Planting A New Forest
May 28, 2014 9:27 am Leave your thoughts
When first applying for this position, I had no idea what to expect. New forest, first forestry job, none of my usual comforts acquired through my last 8 years on Vancouver Island. Needless to say, I was all nerves….Would my university education actually prepare me for the industry (a huge concern for many university students!)? Would I actually like it? Would I be good at it? I prepared as well as I could imagine…what to pack for Northern Ontario? Woolies, check. Thermal socks, check. Bug spray and sun screen (why do they not make this a combined product?!), check. Forests of Ontario field guide, check. So away I went. Away from all of my amazingly supportive friends, my family I have collected, away from my beau. Away from my beautiful summer days along the Nanaimo River…to make new memories, on new beaches in Northern sun, and, most importantly, to see what this forest industry I am getting myself into is truly all about.
This first part of my summer will be spent as a silviculture assistant, spending the days in the cutblocks of years gone by, ensuring the trees are properly settled into their new homes. Beginning last week, the 16th of May, with all signs of heavy frosts and any hopes of lingering snow behind us, 60 tree planters were released onto the rolling hills of our first block, which is at the very bottom edge of our Martel Forest. (Side note: That day, in Chapleau, we received about 2-3 inches of snow. This is the first time I have ever seen it snow in May! Luckily nothing on the block though.)
After our first full week as a team out in the wild world of cutblocks, with its phantom furrows and fallen trees, distant birdsong, and ever present hope of wildlife, I have to say, I enjoy it more than I had ever expected to! The tree planter crew is like a family and a machine, a wonder to watch. As someone who has never been a tree planter, I was warned by some of my classmates that I would not exactly be welcomed by the planters…..who was I to judge a job I have never done before? I came prepared for their resentment, but find (at least for the moment 😉 them welcoming as well as appreciative of kind words and things to look out for. The rookies and I are in the same boat, working on getting our “bush legs” to better traverse the land, getting a feel for the physicality required, learning what constitutes “the quality tree”. We smile at each other through achy days, laugh together over dirt encrusted hands and faces, take a moment to admire the land itself for its beauty. The vets are fast and efficient, even with the heavy tree bags; all business. They know what they are here for….This lifestyle is like an addiction to so many people. Some return year after year, some are into their sixth season! Everyone helps one another whenever possible; smiles pass easily between them all. And it all passes by into a blur, for them I am sure, but also for me.
One interesting thing I have noticed common to them all, though, is their complete understanding of what, exactly, they are doing here. Many are here for the money, the experience, because their friends and roommates talk of it endlessly during the off seasons. Everyone has a different reason for coming…but most have never thought of what the job actually is. This crew of people is not just planting trees, but is planting a new forest. What is now hardly larger than the palm of one’s hand will one day become a towering 22 meter high Jack Pine, a stand of Black Spruce reigning over its bog kingdom. It will become a habitat to wildlife, a grove of trees that someone may walk through one day and think, “What a beautiful place to be in this world.” It will one day become a natural resource to the next generation, or perhaps even the one after that. Most of us, myself included, will not even be alive when these trees grow to their full height! What an amazing thing to be a part of!
For the next 7 weeks, I will be travelling to different parts of the Martel Forest along with this group of amazing people, doing the work of growing new forests together. It is an honour to do this work, not only for Tembec, but for our air and soil quality, for future generations of birds, bears, foxes and human alike.