This page has been set up to share photos & video relating to the "Why We Plant Trees" chapter of "Step By Step, A Tree Planter's Handbook." Visit www.replant.ca/books to see books about tree planting.
Only a very small part of BC is logged every year. The same is true in the other provinces.
The AAC is British Columbia's "Annual Allowable Cut."
Here's a map showing Timber Supply Areas and Tree Farm Licenses.
If you're looking for a way to get into shape, try doing some running (or even an hour per day of brisk walking) during the eight weeks leading up into the season.
Does it help for you to do pushups? Well, it certainly doesn't hurt! Arm strength can come in handy.
More pushups!
Many successful tree planters have a slim or a moderate physique. If you are what a doctor considers to be "over average weight" for your height and age, be aware that you may have a harder time than most other planters. Nobody wants to carry extra weight around on the block.
The smart planters will do a lot of study and research before starting their first season.
Here's a happy and healthy first-year planter. Having a positive personality is very beneficial if you're going to be staying in a planting camp for several months.
Hiking is another great way to prepare yourself in the pre-season.
Look for the "Fit To Plant" information by Dalia Roberts, which can be found online. It can help you plan a pre-season fitness regime which will ultimately increase your productivity and earnings.
If you're going to do some hiking to get into better physical condition, make sure that you carry a heavy backpack, which roughly simulates carrying a load of trees in your bags (although the weight is distributed differently).
The "night off," which is really the night before the day off, is a good time to stop thinking about planting, and just relax.
Time invested in training new planters pays off significantly. Here, an experienced planter is demonstrating planting techniques to a first-year planter.
If you have allergies, you may be miserable at times. Hay fever is a problem for some people. If that's the case, you may want to bring some non-drowsy antihistamines with you.
You may not think that hay fever or similar allergies would be a problem when planting in cut-blocks, but it is quite common for blocks to be very grassy, especially in July and August.
Pollens can be very thick in the air at certain times during the summer, which becomes obvious after a sudden rain. These puddles show how much pollen was in the air before the rain started.
Are you scared of heights? That probably won't be an issue because it's rare that a first-year planter will be planting on extremely steep ground. The steepest blocks are usually found in areas where vet-only companies work, such as in coastal areas of BC, or in parts of BC's southern interior.
Here's a photo of a coastal planter (Scooter) working on the edge of a bluff. You have to be very careful about your footing in this kind of situation.
Here's an example of a coastal block. To be honest, this is not that steep. They can get a lot worse. The blocks that first-year planters work on, in northern BC or in Alberta or other provinces, are generally a lot flatter and easier.
Some companies do a lot of helicopter work, especially in Alberta. If you're nervous about flying in a helicopter, that might be a problem.
Being color-blind is a problem for some people. Although it doesn't make it impossible for you to be a planter, it will definitely decrease productivity for some people.
Going tree planting with a "significant other" is generally a terrible idea. If either member of the couple doesn't like planting (which is often the case), then the couple inevitably either breaks up, or they both quit. While unfortunate, this is a statistical reality. The only couples that tend to have a good success rate are those in which both members of the couple have previous experience. In such cases, it is quite rare that they don't complete a full season.
A tree planting camp is no place to be if you're suffering from depression, or taking anti-depressant medication.
The road to recovery from emotional or physical crisis can be very difficult. Again, a planting camp is no place to be in this kind of a situation. The physical demands of planting are too hard on a person dealing with some sort of physical recovery, and planting can be mentally tough for some people too.
If you wear glasses, you're going to be frustrated on rain days!
Wearing contacts is an option, although the dry dust and constant dirt can make the job especially difficult for people who wear contacts.
If you do wear contacts, disposibles are highly recommended, because you'll definitely lose/rip some of them.
People who wear contacts should carry a bottle of saline solution in their dry bag (or use their water bottle in an emergency).
If you're an environmentalist, becoming a tree planter is not the way to save the world. We're basically enabling the long-term process of logging. Ultimately, tree planting is part of a system of farming, except that the crop rotations are measured in terms of decades instead of months. You may become bitter and jaded that you're planting trees simply to provide toilet paper for your future grandchildren. On a positive note, planting these trees is much better than logging and not bothering to reforest the harvested areas.
If you have previous knee injuries, tree planting is probably not the job for you. Planting is hard on the knees, and can often aggravate old injuries that healed years ago. The same can apply to elbows and shoulders.
If any of the above "cautionary advice" applies to you, consider it very carefully. Don't just ignore it and think that it won't apply to you. Tree planting is a very difficult job. If you end up trying it and quit a few weeks into the season, the person that gets hurt the most is yourself. Don't go planting unless you are absolutely 100% certain that it's the right job for you!
Click here to see a page listing books related to reforestation in Canada. If you received a photocopied version of this book from your planting company, or you're a trainer at a Canadian planting company, click on this link for more information.
