, car washes, etc.
- Diesel gas or Cardlock locations in remote areas.
- Treeplanting company head offices.
- Equipment stores (outdoor gear, planting supply, whatever).
- Things to do on days off. Surfing spots, skydiving places, disc golf courses, chill beaches, anything interesting.
- Pay showers.
- Whatever else you can think of that others might want to know about!

To Edit The Map:

First off, to edit the map you need a gmail account. They're free at gmail.com (it's handy to have one anyway for storage - I use one as a back-up for important documents).

Once you're logged into your account, open the map, and you should see an "Edit" button appear next to the map's description.

From there search for an address you'd like to add. When the little pointer thing pops up, click on it and it brings up a little window with the address and some options hyperlinked in blue at the bottom of it: "Ger Directions", "Search Nearby" etc.

Click "Save to My Maps" and select the Treeplanting Map.

Then bring up the Treeplanting Map and (making sure you still have "Edit" selected) click on the entry you've just added. Change the icon to whatever's appropriate, then modify the title and description, and you're good to go.

Good idea, but there's an easier way to get all this information. Just ask someone who's worked in the town before. Or wander around the town yourself a little. But hey, why interact with a community when you can sit in a hotel room and click on colorful icons?

[Hugo Pants]

I don't see what's the Hamster's problem here. If you want to save time, maybe this tool will help. If you have enough time and mobility (big factor) you can just pop into town and figure it out (way more fun, but not always practical).

Add some sugar to quell the bitterness. Sheesh.

[TheHamsterizer]

I don't see what's the Hamster's problem here. If you want to save time, maybe this tool will help. If you have enough time and mobility (big factor) you can just pop into town and figure it out (way more fun, but not always practical).

Add some sugar to quell the bitterness. Sheesh.

You don't see the problem. Treeplanting has already become a bunch of people locked in their rooms on laptops. And now with this new feature you don't have to walk around town and look for stuff anymore! You can mapquest it even, and find the perfect route to take.

Just go into a town, none of these things are hard to find. Maybe even talk to a local! Shop around. In an hour or two of walking I'll find honest information. Not a bunch of people posting their brother's bakery on a web site.

The more we can interact with the people who live in the towns we work in, the better. This little project does not help that. And it's not going to work anyways.

[Guillermo]

Jeez someone really hates treeplanters with laptops I guess... not every local in PG is going to know that nitridex gloves cost almost half the price at Timberline as oppesd to IRL; not every local in chetwynd knows that BJ's Furniture and Feed also sells guitar strings. and these places don't have websites that list their products and prices. I don't understand how anyone can be so opposed to an awesome way to easily share information and experience. This won't stop people from "interacting with the community", and not every treeplanter wants to spend a couple hours wandering around trying to find boots or gloves on their day off.

[Scooter]

I think the project is a great idea, but I can definitely see Hamsterizer's point. The day that I see a planter using a Blackberry on the block is the day that I'm going to snap, but I know that day will be coming soon.

[Nate]

I think the project is a great idea, but I can definitely see Hamsterizer's point. The day that I see a planter using a Blackberry on the block is the day that I'm going to snap, but I know that day will be coming soon.

He doesn't have a point. He's championing the very thing this map was created to engender: more real interaction between treeplanters and the community. He's such an idiot that he thinks any time you touch a laptop it means you're becoming a social recluse and destroying your potential for meaningful interaction with your community. He fails to understand that this map is explicitly designed to provide planters with information on how and where to meaningfully interact with the community.

We're talking about a map here, not a game or a social networking medium. The map in of itself is useless, it serves no purpose. Its only utility is to someone who's interested in the very type of real interaction being discussed. How can someone sit inside their hotel room and click buttons? If a person actually uses the map, they use it to get out into the community and support and interact with small business and the unconventional. In the blurb about the map, I specifically say: "although anyone can add anything, our intent is to create a resource for treeplanters looking for the best deals, best food, and most interesting things to do on days off. Everyone knows how to find the local Wal-Mart and Tim Horton's etc. Unless it's a particularly unique location for whatever reason (hours, super friendly staff, unusual selection) we ask that you not add large chain or franchise locations."

The reality is that in a lot of situations we as treeplanters or seasonal/migrant workers don't have time to stroll around town figuring things out, and we're romanticizing and idealizing "locals" if we think we can get a low-down on the best places in town from chatting with a few people in the street or in shops. The average person in Edson, AB is not going to have the same tastes as the average treeplanter - he's going to tell you to go where he goes; Boston Pizza or Ernie O's.

Also, the walking around scenario only works in smaller towns. When you get to a town like Kamloops, and you don't have transportation, your options are limited. Out of necessity planters often hit the familiar and numbing loop of Wal-Mart/grocery store/laundromat/fast food chain because they don't have the time to walk around the city and discover all of those neat little spots. Even if they do, what're the chances of them finding the Mexican joint in the train station on their own, or the average local telling them to check out the train station grub?

This has nothing to do with blackberries on the block, this has to do with planters helping planters avoid the big box chains and restaurants.

[TheHamsterizer]

I think the project is a great idea, but I can definitely see Hamsterizer's point. The day that I see a planter using a Blackberry on the block is the day that I'm going to snap, but I know that day will be coming soon.

He doesn't have a point. He's championing the very thing this map was created to engender: more real interaction between treeplanters and the community. He's such an idiot that he thinks any time you touch a laptop it means you're becoming a social recluse and destroying your potential for meaningful interaction with your community. He fails to understand that this map is explicitly designed to provide planters with information on how and where to meaningfully interact with the community.

We're talking about a map here, not a game or a social networking medium. The map in of itself is useless, it serves no purpose. Its only utility is to someone who's interested in the very type of real interaction being discussed. How can someone sit inside their hotel room and click buttons? If a person actually uses the map, they use it to get out into the community and support and interact with small business and the unconventional. In the blurb about the map, I specifically say: "although anyone can add anything, our intent is to create a resource for treeplanters looking for the best deals, best food, and most interesting things to do on days off. Everyone knows how to find the local Wal-Mart and Tim Horton's etc. Unless it's a particularly unique location for whatever reason (hours, super friendly staff, unusual selection) we ask that you not add large chain or franchise locations."

The reality is that in a lot of situations we as treeplanters or seasonal/migrant workers don't have time to stroll around town figuring things out, and we're romanticizing and idealizing "locals" if we think we can get a low-down on the best places in town from chatting with a few people in the street or in shops. The average person in Edson, AB is not going to have the same tastes as the average treeplanter - he's going to tell you to go where he goes; Boston Pizza or Ernie O's.

Also, the walking around scenario only works in smaller towns. When you get to a town like Kamloops, and you don't have transportation, your options are limited. Out of necessity planters often hit the familiar and numbing loop of Wal-Mart/grocery store/laundromat/fast food chain because they don't have the time to walk around the city and discover all of those neat little spots. Even if they do, what're the chances of them finding the Mexican joint in the train station on their own, or the average local telling them to check out the train station grub?

This has nothing to do with blackberries on the block, this has to do with planters helping planters avoid the big box chains and restaurants.

No point? douchebag.

Think of it like zelda or something. If you knew where the magic sword was, would you talk to the villagers? No. You would go straight for the sword. And then back to your room.

Everyone has time to walk around the town that provides them with work. If they don't, they should be ashamed of themselves. Even if you don't get that magic tip from chatting with a local, at least you were chatting with a local.

I think people can avoid box chains and restaurants on their own. It's pretty simple!


Is that a pointy enough point for you there, mr. long winded?

[Richianity]

I'll happily change my name at the request of anyone who finds it offensive. The name is a wordplay based on tally's (those things you hand in to get paid) and the Taliban (the regime that once controlled Afghanistan).

I can conceive of two ways in which the name might be offensive:

1) Offensive because the name evokes the repressive ideology and human rights abuses of the Taliban. An analogous username might be "The Stalinator" or "Foremanazi."

2) Offensive because the word "Taliban" is a possible pejorative term for Middle Eastern people, regardless of their religion or ideology. I have never heard it used this way, but can conceive of very ignorant people throwing the word around like this.

There is nothing racist about the pun, and there is no attempt to elicit a positive or negative response by evoking stereotypes.

The name is, I think, at the worst, insensitive to people who connect strongly, for one reason or another, to the human rights abuses of the Taliban, or to people sensitive to racism, who might find a word like Taliban, when used as a user name, but without any other context giving it a pejorative meaning, to be nonetheless offensive. I am curious to hear other peoples views on the subject.

Again, I'm happy to change my name at the request of anyone who is sincerely personally offended, and not just looking for an excuse to derail another thread on this message board.

No. Don't wuss out. Your name is awesome and people can go cry fetal position in mom's basement if they have a problem with it. Stop being so effin' PC Canadian.

[Scooter]

But there are two different points here, and I'll admit that the blackberry wasn't a good analogy.

He's saying that he doesn't like increased societal introversion, which I agree is a problem. And I'm probably more guilty than most people on this issue.

So really the argument is whether or not this helps or hurts social interaction. On one hand, it can be argued that this will help, because it will get people out to the right spots to get the things they need. On the other hand, it can be argued that this leads to ignoring the adventures that you'll find along the way.

From an efficiency point of view, this is a great idea. Why waste time searching manually for things that you could find much faster in person? This can free up more of your time to do other things. Who knows what? Maybe people will have more time to go out and socialize. Maybe people will have more time to sit in their hotel rooms and be anti-social on laptops.

As I said, I think this project is a great idea - but of course, I'm a champion for efficiency. But it is also important to understand the other point of view: "Life is a journey, not a destination."

I think I should set up a tree planting company in Second Life. Why plant trees in RL when you can do it in SL, sitting in your hotel room? You don't have to buy rain gear, and you can have a beer while you're planting. Maybe we could get corporate sponsors to subsidize the planters who spend long days hunched over a keyboard, to reward their environmental idealism with some sort of price-per-virtual-tree compensation scheme.

[Richianity]

Cyborgization will be the demise of humanity... Can we get into the controlling aspect of technology on the masses after this?

Use this map as a guide and for ideas (like lonely planet). When in town, ask a local how to get there and if its good. Win-win.

Yes I just solved this argument. There WILL be an autograph signing!

Carry on with the name calling though! Makes work more enjoyable.

[Nate]

Sorry, my life isn't like Zelda Hamsterizer, I can't relate to "being ashamed of myself" if I don't have time to walk around. We don't all have time to wander around in search of the Ocarina of Time. Interesting that you reach for a video game metaphor though.

And as I said, you're romanticizing and idealizing "locals" while severely overrepresenting the importance of the source of this type of information. "At least you were chatting with a local" - LOL

[Nate]

Cyborgization will be the demise of humanity... Can we get into the controlling aspect of technology on the masses after this?

Use this map as a guide and for ideas (like lonely planet). When in town, ask a local how to get there and if its good. Win-win.

Yes I just solved this argument. There WILL be an autograph signing!

Carry on with the name calling though! Makes work more enjoyable.

Yeah this sums it up. If you use the map it doesn't preclude speaking with locals. Only an idiot would assume it does.

[TheHamsterizer]

Sorry, my life isn't like Zelda Hamsterizer, I can't relate to "being ashamed of myself" if I don't have time to walk around. We don't all have time to wander around in search of the Ocarina of Time. Interesting that you reach for a video game metaphor though.


And as I said, you're romanticizing and idealizing "locals" while severely overrepresenting the importance of the source of this type of information. "At least you were chatting with a local" - LOL

No. You still don't get it. I tried video games, do you want a fucking puppet show now? How much do I have to dumb this down? Jesus.

You don't have time to walk around? Seriously? Do you actually even plant anymore?

I think people get the point I was making. If you don't, that's fine. I'm not romanticizing anyone, I think it's important to talk to people in the towns we work. But we don't have to agree. You might find it more significant to click on brightly colored icons. Good for you!

Your life is more like zelda than you realize, and I'm a motherfucking Dodongo! Thanks for continuing to read my tripe. kisses.

[Nate]

lol yeah, you did catch me feeding the trolls, my bad.

[krahn]

seems simple enough for me. some planters will use this and find it incredibly useful, and many either not know about it or just prefer to find out on their own. there's enough people that would benefit from this to make it useful.

i'm the kind of person who usually knows where to get deals on town as i do wander around way more than the average planter, and yet i love this idea.

[steel8909]

Sorry, my life isn't like Zelda Hamsterizer, I can't relate to "being ashamed of myself" if I don't have time to walk around. We don't all have time to wander around in search of the Ocarina of Time. Interesting that you reach for a video game metaphor though.

And as I said, you're romanticizing and idealizing "locals" while severely overrepresenting the importance of the source of this type of information. "At least you were chatting with a local" - LOL

I remember some locals asking us if we had any crack.

[Gabe]

True it is, that when working out of a SMALL town where there are only a few options available for miscallaneous tasty eats and/or gear locals can help you find the good shit, but if you're in a larger town, say, kelowna, timmons, thunder bay, amos, grand prairie, prince george, or anything over 50k, the locals may not be able to help you out as much. So why not have a knowledge community for planters to share their earned wisdom?

But, I wanna reiterate a vote for a hamsterizer forum, and can we not revel in the irony of ol' hammy looking for some 'irl' interaction

[Scooter]

Confusion:

IRL = company in PG that sells planting equipment, short for Industrial Reproductions Limited
IRL = acronym for "in real life"

Irony: TheHamsterizer, eschewing "in real life" interaction on a message board?

[Gabe]

:( no unintended entendre, it was more a latter case scenario

[forestwhore]

it sounds like it will help out the spoiled upper middle class pilgrims from suburbia. they can all walk around with their personal GPS and iTouch or whatever. when was the last time a canadian got lost in a canadian town or city? probably some dumb fucking treeplanter. do you think your grand parents came to canada and looked this shit up on the interweb? this site is awsome. it should be ROOKIE.CA.

[Nate]

rookie.ca was gobbled up pretty quick unfortunately.

[Dogmusher]

how funny is that , some regular users of an internet planting forum complaining about a simple online map. So is that forum gonna hold you back from chatting with real treeplanters because you can already exchange information here ? no. And is that map gonna hold you back from chatting with locals ? no.
Come on now, is that pure boredom?

[TheHamsterizer]

how funny is that , some regular users of an internet planting forum complaining about a simple online map. So is that forum gonna hold you back from chatting with real treeplanters because you can already exchange information here ? no. And is that map gonna hold you back from chatting with locals ? no.
Come on now, is that pure boredom?

Pretty much. I have to at least TRY to argue with Nate whenever he posts something. I'll probably use this resource, but I don't have to like it!

I'm just sick of the internet providing instant answers to everything. How easy do things really need to be anyways? A big problem with these kinds of things is that when it comes down to it you`re just getting one persons(possibly wrong) answer. How often have you:

Mapquested directions to somewhere and been directed to roads that no longer exist or are blocked.

Wikipedia`d something and been given false information.

Watched an `instructional`video on youtube by someone who had no idea what they were doing.

The same thing could happen here. If I owned a real dump of a hotel in Prince George I could just talk it up on this guide in the hopes that people would go there. How helpful would that be...

[twitch]

^

die already....

[Scooter]

Mapquested directions to somewhere and been directed to roads that no longer exist or are blocked.

But that's part of the fun!

[Mike]

Mapquested directions to somewhere and been directed to roads that no longer exist or are blocked.

Wikipedia`d something and been given false information.

Watched an `instructional`video on youtube by someone who had no idea what they were doing.

Then you get to talk to locals anyways!

[TheHamsterizer]

lol yeah, you did catch me feeding the trolls, my bad.

I sure did. You claim that nothing I post is worth reading, and yet you take the time to write such thoughtful responses to almost all of them. I really do appreciate it, I know it must be hard.

[TheHamsterizer]

Mapquested directions to somewhere and been directed to roads that no longer exist or are blocked.

Wikipedia`d something and been given false information.

Watched an `instructional`video on youtube by someone who had no idea what they were doing.

Then you get to talk to locals anyways!

EXACTLY. If you just asked an actual person in the first place you would more likely get more accurate information.

Way to miss the point!

I don't even know why I bother. These aren't complicated concepts, I don't know why I have to keep explaining them over and over again.

[outlander]

Google maps is awsome, much more accurate than asking someone for directions. In fact, I don't think Google maps has ever given be bad directions. And I use it a lot.