Ten Reasons to go Tree Planting this Summer

Fundamentally, there’s only one reason anyone should ever want to go tree planting or rather, there’s only one reason any crew boss will hire you to become a tree-planter, that is a desire to make a lot of money. But veteran tree-planters, let’s face it, tree-planting is worth so much more than just some summer coin.

These are the top 10 reasons you should go tree-planting this summer.

1) There’s a lot of money to be made.

Because of tree-planting’s piece rate payment structure, you’re in control of exactly how much money you make every day. Sweat of your brow style.

2) It can be life changing.

Tree-planting thrusts you into the unknown and will change the way you work. From The Pas’s Wescana motel, to the remote wilderness in the rain, back to the Alhouette on a Saturday night and back to the bush to test your will again, again and again– tree-planting will break you and turn you into a new kind of person.

3) The solitude can be refreshing.

You can go entire working days saying nothing to anyone (except your crew boss, you should probably keep them updated.) Living entirely in your own head, with your own thoughts, thinking about your life and you situation is an incredible perk of tree-planting. Tree-planting forces you to reflect.

4) You get to live outside.

By Luc Forsyth

Is there another job, so easily attainable, where old school bush camps are still used? You will live outside for the duration of your time planting. This alone will be an unforgettable experience and challenge.

5) You get to meet loads of new and like minded people.

By Shannie Levesque

Tree-planting camps are full of interesting, intelligent young people who, it has been speculated, are the most well educated manual labour market in the country.

6) You get to go to places you have never heard of.

You might have been to all the capitals, that’s cool. But have you been to Flin Flon, Chetwynd, Savant Lake or Fort Assiniboine? How about Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan? Don’t follow the crowds. Check out all the small towns.

7) You will lose weight, gain endurance and feel healthier.

Hey, it’s a fact. Tree-planters can burn a lot of calories, lose weight, gain stamina and endurance.

8) There will be amazing parties.

There’s no doubt that tree-planters know how to party. I mean just think about it, 40 young people who just worked a 6-day shift stumble into a small northern town on a Friday night. There’s only one tavern and two nights off. It’s going to get wild.

If you’re in Sioux Lookout this summer, have a pint at the “Biggest Littlest Honky Tonk in North-Western Ontario”, for me.

9) You’ll have great stories to share back home.

No one will know what you’re talking about but that’s alright, they’ll still be in awe of the context. You lived in the bush for three months, slept outside in the rain under a ripped tarp, simultaneously washed your clothes and bathed in a pond, lived with bear and moose all while planting thousands of trees every single day. Suddenly your beard is justified and your flannel appropriate.

10) You get to plant trees.

By john Holota

The most important reason to go tree-planting is the most obvious. You get to plant trees, thousands and thousands of them. Sit back and think about it when your season is all over, and all that bitterness has dried-up. You literally made forests. You installed these little trees by hand. Pat yourself on the back, that’s impressive.