Providing a safe, professional, rewarding workplace…

BRINKMAN IN BC

Overview

Brinkman has been operating continually in BC since our first planting contract in 1970. We provide a full spectrum of silviculture services to clients in all parts of the province, through a high percentage of direct and select award contracts. Our industry leading reputation and wide access to the market provide premium prices and a long steady season to our employees. B.C. offers the longest season in Canada and Brinkman is commonly working during every month of the year, with the majority of our work falling between Mid February and the end of October.

What Makes B&A the Treeplanting company of choice in BC?

Safety Highlights

• We use high quality 4X4 trucks only; no vans.
• Our infrastructure makes for an efficient, standardized approach to safety on every project, with dedicated full time staff focused on ensuring that our systems work in the field.
• We utilize quality equipment and camps either owned by B&A or sourced from reliable suppliers.
• We invest in training our people so they are qualified and certified for the work we do.

 Quality Field Leadership

• B&A’s Supervisors are paramount in the industry. This reputation gives us access to the best contracts, and provides unsurpassed opportunity to our workforce.
• Smart, efficient organization means minimal downtime, and helps you make the most of you day.
• Our forepersons are exclusively non-commission. This creates a fair and equitable working environment in terms of allocating land and quality control while also ensuring time for training.
• Brinkman provides excellent and extensive training to first year planters, as well as skills improvement coaching for experienced planters. We believe that everyone can work safer, better, faster and more efficiently with the right training and support.

 Earnings Potential

•  Industry leading payouts – excellent prices, appropriate for ground conditions.
•  Our full time payroll team makes sure you are paid every two weeks by direct deposit and are always available to answer questions.
•  At B&A, the payroll structure is optimized to account for the unique nature of seasonal work. For many of our employees, the benefits of this pay structure translate into $2000-$4000 of increased earnings over a full season of work, compared to what they might experience with other contractors.
•  Our B.C. seasons are some of the longest in the industry which gives you the opportunity to get as much income, hours and the flexibility you require. Planters who work with us on the coastal and interior projects will commonly book 130-160+ work days.

 Quality Projects, a Quality Experience

• We have many long term direct award and preferred bid projects which reduces the stress and confusion potential of unknown situations – ultimately increasing earnings.
•  We work in most areas of the Province. Whether you are interested in experiencing the beauty and adventure of BC’s special environments or just trying to find work around your home, chances are we have a project to suit your needs.
•  Our camps are organized, fun and social.
•  Brinkman’s cooks are top notch providing you with lots of delicious, nourishing food that powers you up for the whole day.

Not Just Treeplanting….

We also engage in many other activities within the BC region, a few of these are:

• Brushing/ girdling – both coastal and interior; chainsaw, brushsaw and hand tools
• Survey work
• Cone maintenance and removal
• Stand fertilization

2009 BC Crew Information

BC Coast

Brinkman has a large coastal season lined up and the planters can expect to get 30 to 40 days of work before the Interior Spring Plant. The projects are based off of Vancouver Island and the remote inlets of Johnstone Straits and Central Coast.  We have some work that starts in late January but most of the projects commence late February to early March.
The supervisor’s seasons are in alphabetical order separated between BC Coast and BC Interior.

Barry Needham  - coast-
Barry will be returning once again to his direct award work on Northern Vancouver Island. The anticipated start date is early March, but the crew fills up early so contact us if you are interested in this project. They hope to be done by early April so they can head to the interior for an early start on their busy spring/ summer season.
Claud Contant - coast-
Claud’s season will be starting mid to late January on Central and Southern Vancouver Island where his crew will be busy on a few projects until the Interior starts up. The work is a mix of stand tending and planting that caters to a local workforce.
Ian Matthews - coast-
Ian’s season starts the first week of March with a crew of ten working off of Northern Vancouver Island and the Central Coast. His crew will be busy until the Interior Season starts in BC and Alberta.
John Beaton - coast-
John’s season starts the first week of March with a crew of ten working of Northern Vancouver Island and the Mainland Coast. John will be busy until his BC Interior PG projects start up.
Kyle Strong - coast-
Kyle’s season starts the first week of March with a crew of ten working out of Northern Vancouver Island and the Central Coast. Kyle will busy until his BC Interior Cariboo projects start up.

 

 

BC Interior

Our 2009 Spring BC Interior is strong with mostly the Direct Award projects we have been planting in previous years. The bulk of our BC Interior work occurs between April 20th and June 25th. Most of our July summer plants will be in Alberta.
Barry Needham – BC Interior-
Barry’s Interior will be his long held Direct Award project out of Cranbrook. The project runs from Mid April until the 3rd to 4th week of June, all of which will be in tent camp.
Claud Contant – BC Interior-
Claud will be returning to the same project in Merritt he has had for a couple of years.  When Merritt is completed, his crew will move to Revelstoke for June.
Dom Mann Bertrand – BC Interior-
Dom’s season will start in Quesnel late April where his crew will work until early June. The crew will then finish the season off in Terrace by the third week of June. Dom’s contracts are all direct award.
Drew Nener – BC Interior-
Drew’s crew will be based out of William’s lake in the Cariboo for May and part of June. After that his crew will head to Alberta until the end of July. Drew will be in tent camps for most of the season and his work is a mix of Direct Award and bid on projects.
Erik Brinkman – BC Interior-
Erik and Dawn’s crew will start in Quesnel for two weeks and then move to Merritt for the remainder of the season until June 20th. Their crew will be in tent camps for the duration of the season.
Both projects are direct Award and they have all returning staff.
John Beaton – BC Interior-
John’s season is Direct Award work based out of Prince George. They will have one tent camp site from the beginning of May to the 3rd week of June. The ground is primarily flat fast ground. John has all returning crew bosses and staff.
Kyle Strong – BC Interior-
Kyle has taken on what was previously Mike Beaton’s Direct Award projects in the Cariboo. The project lay out is the same as last year with one short camp move mid season? Kyle’s season runs from the first week of May until the 3-4 week of June and is all in tent camp.
Rainer Korn – BC Interior-
Rainer’s crew will be returning to his long held Direct Award work in Elko from mid April to late June. His season will be based out of his tent camp and he has all returning staff.
 

 

Areas of Work in BC

1. Coast

The coast is typically suited for planters who have previous planting experience. The terrain tends to be demanding and the quality requirements can be very specific, with higher prices accordingly. Much of the access is barge or helicopter only with crews staying in logging camps, resorts/ fish camps, or mobile marine camps. This type of access is more typical of the North and Central coast. The south coast is generally drive access and is more often based out of motels or tent camps. Crew sizes are typically smaller, where 30 persons is a large crew and the average has 12-20.

Brinkman has been the expert in remote access for many years. Our ability to get these logistically challenging projects done safely and efficiently has given us unparalleled and often exclusive access to much work on the coast, resulting in higher earnings for our planters.

The Coast B.C. is comprised of:

• The North Coast which includes Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and the Prince Rupert /Terrace area.
• The Central Coast/ Mainland covers a large area stretching from Desolation Sound in the south to north of Bella Bella.
• The South Coast refers to Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the Fraser Valley.

Coastal Seasons

• The spring plant typically starts mid February and early March on the coast as the snow melts and can last into June, but the bulk of the work is done by late April/ early May.
• The fall plant usually starts mid August on the coast and can continue well into October.

2. Interior

The B.C. interior encompasses a huge area with all types of terrain from the very fast to extremely steep and technical, priced accordingly.  The interior is available to first year planters to learn the trade. They can usually get “up to speed” in a few weeks with the proper training, which we provide. The interior region is basically comprised of:

• Northern B.C. is comprised of Prince George and north to Fort Nelson which is near the Yukon border. The ground is generally fast and is where a lot of tree planters begin their planting career. Most of our crews stay in tent camps.
• The Cariboo is the region that lies west of Cariboo Mountains and South of Prince George to Merrit.  The ground is also fast but usually a little more technical due to the influence of the arid zones and cattle grazing on the blocks.
• South East B.C. is the Kootenays and surrounding areas. There is a wide variety of ground from very challenging and steep, to easier flatter ground. Most of these crews work out of tent camps.
• North Thompson and Columbia is the area South East of Prince George, East of the Cariboo Mountains and down to Revelstoke and Golden in the Rocky mountain trench. This region is generally tough planting due to its mountainous setting. The blocks tend to be steep and slashy. The scenery is incredibly beautiful.

Interior Seasons

The B.C interior can start as early as mid April but the most of the work becomes snow free in early to mid May. The interior is divided into two seasons; spring and summer. The spring plant finishes mid to late June and the summer plant runs between late June and late July.

Brinkman BC’s Regional Management Team

Timo Scheiber is Brinkman’s Western Operations Manager (BC and Washington State). He has been working with Brinkman since 1990, and has managed the coastal region since 1997. Timo is dedicated to keeping Brinkman the ‘silviculture contractor of choice’ for both our clients and employees within the BC region. He is available to address any questions or concerns regarding our projects in the Western region. He is based out of Duncan and can be reached at Timo_Scheiber@brinkman.ca or at 250-746-7037 (office number).

Matt Robertson is Brinkman’s BC interior Regional Manager. He has been working with Brinkman since 1993, and involved in project management since 1998. Matt is keenly focused on providing a quality experience to both our clients and our employees through good communication and dedicated service. He is based out of Sooke and can be reached at: Matt_Robertson@brinkman.ca or at (250) 642-1716 (office number).

What kinds of jobs do we hire for? 

Below is an outline of the positions we hire for regularly.  All of these positions involve temporary relocation, typically living in bush camps in remote areas.  Locations may vary – check the regional sections for ongoing updates.  All positions are only available to workers who are capable of enduring long days of difficult physical labour. For all positions, except cooking, workers are outside all day regardless of the weather.

Tree Planting:  This is a piece-work job that involves carrying trees on your hips and planting anywhere from 500 (steep, BC coastal ground) to 3500 (easy, flat Ontario ground) tree seedlings, everyday.  Workers are set-up with area and given ongoing guidance from their crewboss (foreperson) as to where to work, what species to plant and to what quality specs.  Due to season length and difficulty of planting, our western crews are primarily made up of veteran planters, while our eastern crews tend to have more openings for rookies.  On some projects, fertilizer and/or tree protectors may need to be applied at the time of planting.

Requirements: Valid Canadian SIN, good physical health

Cooks:  Everyone one of our temporary camps (bush, boat or other) supplies meals to the workers.  Crew sizes vary from 15-100, but what doesn’t change is the high quality, exceptional food we provide – and lots of it.  Cooking in a Silviculture camp is not easy – the days are long and conditions can be challenging.  This is a very rewarding job though and is critical to a camp’s success. 

Requirements: FoodSafe certification required. Professional Cooking Experience is essential. Previous experience planting, or cooking in bush camp, is an asset.

Quality Checkers:  Most planting crews have at least one person on staff that is dedicated to setting up and recording plots of the work as it is completed.  Feedback is given to the crew for any adjustments required, and information is submitted to the client.

Requirements: Good Computer Skills, Silviculture experience, Survey certification is required in some regions.

Field Management:  Many opportunities exist for seasoned tree planters who wish to move into a different role.  Every year we hire crewbosses (forepersons), tree delivery staff and supervisors to run crews.  Contact one of our Regional Managers for more information.

Requirements: Minimum 4 years Tree Planting Experience.

Stand Tending:Years after trees have been planted the plantation requires maintenance to ensure optimal growth. This term encompasses a few different jobs, namely:

Brushing– involves using either manual or power saws to cut back competing vegetation around the planted trees.

Spacing– involves removing selected trees so that there is more room and less competition for the remaining ones.

Girdling – is a technique for competition control that involves using a manual or power tool to cut a ring around a tree’s bark. 

Pruning– involves cutting select branches off trees to encourage height growth and minimize disease.

Herbicide Application – involves spraying or using another type of application of products designed to kill off competing species.  Certification required.

Tree protector Maintenance/Removal – At the time of planting, various methods of protection might be applied to the tree to keep the deer and other rodents from eating the trees. Years later, these supplies need to be repaired or removed.  This job involves snipping and removing the protectors and carrying them to the roadside for further collection.

Requirements: Experience in Stand Tending and/or Silviculture.

Surveys: This type of work performs various types of plots, primarily on existing plantations and provides information accordingly.  Typically, there are small crews of 2-8 people.

Requirements: Survey Certification is required in some locations.

First Aid & Safety Representatives:   Every crew requires designated First Aid staff and at least one person to complete the administration of the Safety Program. This is typically done in addition to regular field work, planting or otherwise.

Requirements:First Aid certification is required, but varies depending on the jurisdiction. 

If you are interested in any of the jobs posted above, submit an online application today!

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