>>2272387I work as a Forest Manager in Scotland and issue contracts to tree planters. When I have time, or if the job is small enough, I'll get out and do the work myself. Occasionally I've planted alongside the contractors just to help out if I can.
Planting work in Scotland is either called New Planting, Restocking, or Beat up (loss replacement). I've still yet to find a good answer to why we call it beat up.
New planting is very easy and a great way to make money. Restocking is a bit trickier, but if the ground is well cultivated its fairly straightforward, but harder on the hips. Beat up is the toughest with the most walking involved, looking for trees to replace which have failed, and this is usually done over 5 years while the crop establishes, meaning the site gets weedier and weedier until you can barely see where you are putting your feet, even in winter when the grass has all died back.
What I can say is, if you are part of a small team or self-employed, you will make some very good money if you can, quite simply plant the tree properly and get anywhere between 1,200 to 2,000 trees in a day. In addition to planting, you will pick up chemical spraying and hand weeding work which pays pretty well for the work.
What I will say is, long term, most experienced planters will make their own companies as you will very unlikely see anyone planting beyond age 50, never mind 40. The ground conditions and terrain just fuck you up.
Good news in the UK though is that we tend to plant between November to April, with summer being left for general maintenance. I used to see a lot of good planters come over from Europe, Canada, and America before Covid and Brexit fucked it all up. In the summer, most go back to their home countries after they've made their money.
What I can tell you is that we are having an absolute gold rush for planting and new woodland creation here. We really do not have enough skilled workers in the sector to keep up with the work.
