It’s hard to fault any student for feeling a certain dread as summer comes to a close. However, for one group in particular, this period signifies not only the bleak return to classes but also the horror of having to converse with a loved one freshly returned from a summer of tree planting.
“The first summer Al came back I really loved listening to his stories,” explained fourth-year Sydney Nomad, whose boyfriend Alistair Coleman has recently completed his third summer of planting for Summit Reforestation in British Columbia.
“But soon days became weeks and he was still telling me about how he hit five thousand trees the day after being diagnosed with tendo. I’ll admit, I seriously considered ending things right then and there.”
Dalhousie has introduced a ‘Tree Planters Recovery Program’ to help reintegrate students like Alistsair into clean, showered, concrete-filled society. Program liaison and ex-planter Quincy Fenske says that patience, and importantly recognition are key for reintegration of the planter into their social circle in the long term.
To facilitate this, the recovery program has introduced the CAMP acronym to simplify the process for loved ones of planters who just can’t handle much more:
- Comment: To get a head start, the loved one should initiate the conversation and verbally acknowledge the planting reference. Ex: “That sure is a neat stick and poke of a sapling you have on your forearm!”, “I see you are wearing a Stanfield cotton sweater, it looks warm!”
- Ask Questions: Indulge the planter with leading questions to allow them to talk about their experience. Ex: “How do you make money at 16 cents a tree? How many people does it take to carry a full-sized tree?”
- Move On: Look for any related concept as a manner to transition away from planting. Ex: “Wow, ten hour days on your own and you wouldn’t even listen to music? I can’t even walk to campus without a podcast— have you heard the newest Joe Rogan by the way?”
- Prevent Repeat: Gently but firmly prevent the planter from returning to planting-related topics.