So You Want to Start a Tree Planting Company...

My first year of tree planting was in 2008. I was, hands down, the worst tree planter in camp. It was a rookie camp in Northern Ontario, so lots of us started poorly, and none of us were given very much in the way of training or direction. But as I watched my rookie friends one by one turn into decent planters, I just could not figure it out. It wasn’t for lack of effort either—even then I was a hard worker, eager to prove myself to others and prove to myself that I could do it. But it still didn’t click for me. Despite sucking so badly at planting, I loved every minute of it—loved it enough that I knew before the season ended that I would be back for another. What I didn’t know was that it would be the start of a lifelong career.  

It’s been great to see more and more new independent tree planting companies establishing themselves in the last few years. In any industry, it is important to have new people with fresh ideas come in to avoid stagnation and repetition of entrenched systems, and tree planting is no exception. The formula traditionally involved employing a high proportion of rookies, where quality of outputs can vary. We are trying a different approach. Investing more in our employees has allowed us to find and retain the best talent and encourage veteran planters to continue working in Ontario. This in turn means we can offer a much higher quality product to our clients. It’s a win for our employees, a win for our clients, and a win for us as a company. At the end of the day, the more new companies we have bringing innovation and new ideas to tree planting, the better for everyone in the industry.  

For anyone who is thinking about starting a new tree planting company, I offer my wholehearted encouragement! I could write a novel about everything I have learned since starting Tamarack Reforestation Inc. but since it would be quite boring. Here instead are five tips to consider: