Workamping – Hart T Trees
During our time volunteering at Bull-Creek Wildlife Management area in Central Florida, we had a lot of days off. We decided to fill some of that free time earning a little money. After seeing an ad on Workers-On-Wheels website for Christmas Tree workers, we contacted Hart-T Trees. We were advised that all lot managing positions were filled for the season, but our information would be forwarded to Burt and Dori, who were managing the lot in Melbourne, FL. A few days later we received a call from Burt. Burt told us he could use some extra help for the season. He said he was expecting a delivery of trees and would contact us when we were needed. The text came from Burt early in the morning on delivery day and we were on way to Melbourne to work at a Christmas Tree lot!
I learned many things about Christmas trees that day: Christmas trees are shipped wrapped and frozen; Sometimes there is poison ivy roots in the trees; You can pack a lot of trees in a 18-wheeler trailer; Trees are very heavy when frozen; Wear long pants and long sleeves when working with trees; and I HATE POISON IVY! I had a rash from the poison ivy for a few weeks.
After a long day of unloading Christmas trees, Dori and Burt scheduled us to work a couple of days each week until Christmas. Along with greeting and answering customer questions, it was our job to carry the trees for customers and tie them down to car roofs. Dori handled the transactions for the customers. Some customers gave tips for carrying their trees and tying them down, many did not.
Pay – We were paid minimum wage and received some tips. Our best tip day was about $50. One of the other workers made over $100 in tips during a busy Saturday. At the end of the season, Burt and Dori gave us a Wal-Mart gift card as a small bonus for working the entire season. We were only part-time workers for the contracted workampers, but if you manage a tree lot, pay is in the contract agreement. Although I don’t know for sure, it’s my understanding a good lot (meaning good tree sales), managing workampers can earn around $5,000+ during the season – about 1 month of work.
Conclusion – It was a good experience and we had a peak into what it takes to run a Christmas tree lot as workampers. It’s hard work, but if you manage your own lot you can make a decent amount of money in a short time. As we’re finding in most things in our full-timing life, the best thing about these jobs are the people you get to meet. It was a pleasure meeting and working with Burt and Dori and their four legged companion, Peppy. Thanks to social media, we’ve been able to keep in touch. I can still hear Burt exclaiming, “GET YOUR FRASER FURS!” to passing cars.
