Plant Forest Plant!
After a 60 odd day absence I have finally returned to the blogging scene. You might ask, “Hey Matt, what up? Where have you been?” Well, that is a long, funny and tumultuous story of love, survival and existentialist ponderings. Or in much more simple terms it is a story of digging little tiny holes and placing in them little tiny trees for little tiny sums of money. Yes, the world of treeplanting.
As, I mentioned in my last post, many months ago, I had signed up for a treeplanting contract in Northern Ontario. And somehow, I made it through 65 days of sleeping in a tent in the swamps and forests far from the familiar surroundings of Southern Ontario.
It was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my life.
I had some mixed feelings about planting trees so more could be chopped down and turned into cheap Swedish furniture. In the end though I came to terms with the idea that reforestation is better than simply clear cutting and that most forest operators have detailed and intensive management plans for the forests that are being planted, that are growing and the trees that are being harvested.
Traveling through the smallest of towns in what I consider remote areas of Ontario, I could see the symbiotic relationship that the people had with the forests that surrounded them. The proper management of the forests around the small towns not only helps ensure the survival of much of the natural wildlife (bears… bears… bears) but also allows the forestry industry to remain a long term and viable source of employment and development.
And perhaps that is the most profound lesson I learned while out there in the proverbial middle of nowhere, that the idea that fanatical preservation of the environment may not be the answer to many of the problems, but a more informed management system should be adopted.
For the next couple of days I will write about treeplanting and its highs and lows. The good times and the bad. Oh and of course the bears, I do need to talk about the bears.
