From Our Footsteps, Giant Forests Grow (coastal planting photo book)

I've just recently released another coffee-table style photo book, featuring around 230 pages of full-colour photos of tree planting.  The photos are intended to convey, in mostly visual terms, what may be experienced while planting in British Columbia's rugged coastal region.  The book is priced at $39.95 for the print edition, and only $3.99 for the digital editions.

The photos were taken on various coastal projects, predominantly on the north end of Vancouver Island.  The best thing is that if you follow the Replant.ca website or Instagram account regularly, these photos will still be new to you.  Almost every one of the photos in the book is being shown to the public for the first time.  If you've planted elsewhere in Canada, this book should be an eye-opener about the specific challenges involved with coastal planting.

There are two print editions of this book available (hardcover and softcover).  There are also various digital editions available at very attractive pricing.  Here's a link to the print editions on Amazon's Canadian website:

  Full-Colour Softcover ($39.95 Cdn): www.amazon.ca/dp/1793876657 

  Full-Colour Hardcover (about $70 Cdn): www.amazon.ca/dp/1999016815

And here are links to digital eBook versions:

  Kindle Store ($3.99 Cdn): www.amazon.ca/dp/B084MLDVJH

  Apple Books ($3.99 Cdn):  books.apple.com/us/book/id1507327207

  Google Play ($3.99 Cdn):  play.google.com/store/books/details?id=6EvcDwAAQBAJ

    (In Google Books, you may have to change the setting from "Flowing Text" to "Original Pages" on some devices in order for the content to display correctly). 

For those who are on a tight budget, and for those who prefer looking at black & white photos, there's a greyscale version of this book available.  It is priced very affordably at $14.95 Cdn, and it has all the same photos as the other versions (but in black & white).

Incidentally, I have a second completely separate photo book specifically devoted to Interior tree planting.  The title of that book is Rite Of Passage and it focuses on traditional seasonal planting jobs based out of remote tent camps.  Also, don't confuse either of my photo books with Step By Step: A Tree Planter's Handbook, which is used throughout Canada as a training and reference manual for new tree planters.  There are videos at the bottom of this post to showcase these other two books.

Thanks for your interest!  For more information about books related to tree planting, visit:

www.replant.ca/books

Front cover, Softcover paperback edition:

Back cover, Softcover paperback edition:

Front cover, Hardcover edition:

Back cover, Hardcover edition:

Front cover, Greyscale Paperback edition:

To visit the author's website, go to:

www.jonathanclark.ca

Other Tree Planting Books by Jonathan Clark

Rite Of Passage

(photo book based upon summer work in a remote tent camp)

Step By Step: A Tree Planter's Handbook

(comprehensive training guide and reference manual)

Tree Planter Training, Learning How To Plant

This post is a follow-up to my pre-season overview post, which talked about the first half of my online tree planter training program.

In 2005, I put an initial series of tree planter training videos online.  Those video were getting thousands of views every year, but they were very low quality.  YouTube was still in its infancy, and digital video resolutions & frame-rates were very limited.  In 2012, I started the project over again from scratch, and by 2017 I was happy with the quality of the content.  From 2019 onward, I'll be updating those videos every year at a quality level that is suitable for sharing with our entire industry.

My training series consists of a total of twenty modules.  The first six videos are meant to be watched a couple months before the season starts, by people who are potentially interested in applying for a job as a planter.  Those videos are designed to let you know what you're getting yourself into if you decide to spend a summer in the bush.  You can find them in the link at the top of this post.

The focus of the last fourteen videos (the ones covered in this post) is more specifically related to the process of understanding the characteristics of trees, learning how to actually plant them, meeting quality & density expectations, what to expect from the natural environment, and all the other "hands-on" stuff that you'll be expected to know as soon as you strap your bags on.  Although this series was produced in British Columbia & Alberta, most of the information is also highly relevant to planting in other Canadian provinces (except maybe for the procedures for assessing quality & density).
 

The content in these videos is not targeted solely at inexperienced job applicants.  I'm 100% confident that all current experienced planters will find things in these videos that they didn't know.  You may wonder why I feel bold enough to make this claim?  Simple: because I learned hundreds of new things myself while putting all of this training material together.

These fourteen videos are about five hours in total length, so you'll need to set aside an entire afternoon or evening to watch them.  I'd suggest that you watch them with a pen and paper, so you can make notes about questions that you can ask recruiters or crew bosses at the companies that you apply to.  You should also bookmark this post, because you may want to come back and watch some of these videos more than once.  If you watch them well in advance of the season and this is your first year, you'll probably want to watch them as a refresher just a day or two before you hit the field.  Several companies are screening these as start-up training material when you first arrive to your new job.

There is a print version of this information, available on Amazon.  The book is called Step By Step, A Tree Planter's Handbook.  The book actually contains FAR more information than these videos do.  Ultimately, if you get a job as a tree planter, I'd highly recommend that you buy a copy of Step By Step.  More than a dozen major tree planting companies are using it as the basis for their training framework, and they'll probably tell you that you have to buy a copy anyway.  Get ahead of the curve, because there is an incredible amount of information in the book.  Here's more information:

replant.ca/stepbystep

Without further ado, here are the last fourteen videos in the training series.  I hope you find them to be useful.




Map Reading and GPS Systems
Contents:  GPS systems, other map features, understanding scales, geo-referenced digital maps, always know where you are.







Nature & the Environment
Contents:  Weather, determining direction from the sun, plants, animals, birds.








Basic Silviculture Knowledge
Contents:  Stocking standards, basic seedling physiology, tree structure, shade tolerance, environmental factors affecting growth, basic soils & planting media, seasons.







Stock Handling
Contents:  On-site seedling storage, handling seedling boxes, correct handling of seedlings and bundles.







Common BC Conifers
Contents:  Pine, spruce, fir, and other important species.







Planning Reforestation Activities
Contents:  The Pre-Work conference, the planting prescription, potential non-planting components, block boundaries, mixing species.







Planting Equipment
Contents:  Planting bags, your shovel, miscellaneous planting equipment, demonstration, non-planting gear.







Planting A Seedling
Contents:  Selecting the best microsite, microsite preparation, opening the hole & grabbing the seedling, planting the tree & closing the hole, planting demonstration.







Meeting Quality Requirements
Contents:  FS 704 system overview, throwing plots, specific faults, damage to seedlings, microsite selection, planting quality.







Spacing, Density, & Excess
Contents:  What's in a plot, plotted versus planted density, target spacing and minimum spacing, excess, missed spots (a quality fault), penalties.








Site Preparation
Contents:  Untreated (raw) ground, trenching, mounding, scrapes, windrows, drag scarification, chemical scarification, prescribed burning, selective harvesting, assessing a block.








Maximizing Productivity
Contents:  Staying organized, efficient planting techniques, efficient work strategies, staying focused.








Behaviours & Attitudes
Contents:  Maintaining the health of the ecosystem, responsible behaviour, safe behaviour, respectful behaviour, treatment of co-workers, stashing.








Wrap-Up
Contents:  Field practice, career options, final advice.





Here are some additional links and resources that might be of interest to potential planters:

Tendonitis Resources from Total Physio:  replant.ca/tendonitis
"Fit To Plant" from Selkirk College:  replant.ca/fittoplant

Getting a Job:  replant.ca/jobs
Photo Galleries:  replant.ca/photos
Planting Books:  replant.ca/books
Message Board:  replant.ca/phpBB3
Instagram:  instagram.com/replant.ca


Regardless of whether you're a first-time or experienced planter, if you're applying for work at a new company, use the following list of questions to help determine if that employer would be a good fit:
 www.replant.ca/docs/Questions_To_Ask_A_Potential_Employer.pdf

You may wonder why I'm offering all of these videos for free?  You may think, "what does he want in return?"  Well, that's a good question, because I actually DO want something in return:  I want you all to share this with as many other potential planters as you can.  Make sure they have the opportunity to get a full understanding of what they're getting themselves into, BEFORE they put their first tree in the ground.  If someone isn't suited for tree planting, it's much better that they "quit" before they start, instead of three or four days into the season.

Please share!

- Jonathan "Scooter" Clark 
www.Replant.ca
www.jonathanclark.ca
www.replant-environmental.ca
 

Tree Planter Training, Pre-Season Overview

In 2005, I put an initial series of tree planter training videos online.  Those video were getting thousands of views every year, but they were very low quality.  YouTube was still in its infancy, and digital video resolutions & frame-rates were very limited.  In 2012, I started the project over again from scratch, and by 2017, I was fairly happy with what I had produced.  From 2019 onward, I'll be updating the videos every year to maximize the quality of the content.

The training consists of twenty modules altogether.  The first six (which are the focus of this post) are meant to be watched a couple months before the season starts, by people who are potentially interested in applying for a job as a planter.  If you're looking for the other fourteen videos, which focus more on the hands-on aspects of the job, go to this link.
 
These videos will help you understand what you're getting yourself into!  This is NOT an easy job.  The number of first-year planters who try the job for a few days or weeks and then quit is pretty high.  If you're not going to enjoy the work, it's better that you make that decision before you start planting, rather than after you've spent a few thousand dollars on buying equipment and travelling to your first work site.

I highly recommend that if you're thinking about planting, you watch these videos very carefully before you commit to accepting a position at a planting company.  These six videos are just slightly over three hours in total length, so you'll need to set aside an afternoon or evening to watch them.  I'd suggest that you watch them with a pen and paper, so you can make a list of questions to ask recruiters or crew bosses at the companies that you apply to.  You should also bookmark this post, because you may want to come back and watch some of these videos more than once.

There is a print version of this information, available on Amazon.  The book is called Step By Step, A Tree Planter's Handbook.  The book actually contains FAR more information than these videos do.  Ultimately, if you get a job as a tree planter, I'd highly recommend that you buy a copy of Step By Step.  More than a dozen major tree planting companies are using it as the basis for their training framework, and they'll probably tell you that you have to buy a copy anyway.  Get ahead of the curve, because there is an incredible amount of information in the book.  In addition, it's full of reference information that will be useful to experienced planters (such as a chapter about coastal planting, with a list of contacts for coastal companies, and chapters about logging, helicopters, other silviculture work, and a lot of things that the YouTube videos don't address).  Here's more information:

replant.ca/stepbystep

But for now, here are the first six videos in the training series.  I hope you find them to be useful.  I think I would have made about five thousand dollars more in my first season if I had known all of this information before I started planting.  Crew bosses take note ... you should share this information with everyone on your crews.




Introduction, History of Tree Planting
Contents:  A history of BC's Tree Planting Industry, the modern BC Tree Planting industry.







Why Do We Plant Trees?  What Makes A Good/Bad Planter?
Contents:  Overview of forest management in BC, administration of logging & reforestation, people who should go planting, people who should not go planting, some common myths about planters.







Long-Term Worker Health, & Nutrition
Contents:  Water/hydration, alcohol/drugs/tobacco, fitness & avoiding injuries, personal protective equipment, minimizing the risk of illness, mental health.







Working Safely from Day to Day, Understanding Hazards
Contents:  Assessing risk, personal protective equipment, vehicles, natural worksite hazards, weather, chemicals in the workplace, wildfires, bears, other large animals, insects, miscellaneous, industry-certified training courses.







Rules & Regulations that Protect the Worker
Contents:  Employment Standards Act, Workers' Compensation Act, Canada Human Rights Act, minimum camp standards, complying with client/licensee policies, employer policies, camp-specific or crew-specific policies, corporate organization.







What It's Like to Live in a Tree Planting Bush Camp
Contents:  Overview of basic structure, the daily routine, your cooks & meals, other equipment, when you're not in a tent camp.



 

Here are some additional links and resources that might be of interest to potential planters:

Tendonitis Resources from Total Physio:  replant.ca/tendonitis
"Fit To Plant" from Selkirk College:  replant.ca/fittoplant

Photo Galleries:  replant.ca/photos 
Planting Books:  replant.ca/books
Message Board:  replant.ca/phpBB3
Instagram:  instagram.com/replant.ca


Regardless of whether you're a first-time or experienced planter, if you're applying for work at a new company, use the following list of questions to help determine if that employer would be a good fit:
 www.replant.ca/docs/Questions_To_Ask_A_Potential_Employer.pdf


You may wonder why I'm offering all of these videos for free?  You may think, "what does he want in return?"  Well, that's a good question, because I actually DO want something in return:  I want you all to share this with as many other potential planters as you can.  Make sure they have the opportunity to get a full understanding of what they're getting themselves into, BEFORE they put their first tree in the ground.  If someone isn't suited for tree planting, it's much better that they "quit" before they start, instead of three or four days into the season.

By the way, keep this in mind:  I don't like to get my cameras wet.  Almost all of the photos and videos in these tutorials look all sunny and happy.  It's a facade.  We live in a world of mud, rain, and misery.

- Jonathan "Scooter" Clark
www.Replant.ca
www.jonathanclark.ca
www.replant-environmental.ca




Also, after watching all the videos, you'll probably be sick of the background song.  But if not, and if you want to hear (or download) the entire song, here's a SoundCloud link:

Summer 2014 Planting Memories Video

Every summer, I take a video camera with me out tree planting. I don't have a lot of time for filming, but I do generally get to use it occasionally and get three or four hours of footage. And then, after the season is over, I boil that down into three or four minutes of some of the best clips, and turn that into a "Summer Memories" video for Replant.ca, my planting website. I got distracted with other projects for a while this winter, but I recently finished the 2014 video.


Here's a link to the video:

I want to thank Jasmin Frederickson (of Chicken-Like Birds) for providing vocals for the backing track that I wrote, "Time To Plant Some Trees."  If you want to download this song, you can get it from SoundCloud as a free download:


You can find out more about Jasmin at these two sites:
         www.ChickenLikeBirds.com
         WeAreWaterMusic.bandcamp.com



Here are the full lyrics to the music.  I wrote it in C, but this version is performed in E.

“Time To Plant Some Trees” – by Jonathan Clark

Tempo 106bpm, C major, 4/4 time

Chords as follows (I’m writing a chord change every HALF bar here)

  Intro:  C  C  C  C

  Verse:  C  G  Am  Am  F  F  C  G  x 2

               Am  Am  Em  Em  F  F  C  G  x 2

  Chorus:  F  G  C  C

  Bridge:  G  G  F  F  C  C  C  C 

                 G  G  F  F  Am  Am  G  G 

  (single line of chorus repeats four times at end)

Verse 1:

Weary eyed, fumblin’ out of bed

there’s a Chill in my tent, this morning

Check the sky, with a sense of dread

feel relief, I don’t see clouds or storming

Stumble to the mess tent, and make a hasty lunch

the Block treats look quite tasty, I wanna grab a bunch

Steph is laughing in the kitchen, Haley’s making bread

this Heaping plate of food will get me through the day ahead

It’s, almost, time to plant some trees

Verse 2:

No camp meeting, so I go to the truck

“Boots bag shovel water lunch” is my rhyme

the Drive to the block, is, good we don’t get stuck

we Stop and park, the foreman says, it’s tailgate meeting time

the Block today is pretty big, we’ve got to get ‘er done

let’s Work real hard ‘cause staying late, it wouldn’t be much fun

if Everybody plants 2k, that should be enough

Watch for J-roots, close your holes, and don’t plant trees in duff

Bag, up, it’s time to plant some trees

Bridge:

Every day I dream about

the Things I’d rather do

but Working in the city has its

Disadvantages too

Verse 3:

This was day three, tomorrow is day four

Last, day, of the shift, then we’ll have time to rest

Dinner’s over, I am tired and sore

it’s Eight o’clock and I need sleep, I start to get undressed

Planting trees is pretty tough,

the Days are long, the blocks are rough

Swear that this year is my last, but

I know that,  I will be back

Let’s, go, it’s time to plant some trees

Give, me, a creamy section please

Flat, land, easy on the knees

It, is, time to plant some trees

Words and music Copyright 2014, Jonathan Clark.

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Follow Jonathan Clark on other sites:
        Twitter: twitter.com/djbolivia
        SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/djbolivia
        YouTube: youtube.com/djbolivia
        Facebook: facebook.com/djbolivia
        Main Site: www.djbolivia.ca
        About.Me: about.me/djbolivia
        Music Blog: djbolivia.blogspot.ca
        MixCloud: mixcloud.com/djbolivia