working with NGR
Lots of places plant trees, what makes NGR distinct?
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Experienced to New Planter ratios on Camps
Many of Next Gen’s Camp Leadership staff have been working together for years, and often decades. Our Project Managers have between 15 and 30+ years planting experience. Many of us have committed our lives to planting, we appreciate and do our best to facilitate longevity in the industry.
Tree Planting is our life and we're here for it.
The experience on a Leadership Call is striking and we'd like you to know about it. It means organized work, through understandings of managing camps and contracts.
Experienced Camp Leadership
Planter Experience Ratio
This is a common question, what is the ratio of experienced to new planters on our camps?
Simple answer is we're aiming for a 75: 25 experienced planter: new planter ratio. Generally we train 10-15 planters on a camp of 40-45 people.
We do hire new planters. We are committed to training new people in a welcoming environment. We all started somewhere!
We also have people who work with with us for many seasons and from different backgrounds. Some people started working with us and stayed and others stated elsewhere and are happy spending seasons with us.
Planting Community
You will enjoy working with Next Gen if you are looking for a planting community. We work mainly in bush camps with great food and amenities.
We’re looking for planters who are interested in a medium to long term working relationship. Lifers welcome.
Our camps have strong community because of our flexible crews and supportive, day rated Staff. You'll work with many people throughout a season on camp, not just a small crew.
Our camps are welcoming, open and comfortable.
Health, Safety, Wellness
Next Gen collaborates with planters, staff, and managers to create our culture of safety. Our objective is for all employees to understand their role and significance within the crew community. It also means people are held accountable for supporting safety-first decisions.
We are actively work on a lively culture of safety and respect in our work-where-we-live environments. This work is ongoing an practice developing through input, learning and continual improvement.
Winner of the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) Outstanding Achievement in Health & Safety in Silviculture for 2021-2023 and 2022-2024 (an award looking at a three year time period).
We have mandatory online employee health & safety orientation. This outlines expectations across crews and individuals. Our hope is to establish clear expectation and comprehension of important safety points.
Through meetings, conversations and feedback surveys, we ensure that all people who work with Next Gen have a voice and the ability to address any areas of concern. You can effect change in policy moving forward. Psychological Safety - where people are safe to learn, provide feedback, ask questions and make mistakes is important to us as an organization.
Safe Working Guidelines for Weather and Climate factors (such as air quality) and associated Stop Work Conditions - to clarify standards and to help with good, consistent decision making in camps and in the field.
Maintain a company wide Joint Health & Safety Committee (JHSC) and Respectful Conduct Advisory Committee .
Peer Support Network for camps and has Professional Mental Health Support Resources easily accessible to employees.
An ongoing Health, Safety & Wellness goals is to continue work around our Leadership & Staff Team's rest/work balance.
Next Gen is CORE certified with both BC Forest Safe and Alberta Forest Products Association.
ACCOUNTABILITY
CLAIRITY
We have mandatory online employee orientation, establishing definition and rules to govern our respectful workplaces.
Next Gen does their best to keep employees informed with season systems, changes and other pertinent information. We want you to know plans and hear when they change, and feel free to ask questions.
We want to ensure our employees know they can affect change by offering ideas or submitting feedback. Simple ways to connect with us include: speaking with a member of the leadership team (Will, Caitlin or Marchena), Project Managers, members of the JHSC or through respect@nextgenerationreforestation.com
Accountability is when our core values guide our actions. It's when we do what we say we're going to do.
Some concrete examples are:
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Next Gen has a company wide Joint Health & Safety Committee that meets both in and off season. This allows for meaningful worker participation and transparency.
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We have a Respectful Conduct Advisory Committee. This committee intends to provide deliberate, support and follow up with issues that can arise during seasons between people and groups.
RESPECT & WELLNESS
We understand the toll that an intense planting season puts on individuals. We aim to provide a supportive, respectful environment so that we all finish the season mentally and physically strong.
Some highlights:
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Peer Supporters in each camp. There and trained to listen and help connect people to resources when needed.
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Health Care Spending Account for Staff who have been with the company for over 4 seasons
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Ready access to TotalPhysio for Musculo Skeletal Issues and Skylark Counselling services for Mental Health and Dispute Resolution
We are committed to maintaining a respectful work-where-we-live environment where people can leave the season as healthy as they went in. If issues arise we work to hear them out and address them effectively. Respectful environment are active processes.
Access to Total Physio
Many planting companies work with TotalPhysio. We do too!
What's different with us is that all Advanced First Aiders are trained directly by one of their physio therapists in using their resources and taping techniques.
Our First Aiders have the ability to trigger a video call with the office. They do this if their interventions do not have the desired result or if the musculoskeletal symptoms present in a way that is not covered by the TotalPhysio materials.
Total Physio is also an intergral part of our Injury Managment and Modified Duties system. We consult them for any injury management case in order to have an excellent understanding of abilities/limitations as well as have a meaningful recovery plan.
Total Physio is an excellent physiotherapy office out of Smithers, BC. They revolutionize how planters deal with injury. The team at Total Physio has studied planting, its biomechanics and the etiology of its injuries. They have put together wonderful materials on how best to prepare for planting, effective and realistic ergonomics to prevent injuries and how to tape for both relative-rest and prevention of injury.
Food
Next Gen is known in the industry for its food. We have some of the best cooks around, generous portions and wonderful flavours.
We have food served on most days off, you'll not need to figure a ride into town or eat canned food - hot brunch and dinner will be available.
Check out our instagram or the photo gallery to get an idea of what there is to offer.
We are passionate about food and our food budget is among the highest in the industry.
We have camps instead of crews
Many planting companies are organized in smaller crew units, six or ten packs run by one foreman.
However, Next Gen does not have fixed crews. We organize planters around available trees. This maximizes productivity and efficiency.
Every morning there is a truck board, similar to the one shown here, letting you know your location, transportation and field staff for the day.
2026 Season Details
Currently we have lots of Alberta trees lined up with our major, long term clients. One camp will have a season of technical BC work with some Alberta in the summer. Our season is looking strong.
We still anticipate 70+ planting days for most planters and Staff. Our trees and seasons are reliable and longer than many companies. People working with Next Gen make excellent seasonal earnings.
AB work will have mainly .15, .16 cent work. Some prepped ground, mostly raw. Mostly fresh cut. Some camps are mainly heli, some mainly truck. Hinton, Peace River/Manning, High Prairie and Slave Lake regions.
BC work is a range of .19 - .28. Mainly traditional raw blocks, minimal understory. Williams Lake and Prince George regions.
Princes are all-inclusive. We have lots of fast ground, check out our season earnings to see that they earnings strong!
Experienced Planter Commitment Bonus
When experienced planters commit to working with us for an entire season, it contributes to Next Gen’s overall success. We want to tie meaningful commitment to working with us with a financial bonus.
Experienced planters who start planting within the first two shifts will receive a 2.5% total earnings bonus when they finish working with Next Gen.
Experienced planters who work within the first two shifts and plants to the end of the season will receive an additional 2.5% total earnings bonus after finishing work, for a total of 5% total earning bonus
Experienced planters who work on or before May 31st and plants to the end of the season will receive a 2.5% total earning bonus.
Camp Costs
(food costs, really*)
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$25 on planting days - an industry standard
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$15 on non-planting days
When Planters are in Motels and no food provided, there are no Camp Costs charged.
Remote Work Allowance
Next Gen offers RWA option for planters.