A Day in the Life of a Tree Planter {Video}

We often hear people ask how they could get a job being a professional tree planter. Other than volunteering for local reforestation projects, you could get a seasonal job with a contracting company that hires professional tree planters to live and plant trees in remote areas for months at a time. But be careful what you wish for! This is hard work. 

Tree planters usually wake up before 5am and work hard doing repetitive physical work while completely exposed to the elements - all alone on their individual blocks of land - for hours. Many describe injuries, exhaustion, and longing for their family and friends. But the rewards are definitely there too! Professional tree planters get paid based on the number of trees they plant, so there is not only a financial incentive to work hard and plant as many trees as possible but also a somewhat fun competitive element where tree planters strive to be the top tree planter among their peers. 

The average professional tree planter can plant about 2-3K trees per day, but some of the best can plant up to 5K trees per day, those tree planters are called "highballers!" This video documents the experience of one crew in Quebec in 2018. 

Want to feel like a highballer or just plant a tree right from home? Plant a tree with us today!

by Diana Chaplin

Canopy Director & Eco-Storyteller