A Typical Tree Planting Day

Wake Up Time (Early!)

You wake up, hopefully ready to go for the next day, in either a bush camp or a hotel room.

Breakfast

You go get breakfast and make your lunch in the cook shack.

The Commute

You catch a ride to work. Sometimes it takes an hour or more – yuk!

An alternate ride to work.

A third alternative.

Oh yeah, and there is usually a good bit of walking.

Warm Up

You do a little stretch

Planting Time!

You go plant a whack of trees (to strict quality and density requirements).

Cache Breaks

You take some short breaks, eat some food and drink some water (or diluted Gatorade).

More Planting

You plant more trees. Perhaps in the blistering heat, the rain, the sleet, the bugs, the mud. You have cuts, skinless heels, Deet in your eyes and fatigued muscles.

If you push hard, and learn good technique, you will be putting in 1000-3000 trees a day.

Home Time!

You go back to camp and get cleaned up. For some this means washing their hands and face, others just need a shower – hopefully a hot one!

Bean Counting

You give your tally to your camp manager or foreman. This will likely consist of how many trees or each species and seedlot you planted in which areas. Most companies require you to collect stickers off of the boxes with most of the vital information.

Your camp manager or foreman will likely be working late in to the night running the numbers to track what is going where, what is left to plant, and oh yeah, adding your earnings to the payroll.

Dinner

Time for some chow in the cook shack. With some companies, dinner time can be a four star quality event that you can get very excited about on most nights.

If you are in town, too bad for you. You will likely be cooking your dinner or eating junky food. At least that was our experience.

Relaxation

Exhausted, you hang out with your camp mates. Some play hacky-sack, some play music or cards, others read or just chat. This is a great opportunity to meet some really interesting people.

Bed Time

For most, bed time comes early. Your body is spent. Time to rest up because you have to do it all over again tomorrow.

Many people enjoy reading before bed to help wind down.