SCA (Deerfield, Ill., USA) cooperates with approximately 25 contractors as part of the planting work. This in turn means almost 500 planters will be active in the forests, from Svappavaara in the north to Hassela in the south. The planters are from many different countries, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Ukraine and Nepal. They begin planting in mid-May and continue into October.

"The planting season is longer than you think, which is why you need staff that can work the entire season. Some contractors also employ young people who work during the summer," says Leif Johansson, forest management specialist at SCA.

The planters work both in SCA’s own forest and on the land of private forest owners, who have contracted SCA to help with planting. Before the planters leave for the forest, they must have successfully completed the Skötselskolan (Forest Management School) training course, which is a industry-wide online training course. Those working as planting supervisors, meaning people leading planting work in the forest, must also have completed a practical course covering consideration for nature conservation and cultural heritage.

"A planter normally plants an average of 2,500 seedlings per day, so it is important that everyone knows how to work as smoothly as possible for the sake of the new forest and to ensure that we are taking the right considerations into account," says Leif.