A zine about the ins and outs of tree planting, Work, Dirt and Money’s jam-packed with info and stories. Opening with a treatise on the goods of unionizing planters and the bads of the bid-system (where-in planting companies bid on contracts and the lowest bid wins), and finishing off with detailed reviews of which planting companies to avoid and which to send your resume to, WD&M is opinionated, informed and funny. Not surprising that Cole comes from a long line of planters; his mom and dad and sister and uncles all planted trees. He grew up in tree planting camps and his dad is hailed as “the guru” after planting for 33 long years. The stories range from the jerky crew boss who dominated the truck stereo with bad tunes to the trials of setting up a planting co-op to childhood memories in the camp, while the how-tos cover planting trees, getting hired, and not losing your mind. Perfect for anyone who has spent, or is thinking of spending the summer bent over, shovel in hand. Or not. Tree planting has never crossed my mind and I enjoyed this read. I’ve always wondered what the attraction was, other than hundreds of dollars a day, that is. My only complaint is that the white print on black background is good lookin’ but hard on the eyes. (Krisztina Kun)
Zine, Cole Robertson, The Purple Thistle Centre, 975 Vernon St, Vancouver, BC, [email protected]