So after my school term ended I moved, along with a few dozen eager summer planters, to a bush camp outside of Hearst, roughly halfway between Toronto and James Bay. I had duct tape wrapped around each finger and on both heels to cover up the blisters. Perhaps the ethos was best captured by Charlotte Gill in “Eating Dirt,” her book about tree planting: “We didn’t make millions, and we didn’t cure AIDS. At my peak, I planted a few thousand saplings a day. After camp costs and taxes were deducted, I might clear $6,000 in a summer.

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Persons: Charlotte Gill, Will Arnett, “, ”, “ Let’s Locations: Ontario, Hearst, Toronto, James Bay, Canadian