This year's plant is quickly approaching.  We are almost geared up in the yard with many of our camps heading out on May 7th.  Most planters should be arranged to meet up with their crew-bosses between the 11th and the 16th.  If you don't have your dates arranged, please get in touch with your crew-boss ASAP.

Some things that you need to make sure you are doing right away:

1. Be in regular contact with your crew-boss about any policy updates relating to COVID-19.
2. Fill out your Daily Health Log: https://forms.gle/UZjNRn9kGQCTN97e7
3. Have your travel itinerary filled in and approved by your crew-boss: https://forms.gle/onbtRLD8CV9RjwJL6
4. Have started your Exit Strategy so we and your family know how you are getting home at the end of the season safely: https://forms.gle/a3nRgDh8CATR3xgz6

For more information please review our travel policy below

Really good meetings today. We were told that Camp Standards will be released tomorrow. Once I have this information, I will be able to provide more details on how the industry it adapting to the challenges for COVID-19. Please continue to keep yourself safe and isolate.  More information to come by Friday.
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- Tim Tchida

As an industry, we have a developed and submitted our strategic plan for working this season, and we have asked the government for financial support to implement it. There are substantial costs to achieve these standards and we are waiting for review and approval.

My apologies for no new news today. This is a detailed and complicated process and it needs high level approval on multiple levels.

Thank you for the patience,  the phone calls, and support.
Please keep reaching out.
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Tim Tchida
250-847-1114
🌲🌎🌲

COVID-19 Update April 7, 2020
Today like everyday in the past few weeks was very busy and full of phone calls, zoom calls, strategies and numbers. Contractors are stressed, parents are calling and forman want to know what the heck is going on, and planters have been patient. Hold on!!!
We are all getting anxious to go to work.
We are in hurry up and wait mode.
There are such strong principles gilding this process and there are many piece’s entangled and we are working hard to make them fit.
For now. One more day. Maybe two.... please stand by, don’t travel, wash your hands and Stand by.
We may have, should have answers tomorrow!!!!!!!!
Thank you. 🌲🌎🌲

The time of waiting for an answer is confusing and difficult; I know I feel this way and I can empathize you do too. I can say for certainty Summit is fully doing everything we can to go to work safely. However, right now I want to focus on something different: Mental health.
Not only do we need to wash your hands and self-quarantine, but we also to take care of our mental state. In this time of self-isolation and social distancing that sense of community that we get from planting can feel very distant. Leaving us feeling lonely and confused.
We are in the middle of it and as hard as we are working to allow us to go to work safely, it is still an unknown. We will work if it is safe. All this stress and anxiety from the unknown can be very draining emotionally. I know for myself I needed to take a night off from updates to take care of myself and in turn take care us all and this unknown.
It is important that we keep moving forward and taking this one-day at a time. We are all looking forward to a summer working our butts off with people who understand and appreciate our uniqueness and our journey. We are a tribe. Although we may not all be in the same place right now we are all in this together.
Breathe deep and take care of your self.
If you need to reach out feel free to call.
Tim Tchida
250-847-1114

Again today I have witnessed the phenomenal sense of caring for each other in the world of contractors. All the feelings of uncertainty and competition have vanished. We hey to see each other as incredibly, creative and diligent and principled, caring people. It is amazing to experience how we are all beginning to see each other as familiar, even if we have only spoke for the first time. Finding solutions is planting us together. We all know what the other has endured to be a tree planting contractor, it was not a easy journey. It took a serious of initiations, all of which included suffering and reward. We have learned how to accomplish the impossible with very little and now we have come together and developed a COVID strategic plan and we are in the process of sharing a Charter that will guide us through this together. We are talking and sharing and we can truly feel that care of the other. Thank you for today. 🌲🙏🌲

There is truly an amazing feeling of solidarity between all the contractors creatively working together on solutions to deal with this WTF COVID PIECE OF SHIT VIRUS THING!!!
In addressing this all the contractors are so fully aligned. We absolutely know with such certainty that we have an obligation to figure this out and do it properly.
I would especially like to thank Dave Wilson, from Celtic for inspiring us through his care and concern and leadership, and for kicking my ass into action. Thank you to Marc Hobday from Apex for all the incredible creative detailed work and patience and thoughtful and empathetic leadership. Thank you to both of you for all the work towards the Strategic Action plan and the incredible work into the Strategic action plan budget. In addition, I would like to thank Nathan Cullen for coming on board the team with such incredible insight and focus. He has consolidated our ideas and has been able to assimilate some big ideas into a credible and incredible Strategic Plan. This would not have been possible without him on this team. And it certainly not possible without my partners; OMG, their endless platience and detail on everything. I would especially like to thank both Jason Krueger and Mat Stachura for the endless hours of grinding, tireless work with the budget. It is phenomenal watching what these men can create and accomplish.
Today we presented the Strategic action plan. Thank you to Bruce Blackwell, John Betts(Executive director of the WFCA) and Timo Scheiber from Brinkman Resources. In addition I would like to thank all the contractors on the Working Group for participating with the compiling and reviewing the detailed information in the budget review, the strategizing, and endless hours of dialogue on how to address these issue. Thank you to: Jeff Lutes and Mark Courtney at Blue Collar, and Dean Marshall and Crawford Young at Spectrum Resource Group, Carlos Galvani and A+G, Garth Hadley at Coast range, Rick Ness and Ryan Zapisocki AKA Zap at Windfirm, Chris Howard at Whanaugirestry, Jim Logan at Folklore, Lasse Lutick at Hybrid17, Brett Henkel at Little Smokey, Tony Harris at Zanzibar, Bryn Kilb at Dynamic, Johnathan Clark AKA (Scooter) and William Sheepwash at Next Generation and an absolute outstanding thank you to Jordan Tesluk for countless hours of sharing, reaching out, connecting and caring for us as contractors together with the entire planting community.
This has been such a strong group for a Herculean task. We are not done yet!!! We have just completed step one. But know that we are in such strong alliance because we know in the deepest way that every planter is depending on us to be truely cared for and held in a safe place. We would like to also thank the input and support and direction of all the foresters and managers in the companies we work with. I feel very very Grateful. 🌲🙏🌲
WE ARE TREE PLANTERS!🌲🌎🌲

COVID-19 Update April 2, 2020
I love tree planting
and
COVID SUCKS!!!