Seasonal Treeplanter And Crew Driver

TREEPLANTER/CREW DRIVER POSITION: Full-Time Fixed-Term Position – 9 Week Contract

Start Date: April 29, 2024 Expected Completion Date: June 28, 2024

Note: Contract will be completed when all work is completed. This may be before stated expected completion date. Potential option to extend the contract if additional work is available.

***Applications will not be considered without a Cover Letter and Resume***

Job Description – Seasonal Treeplanter and Crew Driver

Outdoor work in all-weather conditions. Difficult, physically demanding treeplanting of bare-root and/or potted trees of various sizes on rural and urban properties in Southern Ontario. Work will include supplemental tasks such as loading and unloading trees and equipment and distributing trees on site. Additional tasks include watering by hand, mulching, staking, and installing coco-mats and tree-protection guards to planted trees. This position may also require brush chipping and other manual forestry tasks after the end of the treeplanting season.

Position requires excellent physical fitness and mental stamina. Must learn new planting techniques for each individual species, adapt to large fire-shovels and bare-root treeplanting spades (Note: No “speed” spades allowed). Complex planting sites on private property and in the public domain require absolute adherence to instructions and excellent listening skills with the ability to follow detailed instruction independently.

Crew Driver: Must be a safe driver with good navigational skills and be comfortable driving for 1-3 hours per day. Trailers will be utilized as needed. Drivers should be mature and not easily distracted, as they will be responsible for transporting a crew. New Bartram Woodlands drivers will complete in-house driver training with an experienced company driver, who will be assessing their driving skills, safety on the road, and overall competency to operate a work vehicle. If the successful candidate’s driving skills are not adequate, Bartram Woodlands reserves the right to remove driving responsibilities from the employee’s Job Description.

Piecework: Payment per tree, rather than by the hour, will provide successful applicants an excellent individual opportunity for rewarding compensation, provided they are able to deliver high quality planting while working in a technically challenging Southern Ontario treeplanting environment.

To succeed you will need to work to the full extent of your physical capacity for the duration of our planting season. We provide experienced supervisors and thorough training to assist you in maximizing your potential earnings as quickly as possible.

Work is based from Guelph, and all planting staff must have their own seasonal accommodation in the Guelph area. Frequent out-of-town projects will also require accommodation in hotels on weeknights and staff will always return to Guelph for weekends. All hotel accommodation and transport are supplied at no cost to employees, but you must supply and prepare your own food each day. Board and accommodation in the Guelph area is not provided.

Job Requirements

• Minimum 2 years driving experience with a G Class License and a clean driving record.
• Able to lift up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to work outdoors while completing repetitive tasks, crouching/bending down, and standing and walking all day in various off-trail terrain while carrying heavy planting bags.
• Successful applicants must sign an Employment Contract to work a 9-week period from April 29, 2024 to June 28, 2024.
• Able to travel and stay in hotels out-of-town for up to 4 nights every week during employment contract.
• Applicants must also have accommodation in the Guelph area for weekends, training days and occasional local work.

Any of the following skills/ training will be considered strong assets:

• Previous tree planting experience
• Experience driving pickup trucks and trailers
• Demanding outdoor or farm labour experience
• High-performance fitness training or organized sports training
• 1st Aid Certification

Timing and Payment Details

Daily Hours: Approximately 6:30AM to 6:30PM (varies daily)

Weekly Schedule: Work 5 days per week, Monday to Friday during treeplanting season (April 29 until planting is complete). 3-4 days per week while completing tending work (after planting is complete). Saturday and Sunday off.

Dates: Start April 29, 2024, finish June 28, 2024

3-Day Training Period: All new and returning seasonal staff must complete this training and orientation to Southern Ontario planting techniques. All work during training period will be paid hourly at $18.50/hr for new/inexperienced planters, and $20.00/hr for experienced planters with at least 1 previous season of experience.

SAMPLE Piecework Rates: Paid per tree on most tasks, opportunity for efficient workers to earn higher wages*.

Bare Root Seedlings: $0.30-$0.40 per tree

Potted Nursery Stock: 1-gal pots $1.00-$1.50 per tree

2-gal pots $2.00-$2.50 per tree

Mulching (large bin): $1.00-$1.50 per bin

*Higher rates may be paid on selected projects based on difficulty of work.

Hourly Work: Occasional hourly field work is paid at $20 per hour (new planters) or $22.50 per hour (experienced planters). Hourly compensation is only for projects that cannot be compensated by piecework.

Travel Time: Expect 1-3 hours travel daily. All travel time from the company yard to the worksites and back paid at a rate of $17.00/hour. All transportation to the worksites is provided.

Note: Employees who cannot travel to the company yard will be picked up in Guelph (at the loss of a ½ hour of travel time per daily).

Hourly Driving: While completing initial driver training, trainee drivers will be paid hourly at $18.50/hr. When training is complete, trained Crew Drivers will be paid hourly at $20.00/hr. When not driving, employees will receive the regular travel rate listed above.

Bonuses: Seasonal treeplanters will be eligible for all bonus payments listed below:

1. Contract Completion Bonus (5%): Receive an additional 5% bonus on all accumulated wages for the successful completion of the entire seasonal contract period.

2. Quality Bonus (0-5%): 1% of bonus payment for each percentage above 90% quality, up to 95% - maximum available bonus of 5%.

Statutory Holiday pay and Overtime: Employees will be paid for all Statutory holidays and regular “time-and-a-half” overtime after 44 hours per week.

Average Daily Pay (all payments and bonuses): $200.00-$300.00 per day

How to Apply:

Contact Kyla Boltz (kyla.boltz@bartramwoodlands.ca)to request an Information Sheet that will provide a detailed description of the job experience and further instruction on where to upload your resume and cover letter to receive consideration for an online video interview. Please mention that you found this posting on Indeed.

Interviews

Date 1: February 13, 2024

Date 2: February 27, 2024

Date 3: March 25, 2024

We will contact you if selected for an interview. Thank you for applying!

***Applications will not be considered without a Cover Letter and Resume***

Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract, Seasonal
Contract length: 9 weeks

Salary: $200.00-$300.00 per day

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Overtime

Supplemental pay types:

• Bonus pay
• Overtime pay

Application question(s):

• Do you have accommodation in the Guelph area for the duration of the contract period?

Education:

• Secondary School (required)

Experience:

• Outdoor Work: 1 year (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

• G Driver's License (required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Guelph, ON: Relocate before starting work (required)

Willingness to travel:

• 100% (required)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 2024-03-31
Expected start date: 2024-04-29