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I drifted about 2 years ago from white collar / "creative" work to forest maintenance. Not tree logging, but taking care of growing forest and planting trees. I

by marttt 8y ago

I drifted about 2 years ago from white collar / "creative" work to forest maintenance. Not tree logging, but taking care of growing forest and planting trees. I'm in Eastern Europe, so the plan was to spend the warm season entirely outdoors and focus on "mental" work during winter when the available forestry jobs are not to my liking. (I've developed tinnitus -- constant ringing in my ears --, so I decided not to work with gas-powered brush cutters or other kinds of machinery any more. Luckily a fraction of forest maintaining can still be done using hand tools, mostly swedish or brush axes, but scythes also work well.) I'm currently mostly at home with kids, but the general feeling is that I just would not want to work indoors any more. For my preferred hand labour the wages are tiny around here (IMHO not so when you're OK working with brush cutters, although some might disagree with that). But the mental and physical balance I get from being in the forest every day, rain or shine, tends to outweigh that. So as a parent it's surely a complicated decision as to what to do after we send our youngest off to kindergarten. In particular, planting trees or cleaning treelings from weeds using a scythe could be a damn perfect job for every physically fit loner-introvert. Here's a movie about tree planting in Canada (where this is a huge industry, isn't it?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxR02N-Sauk&t=870s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxR02N-Sauk&t=870s And here's an inspiring guy, forest keeper, scythe mowing enthusiast and witty documentary film maker Simon from the UK. Yep, I want to be just like him when I grow up. If you're interested in traditional tools and manual labour in the wilderness, be sure to check out his entire Youtube channel. Great movies about scythe mower vs tractor competition etc. :) https://youtu.be/yvRJAtPWBCY?t=307 https://youtu.be/yvRJAtPWBCY?t=307 Ah, wonderful things, considering the current shitty-dirty-snowy March-like weather in Estonia.

metallurgy 8y ago
It's surprisingly-difficult to get into this in the US. But I imagine it to be very satisfying for the reasons you suggest.
frosted-flakes 8y ago
Tree planting in western canada is the complete opposite of office work. Instead of too little exercise, you'll have a broken body. From what I've heard, it's brutal work where you're paid by the tree and not by the hour. Not my cup of tea.
- marttt 8y ago
  Yes, I suppose one gets paid by the tree pretty much everywhere. Many planters do say that after max 7-8 seasons you're broken. But -- to me, many of them seem to take this work too seriously. If you're paid by plant, why not take it _a little_ easier? I've only planted in Estonia thus far and survived well, though. I seem to have suitable bodily proportions for the job, but it also comes down to planting ergonomically as wisely as you can right from the start. In particular, learning to use both of your hands and legs equally (plant "ambidextrously" as they call it). See this thread from replant.ca, an awesome resource for tree planters in Canada: http://www.replant.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=65984 http://www.replant.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=65984 But, sure, it is tough work to the point of not being sensible to many.

by marttt 8y ago

metallurgy 8y ago

It's surprisingly-difficult to get into this in the US. But I imagine it to be very satisfying for the reasons you suggest.

frosted-flakes 8y ago

Tree planting in western canada is the complete opposite of office work. Instead of too little exercise, you'll have a broken body. From what I've heard, it's brutal work where you're paid by the tree and not by the hour. Not my cup of tea.

marttt 8y ago
Yes, I suppose one gets paid by the tree pretty much everywhere. Many planters do say that after max 7-8 seasons you're broken. But -- to me, many of them seem to take this work too seriously. If you're paid by plant, why not take it _a little_ easier? I've only planted in Estonia thus far and survived well, though. I seem to have suitable bodily proportions for the job, but it also comes down to planting ergonomically as wisely as you can right from the start. In particular, learning to use both of your hands and legs equally (plant "ambidextrously" as they call it). See this thread from replant.ca, an awesome resource for tree planters in Canada: http://www.replant.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=65984 http://www.replant.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=65984 But, sure, it is tough work to the point of not being sensible to many.