Mention tree planters, and the first image that comes to many peoplesB次元官网网址� minds is of a scruffy looking young adult, often a university student, who smokes pot and probably doesnB次元官网网址檛 have a very large collection of personal hygiene products.

Though there are tree planters who fit that description, theyB次元官网网址檙e certainly not representative of the group, says the author of a book on the subject who is appearing in Victoria next week.

B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e out in the bush for most of your life it doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter if you have dreadlocks or a beard down to your chest, the only thing that matters is the job,B次元官网网址� says Charlotte Gill, author of Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of (tree planters) though look like ski instructors or golf pros. They look like regular, normal, average people.B次元官网网址�

Gill, 40, is a B次元官网网址渃areer tree planterB次元官网网址� who originally took up the job for the same reasons many do. It fit nicely between semesters at the University of Toronto, where she studied English literature, and it offered an opportunity to earn a lot more money than most other summer jobs.

But where some do the job for perhaps a summer or two while theyB次元官网网址檙e in school, Gill found herself going back year after year, starting in Ontario and eventually working her way west to B.C.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 one of those things thatB次元官网网址檚 really appealing because of its adversity,B次元官网网址� Gill says. B次元官网网址淲e test the limits of our own human endurance, and thereB次元官网网址檚 something very appealing in that.B次元官网网址�

The simplicity of life in such remote areas was also a big draw.

B次元官网网址淵ou go to work, you do your job, and at the end of the day, youB次元官网网址檙e finished,B次元官网网址� says Gill. B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 bring any stress home with you. You have no briefcase full of homework.B次元官网网址�

After nearly 20 years on the job, including a dozen on Vancouver Island, Gill planted her last tree in 2008.

Eating Dirt is a collection of GillB次元官网网址檚 experiences as a tree planter, as well as an exploration of the value of forests and the relationship between humans and trees.

She also examines the inner conflict many tree planters go through trying to rationalize doing something good for the planet on the heels of the destruction created by clear-cutting.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard to be an environmental idealist when your wage is being paid by a logging company,B次元官网网址� Gill says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a complex issue with a lot of layers to it, and there are no easy answers.B次元官网网址�

The subject is one of many that Gill will address when she appears in Victoria on Tuesday (Feb. 7). The author will read from Eating Dirt and answer questions about her life B次元官网网址渙n the cutB次元官网网址�. Gill will be joined by fellow author Barbara Stewart, whose book, Campie tells of another isolated job, that of a camp attendant for oil rig workers.

Life in the forest is certainly not without excitement, says Gill, and the memories are plentiful.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 quite possible to see sea lions, a whale and a grizzly bear all in one day,B次元官网网址� she says. In the book, thereB次元官网网址檚 a chapter about an especially memorable encounter with a bear.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 one of those things when thereB次元官网网址檚 danger, you really see what people are made of. ItB次元官网网址檚 a really illuminating experience.B次元官网网址�

Gill hopes that in reading this book, people will gain a better understanding of tree-planting, and the people who do it.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 really proud to be a tree planter.B次元官网网址�

Charlotte Gill will be at Cabin 12, 607 Pandora Ave., at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7.