Episode 52: End Game with Mike Renaud

These are obviously my own perceptions, thoughts and feelings about coastal planting. I try to answer the most common questions I see people asking online, or to me about the coast. How to know if its for you, how to get in, what kind of experience you need, and much more. This is a let it flow episode so I just sorta let myself speak to what feels appropriate. I also answer any questions from your feedback! Raingear: https://grundens.com/ Coastal contractors based in and who primarily operate on Vancouver Island, Sunshine & Central Coast: Nootka Bivouac West (now Guillory Emery & Associates) Wagner Sitka Timberline Rainforest Osprey Evergreen

26 Nov 202058min

If you don't know who Scooter is do you even know anything about treeplanting in Canada? Jonathan "Scooter" Clark is a pivotal figure in this industry. No matter your experiences through treeplanting, everyone who has graced this community in some way has been directly influenced by what Scooter has done in this industry. He's humble AF and won't fully admit to any of it, but I try to get him to in this interview! Learn more about Scooter's story here!  LINKS replant.ca/music - redirects to the page to download The Flagging Tapes replant.ca/digitaldownloads - free digital downloads for Step By Step replant.ca/stepbystep - general info about the book www.replant-environmental.ca - my Environmental company replant.ca/publicbids - the Public Bids section on the message board

24 Nov 20201h 28min

Andrew has planted in Nova Scotia (as well as dabbling in BC, AB, and SK) for 12 years and gives us an insight into what maritime planting can look like, which is quite different from what many of us are used to further west! I learned a bunch of things I had never heard of, including how they use this line system with a pole rather than flagging trees. Its a whole different world out there! Go have a listen and check it out. Natural Regen: Natural regeneration refers to the ability of an environment, most often a forest, to regenerate itself without external intervention following a disturbance (e.g. natural disaster, logging). In forestry, natural regeneration is a forest management technique that is both economic and ecological. It creates forest zones that are richer in biodiversity.

20 Nov 202055min

A very cool planter doing very cool things! Kyle has been planting for 8 years, and has been off-season farming for last 4-5 years. He is based around Nelson, BC. Kyle has always had a love for foraging and we talk about how this all began with and while planting. We get into his gardening, that led to growing food for his own camp! A really neat idea that could hopefully expand to other companies and create a new sense of community in planting, allowing us to participate in and grow our own food. LINKS Agroforestry https://www.britannica.com/science/agroforestry Permaculture https://www.naturespath.com/en-ca/blog/what-is-permaculture/

17 Nov 202031min

After hearing various planter experiences I felt it was pertinent to bring Jordan Tesluk,  a health and safety coordinator for the industry as well as the now unofficial covid rep about how the season went. We chat about his new role and how it unfolded in the spring, as well as what he saw from behind the scenes and what planters and management can expect for 2021.

13 Nov 20201h 4min

Last winter I sat down with one of my favourite planting humans, Andrew Lewis. I will always remember meeting Andrew for the first time because his love for planting radiates out of him! As someone who deeply loves the job as well, I connected with that instantly. Andrew went on to continue many more big seasons in Canada before branching out to Australia. He then started a treeplanting company, based and operating in Australia! We cover his own planting story as well as the decision to go down under and start his own planting company. We talk a lot about what its like to run your own company, and especially in another country where many things are different from Canada. Ultimately we wanted this episode to be an avenue for Canadian planters to have an opportunity to go plant in Australia for a great company, however with the current border restrictions this is not possible. So for any perspective planters interested and already in Australia, this is for you! A great insight into a Canadian take on Australian planting and hopefully a place that planters in Canada can flock to whenever the borders open back up! LINKS https://pacificreforestation.com.au https://www.facebook.com/PlantingAustralia/ https://instagram.com/pacific_reforestation

11 Nov 20201h 1min

After a very unusual and new season for all of us dealing with the covid measures put in place, I wanted to interview a variety of planters and get their take on how they felt about all of it. Here are the experiences of 7 planters/foremen in various levels of their career and management. I hope that for any planter listening you can find bits of your own experience in here, and for any management, contractor or member of the WFCA listening that this feedback will be taken seriously for 2021 strategies and policies. Timestamps for each separate interview are bolded below! We hear from: 8th year, 1st year foreman BC [04:08] 7th year BC [23:41] 6th year foreman ON [38:15] Rookie SK/AB [59:26] 5th year, 1st year foreman SK/AB [1:11:30] 8th year BC [1:28:39] 3rd year NS [1:38:22]

9 Nov 20202h 12min

Back in April on a day off I sat down with one of my fellow planters on the coast, Mike McDonald. As Mike is in the midst of his 14th season, we talk about the age-old dilemma most tree planters face after finishing their studies; whether to continue treeplanting or get a "real job". An important conversation about the process of realizing that treeplanting can be a career, and the struggle to accept that as we are all fed the norm by society's standards that treeplanting isn't a real job. We cover Mike's balance between treeplanting and other ventures, as well as his three year hiatus, coming back to planting and choosing a company that fits his needs more long term. As a special bonus we delve into some philosophical ideas around the art of treeplanting and how it has benefitted us in our careers too!  This is a very relatable episode for veteran planters, and an insight into those earlier in their careers who know treeplanting is something they'd love to pursue long term but struggle with the societal judgements and ramifications of doing so. An incredible interview packed with loads of content for everyone.

5 Nov 20201h 40min